Household debt continues to set new records, boosted by rising interest rates and inflation, total household debt rose to $16.2 trillion at the end of the second quarter of 2022. Credit card spending posted the largest single year increase in over 20 years. The Federal Reserve warned that delinquencies are also on the rise as concerns for the broader economy grow. Total household debt increased by 2% or $312 billion in the second quarter, pushing balances nearly $2 trillion higher than they were at the end of 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic.  According to the Federal Reserve, the quickly increasing debt loads are attributed to significant increases in mortgage, auto loan, and credit card balances, with inflation playing a role driving up the costs of goods and services, as well as pushing interest rates to their highest levels in 40 years.