Indebted Americans Spend 3.5 Hours a Day Worrying About Debt
10% of Those in Debt Expend 10+ Hours Per Day Worrying About Repayment.
Norwalk, CT (PRWEB) June 29, 2010
Forty-five percent of Americans claim they are in debt -- and those in debt worry about repayment 3.5 hours a day, on average. In fact, 10% claim they worry about debt 10 or more hours every 24 hours. The results are from the U. S. Consumer Study on Debt (http://www. debtplan. com/media/docs/Debt%20Report. pdf)* commissioned by DebtPlan. com and fielded by Survey Sampling International.
When asked: "On average, how many hours per day do you spend worrying about debt?" the results are as follows:
10 hours or more 10%
4-10 hours 11%
1-3 hours 54%
Zero hours 25%
The study also revealed that of those in debt, just 47% choose one of the following options to indicate they have a plan to get out of debt:
I am working with a financial advisor on the best way to get out of debt. I am enrolled in a program that sets up a plan to get out of debt. I created a household budget myself and have built a plan to get out of debt. I am working with a debt consolidation/management/settlement program to get out of debt.
According to Carrie Coghill, Director of Consumer Education for DebtPlan. com, "Debt can freeze you in your tracks. It's an emotional, consuming issue -- where many consumers don't know what to do or where to start. If a person can afford to make minimum payments to creditors, they can plan their way out of debt. It won't be painless and easy, but it can be done."
Ms. Coghill advises consumers in debt to consider every option before using methods like debt consolidation, debt settlement or bankruptcy. These methods can severely damage your credit report and score. (http://www. freescore. com)
Plus, a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing remains on your credit record for 10 years, making it difficult to get credit. It can also affect your ability to get a job. A 2009 survey by the Society for Human Resource Management found that 60% of employers check credit histories for at least some of their job candidates.**
About DebtPlan. com
DebtPlan. com (wwwDebtPlan. com) is a secure, personalized online debt management tool to help you manage and reduce debt. With DebtPlan. com, you control debt rather than debt controlling you. DebtPlan’s Personal Debt Wizard creates a custom plan in minutes to shorten payoff time, reduce interest paid, and start tracking progress as you pay down debt. DebtPlan. com shows you how to become debt free with your current income. Unlike other debt options, DebtPlan. com does not damage credit. DebtPlan. com is a service of FreeScore LLC. For more information, go to www. DebtPlan. com, or call toll-free at 1-800-211-3096.
*The data for The U. S. Consumer Study on Debt were collected and analyzed in April/May 2010 through Survey Sampling International in Shelton, Connecticut. Results have a margin of error +/- 5%.
**In November 2009, SHRM conducted a comprehensive survey that looked at background checking on job candidates. The survey explored the primary reasons that organizations conduct background checks, the categories of job candidates that organizations conduct background checks on, and other related topics. http://www. shrm. org/Research/SurveyFindings/Pages/default. aspx (http://www. shrm. org/Research/SurveyFindings/Pages/default. aspx)
###
