Outstanding mortgage debt topped $12 trillion, student loan balances stood at $1.6 trillion, auto loans at $1.56 trillion, and balances on home equity lines of credit (HELOC) rose by $3 billion. Overall, thanks to inflation, debt balances are now $2.9 trillion higher than they were at the end of 2019, before the pandemic and its attendant economic slowdown, the report said.

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The $3 trillion figure is something of a reversal from the first two years of the pandemic, when most people stayed home during covid-19 lockdowns, spending less than they would have otherwise. In April 2020, US savings had reached a peak of $6.42 trillion, driven by constrained spending as well as stimulus payments.

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