The debt of Brazilian families reached a new record in July: 82% of consumers said they had some type of debt due, the highest level since the beginning of the historical series of the National Confederation of Commerce of Goods, Services and Tourism (CNC). At the same time, although default rates fell slightly after three months of Desenrola 2.0, the share of Brazilians with more than half of their income committed to payments increased. The data is part of the Consumer Debt and Default Survey (Peic), released this Thursday (6). The survey shows that the percentage of families with debt rose 0.4 percentage points compared to June, when it was 81.6%, and increased 3.5 percentage points compared to July 2025, when it was 78.5%. With the result, the indicator reached the sixth consecutive record in the survey's historical series. The main types of debt include credit cards, financing, personal loans, overdrafts and store vouchers. What is the difference between debt and default? Debt: Having debt does not necessarily mean being in financial trouble. The indicator measures the share of families that have some financial commitment due, such as a credit card, financing, personal loan, overdraft or store voucher. A person who pays in installments for a purchase on a card or pays a loan on time, for example, is included in the debt statistics. Default: Default indicates when the debt was not paid within the agreed period. In other words, they are consumers with overdue and overdue bills. A family can be in debt and not default, if they are paying the installments normally. On the other hand, anyone who lets a debt mature becomes part of the group of defaulters. Defaults decline, but debt burden increases Despite the increase in debt, the share of families with overdue bills saw a small improvement in July. The index went from 29.9% to 29.8% between June and July. In the same month of 2025, the rate was 30%. The result comes after the first 90 days of operation of Desenrola 2.0, a federal debt renegotiation program launched in May. Desenrola 2.0: see questions and answers about the new program The CNC's main warning, however, is the compromise of income. In July, 19% of families said they had more than half of their income committed to paying debts, the highest level since March this year. Family debt breaks record for the 6th month in a row and reaches 82%, says CNC For economist and FGV professor Carla Beni, the slight drop in default does not mean that families are less under financial pressure. "Default is the last thing a family wants. It causes stress and is usually a consequence of a combination of factors, such as expensive credit, limited income and ease of taking out loans", he states. On average, indebted consumers allocate 29.5% of their monthly income to honor financial commitments. According to the economist, the high level of debt also reflects the culture of installments in Brazil. "We have naturalized installments. Today practically everything can be divided into several installments. This increases indebtedness because any open financial commitment is included in this statistic", he says. For Carla Beni, credit became more accessible, but not necessarily cheaper. "The big villain continues to be the credit card. Many people receive limits higher than they can handle, while interest rates remain extremely high, especially on revolving cards", he states. The economist states that credit can be an important instrument when used in a planned way, especially for the acquisition of higher value goods. "Credit should be directed to goods with higher added value, such as a car, for example, when there is planning. The greater the number of installments, the greater the income commitment. The problem is when installments start to be used for day-to-day expenses, because this greatly increases the risk of financial imbalance", he says. Late bills become less old Even with the pressure on income, some indicators showed improvement in the month. The average debt delay period fell for the third consecutive month and reached 64.6 days, the lowest level since December 2025. The number of consumers in default with accounts overdue for more than 90 days also decreased. The percentage rose to 48.5%, the lowest level since August 2025. In the perception of consumers themselves, the share of families that consider themselves to be low in debt increased, from 34.2% in June to 35% in July. The group that declared itself very indebted had a slight drop, going from 17.2% to 17.1%. Lower-income families feel more pressure The increase in debt occurred unevenly across income groups. Among families that earn up to three minimum wages, the percentage of indebtedness reached 84.9% in July, the highest level among the groups analyzed. This range was also the only one to register an increase in defaults in the month: the proportion of families with overdue bills rose from 38.3% to 38.5%. Furthermore, the percentage of lower-income consumers who say they are unable to pay overdue debts increased, from 17.6% to 17.8%. According to Carla Beni, the combination of unstable income and easy access to credit increases the risk of financial imbalance. "Many people work, but have variable income, especially informally. When basic expenses, such as fuel and pharmacy, start to be paid in installments, the risk of entering a debt spiral increases significantly", he states. At the other end, among families with income above ten minimum wages, indebtedness also increased during the year and reached 72% in July. Despite this, default rates fell in the month, falling from 15.4% to 15.1%. CNC sees positive signs, but urges caution Money;