If the January barrage of self-help headlines and discounted gym memberships is any indication, each new year marks a collective focus on shedding pounds and keeping them off.

While improving your health is nothing to take lightly, there’s a far quieter battle of the bulge unfolding across America — our relationship with debt. Consumer debt has now reached a historic peak of $12.96 trillion, with balances ticking higher across mortgages, auto loans, credit cards and student loans.

Credit Karma decided to ask Americans directly: What’s more important to you in 2018, the waistline or the wallet?

Turns out, it’s complicated.

Nearly 2 in 5 Americans — 38 percent — would be willing to take on debt (or additional debt) to avoid gaining just 10 pounds. And how much debt was 10 extra pounds worth? The average figure shared was $1,299, meaning Americans would rather see their balances exceed a grand than see one-hundredth of that on the scales.

Further, nearly half of Americans (49 percent) have the goal to eat more healthfully in 2018, but fewer plan to spend less/save more (44 percent) or pay down debt (37 percent).

The data comes from a December 2017 survey conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of Credit Karma among 2,146 U.S. adults ages 18+, of whom 1,637 currently have debt.

Key takeaways

“Using the new year as motivation toward better health is great. And this survey is a fantastic reminder the same energy can be applied toward your finances,” says Bethy Hardeman, chief consumer advocate for Credit Karma.

Keeping debt at bay

Here’s more on the mental and physical trade-offs people might make to keep debt at bay:

• Nearly half of Americans (45 percent) say they’d be willing to clean the bathroom weekly for a year in order to make all of their current debt disappear.
• Close to 2 in 5 Americans (38 percent) say they’d be willing to exercise six times a week for a year to eliminate their current debt.
• About one-third (32 percent each) would be willing to give up alcohol or chocolate for a year to erase their current debt.

And willingness to delete debt can vary widely by generation. Millennials and Gen Xers are more likely than baby boomers to say they’d be willing to do each of the following for a year to erase all of their current debt:

How much debt do we have exactly?

According to our survey, Americans reported $3,158 in debt, on average, on their credit card or cards. This echoes an earlier look at Federal Reserve data and U.S. population figures, where we found the average credit card debt in America stands at roughly $4,000 per cardholder.

We also found that Generation X is feeling the pinch of credit card debt more than other generations. Here’s more from our survey:

• Nearly 1 in 5 Americans (17 percent) currently have $5,000 or more in credit card debt, in total, and 1 in 10 (10 percent) have $10,000 or more.
• Gen Xers currently have the most credit card debt, on average, compared with baby boomers and millennials ($4,404 vs. $2,917 and $1,942, respectively).
• Gen Xers are most likely to say they currently have $5,000 or more in credit card debt, in total (22 percent vs. 16 percent of baby boomers and 10 percent of millennials).
• Gen Xers are about twice as likely as baby boomers and millennials to currently have $10,000 or more in credit card debt, in total (14 percent vs. 8 percent and 6 percent, respectively).

4 ways to get in control of your debt

The good news is anyone can take concrete steps toward a more secure financial future in 2018, no matter your income or level of debt.

1. Start small

Focus on small but consistent changes, such as paying more than just the minimum on any credit card balance. Any additional amount — even one dollar — will help you pay down your debt faster.

For example, if you have a $3,000 balance at 15 percent interest and make a minimum monthly payment of $68, it would take you five years and five months to pay it off, assuming you didn’t add anything to the debt. The total amount paid would be $4,389.

Add $25 more to the payment each month? You’d knock it out two years faster and pay $3,865, saving $524 in interest.

2. Get help from friends and family

Don’t be shy about communicating your 2018 financial goals to family and friends. There’s no shame in seeking a more stable future.

Take the lead in suggesting outings and adventures with little or no cost. You might be surprised at how much more fun — and inexpensive — a leisurely potluck brunch at home with friends can be versus waiting for an overpriced omelet.

If you suspect those closest to you might not be supportive, find a group of like-minded people online. Some great places to start: Credit Karma’s community forum, Reddit’s Personal Finance community and You Need A Budget’s support forum.

3. Avoid extremes

You’ll hear this a lot from nutrition experts — going from overindulgence to deprivation overnight is a recipe for disaster. So don’t spend January living like a monk only to quit in frustration in February.

Focus on eliminating the easy stuff first, like subscriptions you rarely use, or by getting more organized. If you’re a chronic bill forgetter, switch to autopay. Late fees are often avoidable and can quickly add up.

4. Build in accountability

If you find yourself consistently surprised by non-emergency expenses, you need to revamp your monthly budget (and yes, you do need a budget!). All you really need is a simple Excel document or Google Sheet.

In addition to regular expenses such as rent or car payments, make monthly allotments to cover birthday gifts, haircuts, oil changes, vacations, summer camps, emergency savings and bills such as car insurance, garbage service or home heating oil that might come every other month or every six months.

Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Poll on behalf of Credit Karma from December 14-18, 2017, among 2,146 U.S. adults ages 18 and older, among whom 1,637 currently have debt. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact Emily Donohue at emily.donohue@creditkarma.com.

For the excited car shopper, no detail is insignificant. The perfect color, state-of-the-art navigation, automatic safety features — just to name a few of today’s “must-haves”.

But are consumers achieving the same level of clarity when it comes to financing?

Maybe not, according to new data generated by Credit Karma. In one recent survey, consumers shared plenty of uncertainty around where they stand on their car loans, from unknown APRs to forgotten loan balances. Others said they felt too stressed out to explore refinancing or simply didn’t know the option existed.

