NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast What AI Gets Wrong About Your Money and What a New Study Reveals About Credit Card Debt
Apr 2, 2026
Ryan Sterling, a wealth advisor who blends planning with coaching, and Kurt Woock, writer and author of a 2025 household credit card debt study. They unpack surprising survey findings about who carries card debt and why. They also debate where AI helps with research and automation versus where human advisors add emotional support, nuance and life-aligned planning.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
High Earners Carry Credit Card Debt Too
- Credit card debt prevalence is similar across incomes, with ~37% of households under $50k and over $100k carrying balances.
- Kurt Woock highlights that unexpected expenses and lack of savings—not income alone—explain why high earners also carry card debt.
Groceries Often Drive Credit Card Balances
- Basic necessities are the top self-reported driver of credit card debt, followed by discretionary shopping and then medical or repair costs.
- The study found groceries often push people to run balances, challenging the idea that debt is mostly from luxury spending.
Track Spending And Build An Emergency Fund
- Track spending and build emergency savings to avoid running to credit cards when shocks hit.
- Kurt Woock says cutting spending worked better for respondents than increasing income or draining savings to pay off debt.