A new Bankrate survey reveals that paying down debt is the top financial goal for Americans in 2025. Despite inflation concerns and rising credit card debt, many individuals are committed to addressing their financial obligations. Experts offer strategies for tackling debt, including negotiating interest rates and prioritizing savings.
Paying down debt is a top financial goal, one recent survey found. For 2025, there's one goal that often lands on the top of the list — paying down debt, according to a new survey from Bankrate. It came in as a top goal, with 21%.
Other items on Americans' financial to-do lists include saving more for emergencies, with 12%; getting a higher-paying job or additional source of income, 11%; budgeting and spending better, 10%; saving more for retirement and investing more money, each with 8%; saving for non-essential purchases, 6%; and buying a new home, 4%. Even as the pace of inflation has subsided. As Americans grapple with higher costs, credit card debt recently climbed to a record high. Yet the best-qualified credit card borrowers — those with superior credit scores — still have an average rate of 20.35%, down from around 20.79% in August, according to Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate. It could be injurious to personal finances if people accumulated debt that they're not substantially paying down,' Hamrick said.'It's prudent and heartening to see that people are identifying debt broadly as something they want to address in the coming year.' To pay down credit card balances — as well as other debts from auto loans or other lines of credit — individuals may need to shift their financial priorities. That includes 30% who admit to spending too much money on things they don't need; 28% who don't save any money; 27% who only save some money; 23% who aren't paying down debt fast enough; and 21% who spend more than they earn. For debtors who want to pay their balances down, the best approach is to take matters into their own hands, said Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst at LendingTree. Slash your 2024 tax bill with these last-minute moves Asking your credit card company for a more competitive interest rate on your debt often works, according to Schul
DEBT REDUCTION FINANCIAL GOALS INFLATION CREDIT CARD DEBT SAVING
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