The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts reported that nationwide, bankruptcies for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30 surged 34.5 percent to 1.4 million -- with Nevada posting the highest rate in the nation.
Nevada led the nation in filings for the year with a rate of 10.49 per 1,000 people, well above the national rate of 4.52 filings per 1,000 people.
In 2008, Nevada was No. 2 in the nation with a filing rate of 6.39 per 1,000 people and the national rate was 3.38 filings per 1,000 population.
In Nevada in the 2009 fiscal year, bankruptcy filings totaled 27,560 -- up 64.5 percent from 2008.
It's obviously still hard times in Nevada this holiday season with so many people at risk to lose it all... But at least more people are taking extra precautions to avoid this financial disaster.
Also, credit report company TransUnion.com issued third-quarter credit card delinquency statistics, with Nevada again leading the nation with a rate of 1.98 percent.
That's the ratio of bankcard borrowers 90 days or more delinquent on one or more of their credit cards and compares to the national rate of 1.1 percent.
The national rate was down from 1.17 percent in the second quarter.
Despite leading the nation in this category, Nevada's numbers improved from the second quarter (2.19 percent) and the first quarter (2.44) percent.
In terms of dollars, the average credit card balance in Nevada was down 3.16 percent from $6,517 in the second quarter as Nevadans reduced spending and banks limited lending.
TransUnion.com projected that by the end of the year, the rate in Nevada is expected to drop again -- yet still lead the nation at 1.9 percent. Nationwide, the rate is expected to remain steady through the fourth quarter at 1.1 percent.
The new forecast reflects slightly more optimism about credit card performance in Nevada and around the country. Just three months ago, the national rate was expected to hit 1.2 percent and Nevada's rate was expected to grow to 2.25 percent by the end of the year.
Ain't it funny how it takes an economic meltdown like this to get people to become more financially savvy and prudent? It's too bad the federal government didn't require the big banks to be more prudent last year. But then again, it's always we the consumers who are required to be "fiscally responsible" while Wall Street gets more bailouts.
Well, at least people are being more responsible and credit card debt isn't as bad it used to be not too long ago. I guess we have at least some somewhat cheerful news today. Now excuse me while I check my bank account balance and prepare my December budget...
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