I read today that California lenders started foreclosure proceedings on more than 72,500 homeowners in July to September of 2007. I’m sure fourth quarter statistics will be even more alarming. Imagine how easily politicians could stop giving lip service to economic rejuvenation programs. If our education included outreach on the importance of credit, the economy would boom.
According to one study, approximately 60 percent of Americans carry a balance from month to month to month on at least one card. Let’s reduce this figure by 10 percent and assume that only half of population has accumulated credit card debt. Without over 303 million people in the United States, approximately 150 million have credit card debt, and half of those – 75 million – have scores below 720. If we could conduct outreach to educate those consumers to increase their credit scores and lower their interest rate, we could pump $150 million back into the economy each month if those consumers saved only $2 each month!
This adds up to $1.8 billion in savings each year just in credit card debt. Add to that the billions and billions in foreclosure cost and excess mortgage payments, and we’re looking at a windfall!
