Americans Are Paying Their Bills

American households’ bottom lines have continued to improve in the early part of 2013, according to a new report out this week from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. After significant decreases in housing-related debt and credit card balances, outstanding household debt fell by $110 billion in the first quarter of this year. The overall figure is now down to $11.23 trillion, down from a peak of $12.68 trillion in the third quarter of 2008.

And we’re paying our bills on time, too. The Fed found that the overall delinquency rates for the various forms of household debt have declined, with about 8.1 percent of outstanding debt currently in some stage of delinquency. In the fourth quarter of 2012, the same number was 8.6 percent.

Among the various forms of credit, the ones least likely to fall into delinquency are home equity lines of credit, at just 3.2 percent that are more than 90 days late, and auto loans, at 3.9 percent. Most common to fall behind on: credit cards (10.2 percent delinquent) and student loans (11.7 percent delinquent).