Eighty four percent (84 percent) of Americans say that the recently-concluded war with Iraq had no impact on their willingness to use credit cards or take on other types of debt, according to the Cambridge Consumer Credit Index. Of those surveyed, 13 percent said they decreased their use of credit during the war, while 3 percent increased their use of debt.

"The results of Cambridge Consumer Credit Index's May wildcard question will surprise many economists who expected the war to slow consumer spending and the use of credit cards dramatically. To the contrary, the vast majority of Americans did not change their borrowing habits because of the war and related fears of terrorism. The consumer has been remarkably resilient in their borrowing patterns over the past three years despite massive layoffs, enormous loss of stock market wealth, incidents of terrorism around the world, and now the war with Iraq," says Jordan Goodman, spokesperson for the Index.

These findings are the result of monthly nationwide telephone poll of 1000+ adults conducted by ICR/International Communications Research.

The overall Cambridge Consumer Credit Index dropped by thee points from April to 56. The "Reality Gap," which is the difference between the amount of debt consumers say they will pay off in the next month compared to the amount of debt they actually pay off a month later, narrowed to the three points, the lowest level in the history of the Index. A month ago, 78 percent of Americans planned to pay off debt, while a month later 75 percent actually did so.

Sponsored by The Debt Relief Clearinghouse, the Cambridge Consumer Credit Index is a forward looking economic indicator which tracks consumer attitudes towards consumer debt. It is released on the fifth business day of every month to coincide with the Federal Reserve Board's G19 release of consumer credit outstanding data.

For more information about the Cambridge Consumer Credit Index, see the Index website at cambridgeconsumerindex.com.