Study shows “reduced income” key to today’s personal debt problems

Jan. 27, 2011 - PRLog -- A new study released by InCharge Debt Solutions suggests that a growing number of Americans facing unmanageable debt problems identify the cause of their problems as “reduced income.”  The data was compiled over a three-year period (January 1, 2008-December 31, 2010), gathered during free credit counseling sessions conducted by the nonprofit organization’s certified credit counselors during that timeframe.

Specifically, the data found that 57% of InCharge clients in Q4 2010 (versus 49% in Q1 2008) said the reason they were struggling with debt was due to a cutback in the number of hours they were being allowed to work or a reduction in their pay rates.

Poor money management (or lack of financial understanding) dropped further behind as the second most frequently mentioned “root cause” of debt problems, cited by 26% of 2010 InCharge clients as compared with 34% at the beginning of 2008.

Among other interesting findings in the study:

•   The percentage of debt-stressed consumers coming to InCharge through the Internet (versus telephone calls and other sources) jumped from 11% to 46%.
•   Males continue to request help with debt problems online more often (65% in 2010, up 3%) than females.
•   Young adults (18-24 years old) seeking assistance from InCharge dropped from 13% to 9% of the total client base.
•   There was an increase of 8% in consumers with debt problems who earn more than the median income for residents of their city.

For more information, contact InCharge Debt Solutions at 888-360-9694 or visit http://www.InCharge.org.

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Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, InCharge Debt Solutions (InCharge) provides professional credit counseling, housing counseling and personal money management education to consumers, and is a member of the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies (AICCCA). InCharge is one of the unique nonprofit credit counseling and housing counseling organizations to be dually accredited by both ISO 9001-2008 Quality Standards and the Council on Accreditation (COA). Consumers can access InCharge Debt Solutions credit counseling services for free by calling 1-888-360-9694 or online at http://www.InCharge.org. For housing counseling services, call 877-712-6040.