Americans carry a lot of credit card debt, and it looks like many people are trying to pull back. Personal loans to consolidate high-interest credit cards hit more than $257 billion in the first half of 2025, as millions of people try to restructure their credit utilization. Part of this is managing the credit card payment cycle, which requires borrowers to know the difference between their statement balance and the current balance. These may look similar, but they play different roles in how you manage y ...