Consumers pulled out their credit cards in December fueling a surge in consumer Credit. 
Change in Consumer Credit
- Total: $40.85 Billion
- Revolving: $22.86 Billion
- Nonrevolving: $17.99 Billion
- Nonrevolving Excluding Government: $15.30 Billion
Government debt is the student debt program.
Consumer Credit in Billions of Dollars
Consumer Credit Totals
- Total: 5.146 trillion
- Nonrevolving: 3.763 trillion
- Nonrevolving Excluding Government: $2.244 trillion
- Nonrevolving Government: $1.519 trillion
- Revolving: $1.382 trillion
Real (Inflation-Adjusted) Consumer Credit
Real Consumer Credit Totals
- Total: $4.126 trillion
- Nonrevolving: 3.018 trillion
- Nonrevolving Excluding Government: $1.800 trillion
- Revolving: $1.108 trillion
The winners are those with mortgages who refinanced when mortgage rates fell to 3.0 percent. Inflation ate away much or their debt.
The same is not true for those in the student loan or credit card traps at interest rates that have been generally higher than inflation.
Revolving Consumer Credit in Billions of Dollars
On an inflation-adjusted basis revolving credit does not look so bad. But it’s a disaster for those who carry a balance are are paying interest rates in excess of 20 percent.
The nominal monthly increase of 22.86 billion in revolving credit was higher than the consensus estimate of $16.00 billion for total credit.
This was a stunning number that is sure to put some people in debt trouble or greater debt trouble for those already there.
December Had the Second Largest Monthly Trade Deficit in History
On February 6, I noted December Had the Second Largest Monthly Trade Deficit in History
For those wondering what happened, the surge in consumer credit explains some of it.
The rest is importers scrambling to beat Trump tariffs.
According to Realtor.com as of Q2 24. That’s a significant chunk below 3% but it’s surprising more homeowners didn’t obtain the ultra-low rates.
Huge Upward Adjustment to Employment & Labor Force as Wave of Immigrants is Finally Included, Unemployment Drops, Wage Growth Accelerates: The Annual Revisions Are Herehttps://wolfstreet.com/2025/02/07/huge-upward-adjustment-of-employment-labor-force-as-wave-of-immigrants-is-finally-included-unemployment-drops-wage-growth-accelerates-the-annual-revisions-are-here/
Cliff Richard, after Madonna left an exclusive Dept store on Madison Ave, spending $1M in one hour to bs the media, using her c/c:
Oh Donna, Oh Donna. I had a girl Donna was her name. Since she left me
I have never been the same….
Madison Ave don’t look good to me.
and? Michael Jackson did the same thing Its what rich people do
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRnCX-8hA4A
The wealthy are different… better.
Millions of government parasites need a new host. While jumping from one galloping horse to another they rely on credit cards for the mortgage, car payment, food, and gas. Rent the wife. Sell a kid. Learn to work, save, and invest. My heart goes out to you but not my tax dollars. Amazon delivery service is hiring.
Don’t worry because Trump will take care of all of this mess. All of that will go away in a few weeks.
That’s your TDS talking.
Your faith is precious.
1) Real c/c loans [in blue] are $1,108T slightly below 2009 high.
2) Mortgage loans are instalment loans. U get $400K and u pay in monthly
instalments. A mortgage loan in a nonrevolving loan.
3) A car loan is a nonrevolving loan. U get $40k and u pay in monthly instalments. Students loans are the same. The real nonrevolving loans [in brown], including gov, is down, below 2021 peak @ $3,018T. The real nonrevolving loans Ex gov [in yellow] is also down.
4) The total: $3,018T [in brown] plus $1,108T [in blue] = $4,126T [in light blue], slightly down.
5) There are more people in the US, but they spent less.
Auto loans are 1.5 trillion
80% of Americans have no money.
When people are pessimistic they pay down debt. When people are optimistic the put on debt.
ZH headline: “Largest Buy Imbalance In History”: Retail Euphoria Breaks All Records, Steamrolling Bearish Hedge Funds
Really they grow debt under almost all scenarios. It doesn’t tell you much about the future. In 2008/2009 credit didn’t start to fall until we were well into a recession.
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/fredgraph.png?g=1DwoO&height=490
Mish was talking about the surge in December and not about a trend of months or years. I was replying to what he said.
Maybe, Doug, but this isn’t a cookie cutter sort of issue. I’ve put on debt because of rising costs to basic bills such as utilities, food, insurance, and costly medications for my spouse because the deductible is so high. I did not want to do this, but anticipating and out pacing these rising costs has proven to be exhausting to anyone trying to keep a positive mindset. I’ll keep cutting out whatever unnecessaries I can find, because that’s what I have to do. Squeeze that turnip bone dry. I am not optimistic.
But at some point, people will just simply go Galt.
Each individual has his own reasons to put on or to pay down debt but when you look at the mass then you can see a trend that is the sum of individual decisions.
When people are desperate they put on debt.
FIFY.
Or when they believe their own situations are improving.
Mish, this article is likely the 100th one with the PENDING DOOM on CREDIT in America.
Yet, nothing happened – – OR, they are hiding the number of people in default?
Which is it?
Real dollars provide important context. Would ‘real dollars per capita, by income quintile’ trends provide any significant insight?
As I understand it these numbers do not include buy now pay layer which is not insubstantial.