"Americans ended 2025 more in debt than ever before. Credit card balances hit a fresh high in the fourth quarter, rising by $44 billion to $1.28 trillion, according to a new report on household debt by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York released Tuesday. That’s a 5.5% jump from a year earlier.   The central bank’s monthly Survey of Consumer Expectations , released Monday, also found that fewer consumers expect their households’ financial situations to be better off a year from now — and a larger share expect to be worse off."