3 credit card debt questions borrowers should consider this week

Following recent interest rate and inflation news, credit card borrowers stuck in debt should start asking themselves a series of difficult questions. MASTER/ An inflation report for March showing the rate surging to 3.3%, its highest level in years, was not the news millions of American borrowers contending with elevated interest rates were hoping for. But that was compounded this week after dual inflation reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed additional increases. Now at 3.8%, the inflation rate is the highest it's been in around three years and it's almost two full percentage points above the Federal Reserve's target 2% threshold. That 2% isn't just an idealistic goal, however. It serves as a benchmark for where the central bank wants the inflation rate to be, and, until it gets back to that figure, interest rate cuts look to be on hold indefinitely. With the April Fed meeting resulting in the third interest rate pause of the year, and with no Fed meeting even on the calendar again until mid-June, borrowers saddled with high-rate credit card debt find themselves stuck with few good options. But "few" doesn't mean "none." In this climate, though, these borrowers will need to take a harder look at their situation and the broader economic circumstances they now find themselves in. That begins with contemplating a series of critical questions (and answers) this week. Below, we'll detail three major ones worth serious consideration right now. …