A record number of Americans entered debt consolidation in the first half of 2026, signaling deepening financial stress as inflation and high interest rates squeeze household budgets. Nearly 15,000 new clients enrolled in debt-management plans with Money Management International—one of the nation’s largest debt-management nonprofits—in the first six months of the year, marking the largest year-to-date figure in a dataset spanning back to 2017, according to USA Today.
The consumers entering these programs carried an average balance of about $40,000, reflecting the scale of financial strain across the country. The nonprofit also delivered financial counseling sessions to more than 40,000 households during the same period, with…