Credit card balances increased $46 billion in the second quarter, a 5.5 percent increase from the first quarter, and there was also an uptick in new credit card accounts. The 13 percent increase from the second quarter of 2021 to the second quarter of 2022 was the biggest such jump in more than 20 years. 

“Americans are borrowing more, but a big part of the increased borrowing is attributable to higher prices,” researchers for the New York Fed said in a news release, the Post reported.

In addition, more Americans are having difficulty paying their monthly bills.

According to SHTFPlan.com, some 20 million households are dangerously behind on their electric bills, thanks in large part to dramatically rising electricity prices.

“Soaring electricity prices are going to spark what is said to be the worst-ever crisis in late utility payments and result in a ‘tsunami of shutoff’ just as the colder months of winter approach,” the report noted.

Bloomberg News, citing data from the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA), reported that electricity prices have skyrocketed since 2020 after becoming stagnant during the 2010s, a steep rise that has resulted in a significant number of overdue power bills.