Americans paid more than $250 billion in credit card interest and fees in 2025 as balances remained above $1.2 trillion and rates stayed near historic highs. Here’s how high-interest debt can drain emergency savings, slow debt repayment and make financial recovery harder.

Mortgage rates remained elevated at the end of August, with major trackers putting 30-year fixed rates broadly in the mid-to-upper 6% range. Here’s why Fed policy is only part of the story—and how credit, Treasury yields and loan pricing can affect what buyers actually pay.