Household Debt Remains Startlingly Low

Household debt has hit yet another record. Should we be worried?

Michael Strain says no, and I agree. This time, though, it’s more than my usual gripe about not adjusting for inflation. The thing to look at isn’t raw debt in the first place, but how much it’s affecting family finances:

The average family is spending less than 10 percent of its income on debt payments. This is the lowest it’s been since the Fed started tracking it. So not only is there nothing to worry about, you can even make a case that household debt ought to be a little higher than it is.

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