April sees credit card debt tumble

The amount consumers owed in credit card debt fell in April, in keeping with the recent trend of fluctuations in these balances from one month to the next.

Consumers' balances on revolving credit accounts – that is, balances that can be added to and subtracted from between one month and another, most commonly associated with credit cards – shrank 4.8 percent in April when compared with the same month last year, according to the latest statistics from the Federal Reserve Board. Now, the total balances on those accounts stand at $862.3 billion, down from March's $865.7 billion, but still slightly higher than the $862 billion observed at the end of February.

However, the total amount consumers owed still rose as more sought education financing and auto loans, the report said. In all, non-revolving credit jumped 7.1 percent, but due to the declines in credit card balances, overall consumer credit increased at the slowest rate seen in six months.

Consumers have been trying to get their finances in order for some time now, and many have sought numerous types of debt relief as a means of doing so.