It seems to me that a lot of US people use credit cards to smoothen over larger purchases, so if you buy say a guitar for your hobby it doesn’t come all for this month’s budget but you plan to pay it off over multiple months. Often, credit card companies also encourage this behavior, giving short term low interest loans. But the overall market in the US is way more volatile than in Europe, so in the months you are paying off (your guitar, that fancy holiday, the tickets to a show…) you could lose your job, or the interests on your house mortgage could change significantly. And you are screwed.
Overall, Europeans tend to dislike credit unless it’s in the format of a mortgage, while it is a much more widespread form of payment in the US (and many other places). So, to most of your questions the answer is: most people have some credit card debt at all times.
It seems to me that a lot of US people use credit cards to smoothen over larger purchases, so if you buy say a guitar for your hobby it doesn’t come all for this month’s budget but you plan to pay it off over multiple months. Often, credit card companies also encourage this behavior, giving short term low interest loans. But the overall market in the US is way more volatile than in Europe, so in the months you are paying off (your guitar, that fancy holiday, the tickets to a show…) you could lose your job, or the interests on your house mortgage could change significantly. And you are screwed.
Overall, Europeans tend to dislike credit unless it’s in the format of a mortgage, while it is a much more widespread form of payment in the US (and many other places). So, to most of your questions the answer is: most people have some credit card debt at all times.