BY LIANA ARNOLD

SPECIAL TO NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Today CardHub.com released its year-end 2012 Credit Card Debt Study, which revealed that while consumers managed credit far more responsibly than in 2011, they still ended the year with $36.2 billion in new debt.

A complete recap of the study’s main findings can be found below, along with commentary and analysis from Card Hub CEO Odysseas Papadimitriou, a personal finance veteran who previously served as a senior director in Capital One’s credit card division:

            *Each quarter of 2012 marked an improvement relative to the corresponding quarter the year before.

Odysseas Papadimitriou (OP): “We should no doubt be encouraged by the fact that we’ve slowed the rate at which we’re incurring credit card debt. I mean, dating back to 2009 we hadn’t even put together two consecutive quarters of improvement relative to the year before until the first and second quarters of 2012. Now we’re on a four-quarter roll. There is a ‘but,’ however, and it’s an important one. We still haven’t made the reversal in course necessary to start actually paying down what we owe. We’re still falling into the dark pit that is debt; we’ve simply managed to create a bit of drag in order to slow our descent. In short, something needs to change soon or we’re in for some serious problems in the near future.”

            *Consumers used credit far less responsibly in 2012 than in either 2009 or 2010.

(OP): “It remains obvious that the overarching sentiment among consumers is that we’re out of the woods following the Great Recession. In 2009 and 2010, when everyone was still on high-alert, we saw credit card debt levels stabilize. We’ve followed that up with a nearly $46 billion increase in 2011 and now a $36.2 billion increase in 2012. People seem to think that since we’re seeing a bit of economic recovery, we can all simply revert back to pre-recession spending habits. No. Pre-recession spending was inextricably tied to the housing bubble and unless those economic conditions redevelop, we simply won’t be able to sustain current spending levels.”

           *Card Hub predicts that consumers’ breaking point is only 15-20% higher than current credit card debt levels.

(OP): “The problem with rising debt levels is that we don’t realize there’s a problem until it’s an insurmountable one. That’s how consumers as well as banks get into trouble. We think there will be warning signs for impending calamity, but almost like with a tsunami, when the warning signs come, it’s too late to get out of dodge. According to Card Hub data, all that must happen for there to be widespread consumer defaults is a 20% increase in current credit card debt. That might seem like a lot at first, but consider that we racked up almost 10-times more debt in 2011 than in 2010. Significant fluctuations are possible, so we all need to recommit ourselves to solving this serious debt problem, rather than putting it off for another day.”

          *The average indebted U.S. household has a credit card balance of nearly $7,000.

(OP): “The average household now owes roughly $6,980 to credit card companies. That represents almost a 4% increase from the $6,723 owed at the end of the third quarter. Luckily, not only are we in a high-debt environment right now, but it’s an attractive balance transfer one as well. Banks continue to offer unprecedentedly valuable 0% credit card offers to the roughly 50% of all consumers who have excellent credit. The right balance transfer credit card could easily save the average indebted consumer up to $1,000 in interest while helping them escape debt months faster. That’s an opportunity you really don’t want to pass up.”

           *U.S. consumers have charged-off on nearly a quarter of a trillion dollars in the past four years.

(OP): “When examining credit card debt levels, it can be easy to forget about balances that have been charged-off on since they’re no longer on banks’ books. They’re not somehow magically dissolved, though. Consumers still owe charged-off debts, and debt collectors continue their dogged attempts to collect them. When you consider that only seven states have statutes of limitations shorter than four years and the clock resets any time you make a payment, a lot of debt collectors will be knocking on a lot of doors in the days, weeks, months, and years to come.”

To help consumers in their quest to avoid credit card debt, Card Hub offers the following 5 tips for minimizing costs:

1. Budget strategically

2. Use a credit card calculator to make a realistic debt payoff plan

3. Leverage 0% credit card offers

4. Avoid risky retailer financing plans

5. Supplement your income with an initial rewards bonus