It’s a potentially high stakes situation as auto loan balances continued a six-year upward trend, growing by $23 billion in the second quarter of 2017 alone, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which tracks economic trends across the U.S.

To better understand the factors at work here, Credit Karma examined auto loans from two central angles:

• Knowledge of financing: In an October 2017 survey of U.S. car owners who are currently making monthly payments on their car, Credit Karma found that nearly half — 45% — couldn’t recall the annual percentage rate on their loan, which is the true cost of borrowing as it reflects interest and fees. One in 4 (27%) said they didn’t recall their APR because they didn’t want to think about it and found it too stressful or that it was confusing. The number one reason was they used to know it, but had since forgotten. In addition:
  • 1 in 4 (27%) weren’t sure exactly how much they had left to pay on their car loans, with the percentage being slightly higher among 18-24 year olds (30%)
  • 1 in 10 (11%) couldn’t recall the specific dollar amount of their monthly car payment
  • 1 in 5 (20%) weren’t sure exactly how many months they have left to pay on their auto loan
• Opportunities to save: In a parallel analysis, Credit Karma looked into auto loans held among its 75 million U.S. members. When reflected against data from all U.S. adults, Credit Karma found $37 billion in potential savings from refinancing. This figure was derived by taking aggregated and completely anonymized auto “tradelines” — an industry term for loans appearing on credit reports — and first determining potential savings for Credit Karma members. Then, Credit Karma extrapolated those results using data from TransUnion and the U.S. Census to achieve a roughly representative national snapshot. (See our methodology.)

“We set out to better understand how people think about their auto loans,” said Bethy Hardeman, Credit Karma’s chief consumer advocate. “We were really surprised to find that a lot of people don’t know how much their auto loans are costing them or that they should have a much lower APR. The $37 billion is a big number, but what’s more impactful is how much some people are overspending on their loans on a monthly basis. A monthly savings of $100 or even $50 can make a big difference to a lot of U.S. households — and that’s just for one auto loan.”

Refinancing and your overall auto ‘health’

This data comes as Credit Karma launches a new free auto hub for its members, with the goal of sharing deeper insights into their “auto health.” So far this means pulling together in one centralized place:

• Potential refinancing and insurance offers
• Letting you know when your DMV registration expires
• Recall monitoring
• Value assessments from the National Automobile Dealers Association, which can help you gauge the right time to sell or refinance.

At the same time, it’s important for consumers to know that not all refinancing offers are created equal and not all are wise to take.

According to experts, refinancing may make sense in the case of falling interest rates, an uncompetitive first loan, or improvements in credit scores.

But refinancing can also put you in a worse position financially if you aren’t careful — or may be impossible if your car is too old or your credit situation has worsened.

Overall, the key risk with refinancing is that you end up paying more than if you had stayed in your original loan. This can happen because refinancing typically extends the term of a loan.

So unless you are in a total financial crunch and must secure lower monthly payments, or your new interest rate will be meaningfully lower, you could end up paying more on a depreciating asset — something that loses value as it ages, like cars — not less.

Going back to the October survey, a slim majority reported they hadn’t considered refinancing because they were pleased with their work negotiating their loan rates. Others were not nearly as confident. Here are the details:

• 50% believed they were already getting the best rate
• 14% didn’t want to think about it — “too confusing/stressful”
• 13% didn’t even know refinancing was an option
• 10% didn’t know how to refinance

More auto financing tips and advice  

There’s a lot you can do to maximize your car ownership:

If you already own your car

• Know your APR. If it seems high, investigate refinancing, but be aware of the downsides. Comparison shop different offers. If you are worried about short-term hits to your credit scores, read our primer on how rate shopping affects your scores.
• Keep up with all recall notices for your car. Estimates from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show only 70% of vehicles recalled are fixed.
• Practice preventative maintenance. Not only will you and your family be safer, but you’ll reap the benefits should you decide to sell your car. Cars in “excellent” or “good” condition generally sell for more than comparable models in “fair” or “poor” condition.

If you are in the market for a car that you plan to finance

• Do compare multiple offers. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has an excellent auto loan worksheet that can help you compare all the relevant points apples-to-apples.
• Don’t allow yourself to be pressured. Walk away from any deal that doesn’t feel right. 

Methodologies

Survey on auto financing: Generated by Credit Karma and fielded Oct. 26 – 27, 2017. The survey collected online responses via Qualtrics from 529 U.S. consumers who are over the age of 18, own a car and are currently making scheduled monthly payments on that car.

Credit Karma auto tradelines analysis: To arrive at a total U.S. figure for potential refinancing savings, we began by analyzing auto tradelines for U.S. Credit Karma members by APR and credit score band. Our analyst determined which tradelines were “refinanceable” by applying discounts to each of these bands based on average approval rates and likelihood of receiving savings. That number of tradelines was multiplied by the average interest savings for members who took refinancing offers found through Credit Karma .

Next, since not every U.S. car owner is a member of Credit Karma, we had to extrapolate the data to represent the wider U.S. population, which then summed to the $37.2 billion. We made the assumption that proportion of individuals with an auto trade line is the same for both Credit Karma members and the broader US population. To get this representative number on a national level, we used:

• The average interest savings for CK members by scoreband from the analysis above
• The number of Credit Karma users by scoreband
• TransUnion data on the percentage of all Americans by scoreband
• 2016 Census estimates for the size of the U.S. adult population

For more information about the survey or data analysis, please email media@creditkarma.com.