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American debt has reached a new high

Posted at 6:26 PM, Feb 22, 2018
and last updated 2018-02-22 18:26:06-05

Lots of us have debt and brand new numbers from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York show American debt has hit a new high at $13.1 trillion.

"We've seen that people are coming in with more debt than they had been over the last few years," Noelle Carter, Consumer Credit Counseling president, said. 

The debt has been growing for five straight years and we haven't seen growth like this since before the 2008 recession.

Carter says it's because consumers are becoming more comfortable spending. She is seeing increases in unsecured debt; including credit card debt, medical bills and collections debts.

"Individuals really have to understand  what they're financial picture looks like," she said.

To do that, she says pull your credit report every year and taking a look at what debt you have.