Bankruptcy Trends Decrease Following Recession

New York – June 27, 2013 – Strategic Consulting Services (www.strategiccs.org), a New York firm providing client-focused financial consulting, sees a decrease in bankruptcy inquires following a larger national trend. Yet even as Americans are turning less to bankruptcy, serious concerns have been identified in 2013 about Americans' attitudes towards debt, especially in the older and younger age extremes.

Bankruptcy Filings for April 2013 were down sharply from the March high (to 94,000 from 105,000 last month) with a drop reinforcing a downward trend that has been building for months. Total filings this year are at a rate of about 1,500 per million adults (one for every 700 adults).

Of these, five states have remarkably high rates, more than 50 percent above the national average: Tennessee, Georgia, Utah, Alabama, and Illinois.

This news comes along with reports that U.S. household debt hit a record low in the fourth quarter of 2012, a debt-to-income ratio of 10.38, which is the lowest since the study began in 1980. Supporting this news, in the first three months of 2013, household debt of all kinds dropped $100 billion, reducing national obligations to $11.23 trillion. While this sounds like promising news for the average American's pocketbook and economic outlook, other reports say the national average is being pulled down by the extremes – young and old consumers who are leaning increasingly on credit cards.

The number of Americans over age 50 carried substantially more debt than those under 50 according to a study by the AARP's Public Policy Institute. Debt payments as a portion of income almost doubled since the beginning of the recession for families headed by individuals over 75. At the other end of the spectrum, younger Americans borrow heavily on credit cards and repay the debt at a slower rate than previous generations. A new study from The Ohio State University performed over 13 years finds that someone born between 1980 and 1984 has credit card debt substantially greater than debt held by the previous two generations.

"Everyone has been squeezed financially since the recession and has had to reevaluate their financial habits. Although consumers are overall making a better effort to save and pay off debt there is still a long way to go," said Dani Adelstein, senior financial consultant at Strategic Consulting Services. "Weather young or old, all Americans are facing financial difficulty in our sputtering economy…and increasingly turning to experts like Strategic Consulting Services."

About Strategic Consulting Services
Strategic Consulting Services is a finical services firm with teams specialized in Debt Management, Mortgages and Business Services. With a comprehensive client-focused approach, the Company provides assessments looking beyond immediate financial issues to help clients build greater financial strength with smart habits and choices. Since 2007, Strategic Consulting Services has helped individuals and small businesses create savings plans, reduce debt, and make wiser spending choices. For more information visit www.strategiccs.org.