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Further proof that America is emerging from a devastating recession is that borrowing is up, which spells out to most economists that consumers are looking for quick funding and are feeling much more confident. The Federal Reserve's borrowing report gives economists a snapshot of what's going on with consumer spending, particularly with auto loans, credit cards and student loans. While it doesn't take into account what's happening with real estate loans, mortgages and home equity loans, it does offer some confidence that consumers are starting to dig their way out of the effects of the recession, or at least altering their destiny through higher education. Consumers borrowed nearly $20 billion more in May of this year than they did in April, representing one the largest single jumps in quite some time. Total borrowing has climbed to a staggering $2.8 trillion. Credit card debt has been surpassed by student loan debt, but remains high at nearly $850 billion. According to statistics from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the largest single catalyst to borrow since the close of the recession's official ending has been student loan debt. With more Americans back in school to seek out degrees that land them recession-proof jobs, more are incurring debt to pay tuition, which has also grown by leaps and bounds over the last two decades. It's easy to see that as consumer spending makes up 70 percent of the economic activity pie, seeing a rise in the amount of credit card borrowing points to more buying among consumers. One possible roadblock to this growth is that social security taxes are projected to increase, which could affect spending power of consumers as their take-home pay will be less. The Fed says the recession officially ended in June of 2009, but that doesn't mean it didn't have a lingering effect that altered consumer behavior. Four years after the official end, consumers are still digging out of the rubble. But job growth is improving and home prices are starting to see an uptick, which are positive points to a recovering economy and more spending. As the confidence rises, more consumers are applying for credit cards for quick funding as well as looking for other options for funding that are less traditional. While pay is up around 2.2 percent over the last 12 months, consumers prices have only risen by less than 1.5 percent, which means consumers have more buying power and more confidence to secure quick funding through alternative sources for any number of needs, from personal finance to helping to expand their business. Companies like UGA offer the type of flexibility that consumers are looking for in quick funding. It's through institutions like these that Americans continue to find alternatives to grow their businesses.
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