The Convenience of Using Credit Card

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Utilizing the Theory of Planned Behavior to Understand Convenience Use of Credit Cards Leann G. Rutherford and Sharon A. DeVaney Utilizing the theory of planned behavior, factors influencing convenience use of credit cards were investigated. The analysis was prepared using data from 3,476 households in the 2004 Survey of Consumer Finances. Results from logistic regression indicated that convenience users of credit cards: were more likely to believe that using credit was bad, had longer financial planning horizons, did more shopping for credit, were older, had a college education, and had higher income. Respondents were less likely to be convenience users of credit cards if they: had no tolerance for risk, were late with payments, thought it was all right to use credit for vacations, and sought credit advice from other people and the media instead of doing their own search. Key Words: convenience users, credit cards, theory of planned behavior, 2004 Survey of Consumer Finances Introduction Consumer credit plays an important role in how U.S. households handle their personal finances. According to a report released by the Federal Reserve Board (2009), although the amount of outstanding consumer credit declined by 1.5% during 2009, the estimated amount of debt was at $2,519.5 billion in May 2009 as compared to $2,387.7 billion in 2006. Such a high amount of outstanding consumer credit is not surprising, considering the recent recession of the economy which Industry Week believes started in late 2007 (Duesterberg, 2008). Research shows that when economic conditions worsen, many households experience a shortage of available cash and cash equivalent assets from income, savings, and/or investments (Roe, 2003). As a result, more households are forced to investigate their options of borrowing money (Grant, 2007). There are two types of credit card

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