"That money" is the money right now in savings accounts - it does not belong to the people who would use for "paying down rent thats been placed on credit cards

"That money" is the money right now in savings accounts - it does not belong to the people who would use for "paying down rent thats been placed on credit cards and payment plan", it belongs to the part of population whose income was not harmed by the epidemic, but whose expenses were limited - or, as the article argues, postponed. As the article states, there are two worlds, and they don't really overlap. The amount of total household savings has greatly increased at the same time as most households are running out of savings; and it's not about the 0.1% magnates - as the 2/3 poorer households are becoming poorer, the 1/3 wealthier households are becoming even more wealthier. As the numbers show, one world has an unprecedented amount of available money, and they are going to spend it, kickstarting the economy - all while while the "other world" is experiencing all the things you describe. But since the gap between them is so large, it's counterproductive to talk about "the average american household" as in this bimodal distribution talking about the average is just as meaningful as saying that the average american has one testicle and one breast.