The Wall Street Journal is reporting on an interesting new trend with credit card holders; rather than racking up more spending during the economic crisis they are paying down their credit card debt; this is not just a U.S. phenomenon, it is happening in other advanced economies around the world; total credit card debt in the U.S. fell by 11%, or $100 billion, between February and June, while it is down 11% in Canada, 14% in the U.K. and 17% in Australia; data from card companies suggest that people have been using stimulus money to pay down their debt and then have shifted away from credit cards towards debit card purchases. The Wall Street Journal.
