'21% Interest Rates?! You've Got To Be Kidding Me!' Kevin O'Leary Slams Credit Card Debt As 'The Real Silent Killer In America'

O’Leary's advice is to simply track your spending. “Take a piece of paper, you don’t need a computer, write down the money you made in 90 days and how much you spent during that same period," he said in an interview with local Fox morning show "Good Day New York" earlier this week. 

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Most people are shocked to find they're spending more than they're earning. And where does that excess spending end up? On credit cards. With interest rates hovering around 21%, carrying a balance is like pouring money down the drain. O'Leary calls it "the silent killer" of American finances, and he's not exaggerating.

Credit card balances, which now total $1.17 trillion outstanding, increased by $24 billion during the third quarter alone and are 8.1% higher than they were a year earlier. These figures underline just how deeply entrenched credit card debt has become in American households.

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