If you are receiving unsolicited phone calls from an entity pretending to be ACCC (a trusted non-profit credit counseling agency), please be assured that ACCC’s policy is NEVER to contact you unless you’ve explicitly requested us to call you. Also be cautious of emails from an unusual or unfamiliar domain. ACCC’s domain extension is @consumercredit.com, and any emails using a different extension should be treated with suspicion.

×

ACCC’s Client Login allows current clients to access their program information, including the due date, program benefits, and other documents.

Select a Client Login below based on the service that you are currently enrolled in:

Debt Management Program

Client Login

Bankruptcy

Pre-Bankruptcy Client

Post-Bankruptcy Client

Not yet a client, but looking to get started?

ACCC offers debt relief options to individuals and families that are suffering from stress related to credit card debt by providing effective credit counseling, helping to consolidate debt, and advising on debt management.

Get Started

Wait!

You are now leaving the Consumer Credit website and are going to a website that is not operated by ACCC. We are not responsible for the content or availability of linked sites.

Are you sure you want to leave?

No, return me to the previous page.

Yes

How much credit card debt is okay?

“How much credit card debt is okay?” That’s what nearly every consumer with a credit card balance wants to know.

The simple answer is that having minimal credit card debt is the best policy. The more complex answer: “it depends.” How much credit card debt is okay for one person may not be okay for the next – it all depends on your financial situation, your spending habits and your overall credit limits.

To determine how much credit card debt is okay for you personally, it’s helpful to consult with the certified credit counselors at American Consumer Credit Counseling (ACCC), a nonprofit organization providing free credit counseling to consumers. We can help you better understand your financial situation, develop a plan for paying credit card debt off as quickly as possible, and help you learn how to avoid debt in the future.

How much credit card debt is okay:

Try to prevent a situation where your monthly credit card debt payments are greater than 10% of your average monthly income.

How much credit card debt is okay for my credit score?

To figure out how much credit card debt is okay for your credit score, you’ll need to know what your overall credit limit is. Generally, having zero balances or low balances compared to your credit limit demonstrates that you can use your credit wisely and your credit score will not be affected. But with higher balances — typically more than 30% of your overall credit limit — you’ll begin to see your credit score take a dip.

How much credit card debt is okay for my financial situation?

Understanding how much credit card debt is okay for your credit rating is one thing, but knowing how much credit card debt is okay for your personal financial goals is quite another.

While using credit cards can be a useful strategy for dealing with financial emergencies, there simply is no good reason to carry a balance on your credit card. The amount you pay on interest each month is money that you’re not able to put toward things like education, buying a house and saving for retirement. Paying off high interest credit cards as soon as possible is one of the best ways to achieve your financial goals.

Learn how much credit card debt is okay with help from ACCC.

At ACCC, we can help you create a budget and a plan to pay off your debts and learn to avoid debt in the future. We’ll detail all the pros and cons of various approaches to pay off debt, from credit card debt management to debt settlement and credit card loan consolidation. And we’ll direct you to resources that can help you manage money more effectively in the future in order to reach your financial goals.

Learn more about managing credit card debt with help from ACCC, and get answers to questions like “What is loan consolidation?” and “Where can I get a debt consolidation loan?”

See if our Debt Management Program is right for you Should you consolidate your debt? See how much it really costs to use your credit cards
creditU

Your Ultimate Money Management App

Meet CreditU, the ultimate one-stop debt and financial management app! See your full financial overview, including debts, income, expenses, and savings.

CreditU Apple App Store
Dev Tool:

Request: how-much-credit-card-debt-is-okay
Matched Rewrite Rule: ([^/]+)(?:/([0-9]+))?/?$
Matched Rewrite Query: name=how-much-credit-card-debt-is-okay&page=
Loaded Template: single-resource-pages.php