Credit card debt tumbles once again in November

The nationwide amount of revolving credit – which is made up almost entirely of consumers' credit card debt – slipped once again in November, according to the latest monthly statistics from the Federal Reserve Board. Consumers successfully reduced the amount they owe on these accounts by 6.3 percent. This accounted for a decline of $4.2 billion to $796.5 billion, down from the $800.7 billion observed at the end of October.

Credit card debt has taken a large tumble since the recession began, and has dropped nearly $100 billion since the end of the third quarter in 2009, the Fed report said. However, the decline seen in November was the smallest in months.

The reason for this is likely because consumers used their credit cards more often than in other months as a result of their holiday shopping expenses. While most still opted to make gift purchases with cash and debit, some still took on credit card debt.