by Joseph Kenny | 03/16/09

As the economy gets tighter, people are making compromises in how they handle their bills. This is especially true regarding credit card balances.

One of the alarming trends facing 2009 is that Americans aren't paying their credit card bills on time. Although this has always been something of an issue, it has reached a new record for March based on the reports issued by various credit rating agencies.

The PCCDI, or Prime Credit Card Delinquency Index maintained by Fitch, has measured the level of card debt since December. Their observations have noted that card delinquency went up by 4.04% this month, which is at least .25% higher than last month.

Michael Dean, the managing director of Fitch, believes that this is a sign that American consumers are under more stress than before in regards to their finances.

More than that, it seems that industry chargeoff rates have climbed too. Basically, a "chargeoff" is when a credit card company considers a debt uncollectable and lets it go, either due to the balance being over 180 days late or existing with 60 days of a bankruptcy filing from a consumer.

The issue is fairly large, and goes beyond credit cards. Consumers are pulling the reins on their spending as the recession sinks in, causing sales to drop and expenses to be culled. When trying to maintain their standard of living, people will generally avoid making payments on the bills they have that are unessential to their lifestyle.

Credit cards, by far and large, ultimately represent a great deal of unsecured debt on part of the consumer public. This is a problem the industry is facing.

There could be good news to this, however. When enough people withhold their spending and focus on their essentials, they can help establish a rebound which will then lead them to paying off their credit card debts. This is especially true due to their damaged credit. They won't be able to get a card otherwise, and will have to focus on improving their credit scores if they want to employ the use of their credit to the best effect possible.