Associated Press reports:

The value of credit card accounts at least 30 days late jumped 26 percent to $17.3 billion in October from a year earlier at 17 large credit card trusts examined by the AP. That represented more than 4 percent of the total outstanding principal balances owed to the trusts on credit cards that were issued by banks such as Bank of America and Capital One and for retailers like Home Depot and Wal-Mart….

Serious delinquencies also are up sharply: Some of the nation's biggest lenders — including Advanta, GE Money Bank and HSBC — reported increases of 50 percent or more in the value of accounts that were at least 90 days delinquent when compared with the same period a year ago.

As recently as 2000, the average American had about one month's cash on hand in liquid checking accounts. Now the average is 18.5 days. That means that the average American has a little more than two week's worth of cash to meet expenses.

This is a record low.

And Americans are still borrowing more…almost $300 billion in net borrowing in 2007 to meet obligations.

Together, the higher credit card delinquencies, record foreclosures and declining cash on hand mean that 2008 is going to be very rough. If interest rates spike, most Americans who pay variable rates on their credit card debt will increasingly default. Add this to record number of resets and the a serious recession in 2008 seems more and more likely.

Watch This Video on Short Sales and Credit Rating Now

.

 Add Your Name and Email Below and See This Video Right Away

If mortgage and credit card debts and foreclosure are an issue, and if you want to see how you can cut your mortgage debt without refinancing…how to sell your house when there are no buyers, and how to slash credit card debt without bankruptcy while also increasing your credit score,  I never share your information wtih anyone and you can unsubscribe anytime.