A few months ago, Kosher Money ran a Frum Finance Survey to determine the state of finance within the frum community.
The survey got a lot of attention and managed to garnish thousands of participants. This is the first time such a survey was done (on such a scale). Therefore, I was following the survey closely.
The question I was most curious about was, “How much of the frum community is in credit card debt?”
The results were finally released. Based on the results, let’s analyze the percentage of the frum community that responded being in credit card debt.
How much percent of the frum community is in credit card debt?
The total number of responses analyzed was 2,994, and 738 of them – 24.64 % – said they were in credit card debt.
Although 24.64% is a very big number, to be honest, I’m very shocked as I always thought the number was higher. It’s possible that people were not telling the truth, although the survey was completely confidential. But assuming the numbers are accurate, then this is definitely something frum people should be proud of.
What is the national average?
According to the most recent SCF survey, 46% of American households hold credit card debt.
It’s important to note that the percentage of frum households in credit card debt is not only lower, but let’s not forget that the cost of living in the frum communities is much higher than the national average, making credit card debt less avoidable.
Important things to remember when using credit cards
I personally have earned over $100k worth of rewards by utilizing credit cards while never paying a dime in interest. However, I agree that credit cards are not for everyone. Here are some points to remember and to help you decide if credit cards are for you or will work against you:
- Never swipe more than you have in the bank account (treat a credit card like cash)
- If you have ever paid interest, even once, then credit cards are not for you (even a single time should be enough for you to say this game is not for me)
- 0% APR credit cards can be a good bandage if you are out of a job for a few months or some other temporary emergency. But they should not be used to subsidize a lifestyle that you cannot afford. If you need a 0% APR card to cover your daily budget, then you have a bigger problem that you need to solve and 0% APR for a few months will not be your solution.
Credit cards should be promoted responsibly
Even though credit cards can be very beneficial for the 75.36% who are not in credit card debt, we have to be extremely careful when promoting credit cards and make sure to include proper warnings and educate the consumer to only use credit cards responsibly. And as pointed out above, if you see that credit cards don’t work well for you, then stop using them. A free vacation or even a huge welcome bonus will not be worth it if you end up paying interest.
I believe the numbers are a nice amount higher, most frum ppl will never answer any surveys no matter what, so the results are skewed by only being from ppl who would respond to surveys. Great article. Way too many ppl swipe to live beyond their means. But your website is not responsible-every person is responsible for their own actions.