text: I was surprised...("wow, that high, hmm?)  and then I thought of all the wacky purchasing decisions people make that add to their debt (not only the purchases themselves, but the timing of them--"impulse buying" instead of waiting for sales, buying new instead of used, etc.) and then I asked myself, "why am I surprised?"
  
  This result doesn't mean as much today because I believe paying off the balance every month is IMPOSSIBLE for many people (what percentage does THAT group comprise, I wonder?--that would be an important number, too, and likely much higher.  50%?  60?) 30 years ago or so?  Paying off the monthly balance to save bucks might have meant a lot more...
  
  Here's another number I'm curious about: how many credit card users understand that there is a credit card that actually pays the HOLDER something at the end of the year? (Wife and I made many big ticket purchases in '16. Visa knocked $240 off Jan. balance owing.)