Jun 1, 2026
If you’re curious about which government grants are supported by taxpayer dollars, try Sen. Rand Paul’s (R–Ky.) new Real or Fake quiz and test your skills.
The quiz mixes examples of real federal grants that were signed off on this year with fake grants made up by the quiz team. It’s your job to decide which is real and which is fake.
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For example, did the USDA grant $445,000 to a Brooklyn collective for a “Pickle Equity Initiative” studying fermentation as “a form of food justice?” Did the Department of Veterans Affairs fund experiments teaching teenage ferrets to binge-drink alcohol?
To find out, you’ll need to take the quiz.
But, as an example, the Department of Defense did spend an estimated $77 million a year on a military dolphin training program. However, the State Department did not send a delegation of Mongolian throat singers on a $1.1 million “arms-control cultural exchange” tour through Central Asia.
But the biggest culprit of government waste may surprise you — and it’s a lesson that American households can learn from.
A major source of government waste
Paul’s 2025 Festivus Report documents $1.6 trillion in government waste.
Some of these expenditures are questionable. Other cuts, such as those by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), have eliminated funding and staffing that has disrupted services, including public safety and health programs. (These aren’t mentioned in the Festivus Report.)
However, of the $1.6 trillion in government waste mentioned in the report, $1.22 trillion of that goes toward interest payments on the federal government’s debt.
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As of May 5, the country’s total national debt sits at $38.91 trillion. That’s $2.70 trillion higher than one year ago. To put that into perspective, the total national debt has grown by $89,902.48 every second for the past year.
In 2025, interest payments on that debt hit $1.22 trillion (at an average interest rate of 3.363%), according to the Treasury Department. So far this year, interest payments have already racked up another $735 billion.
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A major source of household waste
American households are also racking up debt (and interest charges) from mortgages, vehicle loans, student loans, personal loans and credit cards.
Americans owed a whopping $18.57 trillion in debt as of September 2025, according to Experian data. That translates to $105,444 for the average household, excluding mortgage debt.
Personal loan, student loan and home equity line of credit (HELOC) levels have all increased “as many consumers begin to tackle affordability issues by seeking out more favorable borrowing rates, if they are able,” according to Experian.
In particular, credit card balances grew more than most other forms of debt, and “record-high APRs undoubtedly played a role,” according to Experian. Collectively, Americans owe $1.252 trillion in credit card debt (as of Q1 2026), according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
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And, “thanks to still-sky-high interest rates, stubborn inflation and myriad other economic factors,” credit card balances are likely to continue rising throughout 2026, according to LendingTree.
The average APR for all credit cards was 21% in Q1 2026, while cards accruing interest averaged 21.52%.
How can you get your debt under control?
To get your own debt under control, you can start by taking a page from the Real or Fake quiz and look for areas where you might be wasting money.
Sure, you might not be wasting money on a military dolphin training program, but you could be wasting it on that unused gym membership or getting takeout too often. Or maybe you’re bleeding your wallet dry through lifestyle creep trying to keep up with the Joneses.
But, just like the federal government, you could be wasting a lot of money on interest payments.
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Ideally, you want to pay off your credit card balance in full when it comes due each month. But if your credit card balance has gotten out of hand, or if you’re juggling multiple debts — including loan payments and/or medical bills — using a debt reduction strategy can help you get on track.
For example, with the snowball method, you pay off the smallest debt first and then move on to the next smallest debt to build momentum. With the avalanche method, you start with the highest-interest debt first.
If you have multiple credit cards, you might want to consider a 0% balance transfer card. But if you go this route, keep in mind that the 0% APR period is temporary (often 12 to 18 months), so focus on paying off your debt during that period — or you could end up back where you started.
For multiple debts, you may want to consider debt consolidation to reduce how much interest you’re paying and get rid of that debt faster. There are several options, but the right one will depend on the type of debt and factors such as your income level and credit score.
To get better rates on loans, it helps to improve and protect your credit score by paying bills on time, keeping credit utilization low and limiting new credit applications.
It could help to talk with a credit counselor or even your lenders. In a 2025 LendingTree survey, 83% of cardholders who asked their lender for a lower credit card interest rate were successful. When it comes to wasteful spending, even a small reduction in your rate could make a big difference.
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Vawn Himmelsbach is a veteran journalist who covers tech, business, finance and travel. Her work has been featured in publications such as The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, National Post, CBC News, Yahoo Finance, MSN, CAA Magazine, Travelweek, Explore Magazine and Consumer Reports.
