#BlueMonday: U.S. consumers $12 trillion in the red

Today is Blue Monday (#BlueMonday), which is described as the most depressing day of the year. The science behind it is certainly questionable, but it can certainly make sense why the third Monday of January would be a day of singing the blues.

Around this time of the year, millions are engulfed in the bitter cold and snow; millions are taking a look at their credit card receipts and hitting their head on the table over their stupid Christmas spending decisions; and millions are waiting for the warm spring weather to make its return.

Yes, #BlueMonday is a day when you need a pinch of melodramatic opera arias, a serving of early Delta blues and a dash of Erik Satie tunes.

Want to make your Blue Monday get even worse? Well, take a gander at a few of these statistics courtesy of Nerd Wallet:

– Credit card debt owed by average U.S. household: $15,355 ($712 billion nationally)
– Mortgage debt held by average U.S. household: $165,892 ($8.12 trillion nationally)
– Auto loans held by average U.S. household: $26,530 ($1.03 trillion nationally)
– Student loans held by average U.S. household: $47,712 ($1.21 trillion nationally)

In total, when you factor in all other type of debt in addition to the aforementioned, Americans are in the hole by more than $12 trillion.

The blog has more for your bed time reading:

“Why debt has grown: The rise in the cost of living has outpaced income growth over the past 12 years. While median household income has grown 26% since 2003, household expenses have outpaced it significantly — with medical costs growing by 51% and food and beverage prices increasing by 37% in that same span.”

It’s not all bad. There’s just two more months left until spring.

Need to lift your spirits? Here’s something that could help: