Americans continue to build up consumer debt; in the fourth quarter of 2017 consumer debt (excluding home loans) rose 5.5% from the prior year to $3.82 trillion; this a record since the Federal Reserve Bank of New York began tracking in 1999; non-housing debt was around 29% of overall debt, another record; some aren’t worried just yet with delinquencies coming off of record lows; The WSJ provides more data points on consumer debt, including various perspectives on the American consumer. Source