Credit card spending the leading reason why 78% of Americans have debt regret: survey

A majority of Americans feel financial regret as personal debt soars to new highs, a recent survey said.

Roughly 78% said they had a financial regret, with 21% saying they most lamented "charging up too much credit card debt," according to the Debt.com survey. Millennials regret their credit debt the most, and 45% said they feel guilty about "charging too much on their credit cards." Baby boomers were the least concerned, with only 10% feeling regret over credit card debt despite having the most of it. Nearly 24% of baby boomers have $30,000 to $50,000 in credit card debt.

Moreover, 49% of the respondents said their regrets about credit card debt are "always on their mind." More than 1 in 4 (26%) of respondents regret running up balances have $15,000 to $30,000 in credit card debt, and 15% owe $30,000 to $50,000. Nearly half (49%) of respondents said their credit card debt regret is "always on their mind."

"It's no surprise that credit card debt is a growing regret," Debt.com president Don Silvestri says. "The United States has 1 billion credit cards in circulation – and only 333 million people. As long as credit card balances keep rising, so will the stress that comes with it."

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Boomers most regret not saving for retirement

Baby boomers said they most regretted not saving enough for retirement, the survey said. Roughly 38% of respondents within this generational segment said they lamented not saving for retirement sooner. Moreover, 25% said they had nothing saved for retirement.

More than 4 million U.S. adults will turn 65 this year, according to a separate Northwestern Mutual survey. Still, only half of boomers (49%) and Gen Xers (48%) believe they will be financially prepared to retire comfortably, with many expecting that they will likely outlive their savings.

Even more problematic is that while many older Americans across both generations anticipate a retirement shortfall, more than a third (37% and 38%, respectively) still need to address it.

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Gen Z most worried about student loans

The survey said Gen Z regretted student loan debt as much as they felt guilt over credit card debt.

Gen Z is dealing with an average of $20,900 in student debt, according to a report by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. That translates to a median loan of $12,800. Moreover, many of these borrowers haven't finished their higher education schooling and could take on more debt.

At the same time, this generational segment is dealing with a heavy credit card debt burden. Roughly 15.3% of Gen Z credit card borrowers have maxed out their credit cards, according to new research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. This is important because high credit card utilization is strongly tied to future delinquencies.

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