Jul 15, 2026
Tan France says he’s experienced three major culture shocks since moving to the US: how big supermarkets are, how late we hold brunch and how often we go into debt.
“It makes me feel physically sick,” says the Queer Eye star about going into debt for things you don’t need during a conversation with Hasan Minhaj. “I don’t know how a person functions like that.”
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Minhaj is an actor and comedian. He's well known for his TV series Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj.
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According to Pew Research, around 80% of Americans are holding some form of debt. Around 70% say that debt is a necessity, even if they don’t want to be in debt.
Here’s where the debt divide comes from — and why the situation is only getting worse for Americans.
France didn’t grow up relying on debt for practical and religious reasons
France says that he wasn’t used to relying on debt growing up, so he was unprepared to navigate the American credit score system when he came here.
“I was raised in a family where we weren’t allowed credit,” says France. “It’s a very American concept.”
France is potentially referring to the Islamic concept of riba, which the Qu’ran prohibits. Riba is “interest on a debt or loan, or any risk-free return on capital.” Under this rule, practicing Muslims aren’t able to either pay or charge interest, although other types of debt could be allowed depending on the circumstances.
“A lot of Muslims don’t have mortgages. You would do a ‘rent to buy’ thing,” says France. “That was just the culture and religion I was raised in.”
In comparison, refusing to go into debt in America is effectively punished by its credit score system. If you avoid taking out loans and credit cards, you’ll be left without a credit score. Without a credit score, you’ll have a harder time getting a mortgage — but you’ll also have a harder time renting, making securing housing difficult.
Because of this, Americans frequently open their first form of debt — a credit card — at a relatively young age. Financial services companies even create credit cards for kids specifically to help them build their credit score early.
Debt is also seen as a way to gain social mobility — by taking out student loans or getting a mortgage on a house you can’t afford outright.
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Debt in America is getting worse — and not just for ‘frivolous stuff’
France says that he’s specifically stressed by Americans going into debt for “just frivolous stuff.”
“If you need it, I absolutely understand,” says France. “I’m not talking about, ‘Well, I need to pay my gas bill, or my rent,’ that’s different.”
Going into credit card debt for needless purchases absolutely happens. Around 20% of respondents in a JG Wentworth report said they had gone into debt due to “unnecessary spending.” But the number one most common response was emergency expenses, at around 31% of respondents, followed by medical expenses at around 28%.
The New York Fed reported that, by Q12026, the total amount of household debt in the U.S. had risen to $18.8 trillion. An Urban Institute study found that, in 2025, around 28% of working-age adults went into credit card debt to buy groceries.
“Families still need to eat. They will still need to pay for their basic needs,” says Kassandra Martinchek, a co-author of the study, told CBS News. “Now they have the additional burden of also needing to repay debt.”
While frivolous credit card spending is a problem, it isn’t what got Americans into their current debt-reliant position. As long as prices continue to climb and credit score systems continue to exist, it’s unlikely that Americans will stop leaning on debt to help cover costs.
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Kit Pulliam is a DC-based financial journalist with over five years of experience writing, editing, and fact-checking financial content.
