Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – Consumers decreased their credit card debt by 11 percent last year, with the average debt load declining in every state.

That information came from a report released Tuesday by credit tracking and financial education website CreditKarma.com. It analyzed data from more than 300,000 of its users.

“The new year typically inspires consumers to get in control of their finances, especially after the bout of holiday spending that occurred in December. Starting in January, you’ll see consumers start focusing on decreasing debt,” said Ken Lin, CEO of CreditKarma.com.

CreditKarma.com found that the average credit card balance was $6,576 in 2011, down from $7,404 the previous year.

However, that decline came in a climate of weak consumer confidence, which kept spending down as banks continued to tighten lending while slashing credit limits for many existing customers.

While credit card debt was down, so were credit scores.

Nationally, credit scores fell eight points to 660 in 2011 from the previous year.

States with the highest average credit scores are:

• California, Massachusetts and New Jersey — 679
• Washington — 675
• New York — 674

States with the lowest average credit scores are:

• Mississippi — 622
• Louisiana — 635
• Arkansas — 635
• South Carolina — 635
• West Virginia — 637

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Consumers borrowed more in January to purchase new cars but were once again frugal with their credit cards, offering a mixed sign of their confidence in the economy.

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Bank of Nova Scotia, Canada’s third-largest bank, plans to offer small loans and credit cards to consumers in Mexico with little or no banking history to increase its share of business in the co

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Generally public never aware of such financial terms whether its credit card, credit card debt, good and bad debt, and much more. Bad debt is defined as an amount that is written off by the business as a loss to the business and classified as an expense because the debt owed to the business is unable to be collected, and all reasonable efforts have been exhausted to collect the amount owed. Usually it occurs when the debtor has declared bankruptcy or the cost of pursuing further action in an attempt to collect the debt exceeds the debt itself.
In general usage bad debt is considered as a money lost by a business which is why it is regarded as an expense. When consumer looks at their bills every month, consumer may feel overwhelmed by the amount of money that they’re spending on debt. Sometimes debt might appear like a trap that consumer likes to come out of the situation on their own way. But usually not all debts are bad some are considered as good debt also.

We will understand this fact by differentiating good and bad debt through examples. If consumer took on debt to buy something that will increase in value and contribute to consumer’s overall financial health, then you can consider that debt a good depending on the kind of situation you carries it, for example, a home purchase can be considered as a good debt, as it will boost you financial condition. Another example of good debt is student’s education loan. In the same way, there’s bad debt too. Bad debt is a kind of debt that creates an unhealthy financial situation. Also consumers should know that credit card debt is often considered bad debt due to the nature of items that credit cards are used to buy them. Suppose the consumer is using the credit card for buying items like clothes and food, then has to pay the balance in full every month.

A White House adviser says a new federal consumer protection agency must understand the problems families are having with credit cards, mortgages and other consumer products for it to be successful.

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Consumer borrowing fell again in August as consumers cut back on credit card use for the 24th consecutive month.

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Obama consumer finance adviser Elizabeth Warren took a conciliatory tone with bank executives Wednesday, asking them to work with her on new disclosures that will make credit cards fairer and easier to understand. In her first major speech since being tapped… Credit card – Barack Obama – Elizabeth Warren – Financial services – Business

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Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – Two-thirds of travelers are angered and surprised by hidden airlines fees, according to a survey conducted by a trio of travel agencies.

The Consumer Travel Alliance (CTA), Business Travel Coalition (BTC) and American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) found the last minute fees that prompted anger included charges for services such as checked baggage, advance seating and priority boarding.

“As we come to the end of one of the busiest air travel periods of the year, millions of Americans are returning from their summer vacations tanned, rested, and mad as hell,” said Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition. “They are tired of arriving at the airport and finding huge unexpected costs for travel services they thought were part of the ticket price.

Conducted over the two weeks before Labor Day, the survey of 1,396 travelers found:

Two-thirds (66 percent) of respondents said they had been surprised at the airport by unexpected fees for things such as checking bags, requesting a seat assignment, getting extra legroom, or flying standby.

Nearly a third (29 percent) said they were surprised often or nearly every time they travel via air by such fees.

Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) said such fees placed some or a great deal of unexpected financial strain on their budget for the trip, while more than a quarter (26 percent) said that those fees placed a great deal of unexpected strain.

— A nearly unanimous 99% of respondents said that they think airlines should be required to disclose all of their fees in advance on every website that sells airline tickets.

— When asked to rank the fees they found most annoying, respondents rated carry-on baggage fees the most annoying, with 91% calling those fees “very annoying,” followed by seat reservation fees (88% very

annoying), checked baggage fees (74%), and telephone reservation fees (67%).

Consumer travel advocates regard the hidden fees as a violation of a traveler’s most basic right- to know how much they will have to pay for their trip.

Charlie Leocha, President of the Consumer Travel Alliance. “When two out of every three air travelers say they have been surprised by hidden fees at the airport, you know the current system is broken and needs to be fixed. Airlines should have to share their fees with every traveler, through every ticketing channel in which they participate, to every point of sale.”

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