[hoosierskypilot]

Add to that the inflationary prices people are currently paying for houses, and you have a balloon that's gonna maybe explode like a nuclear bomb.

[El Sordo]

We need a tax increase to help these poor people!

[NautiNurse]

a large portion of the increase in debt was involuntary -- that 44 percent are going further into debt knowing in advance they won't be able to pay when the bills come in

Have read this sentence twice, and still don't understand it.

[Jim Noble]

Debt is money-just ask the Fed.

If it's OK for the Fed, why isn't it OK for Ma and Pa?

[Willie Green]

"Think what you do when you run into debt;
you give another power over your liberty."

-- Benjamin Franklin (1706 - 1790)

"I am one of those who do not believe that a national debt is a national blessing, but rather a curse to a republic; inasmuch as it is calculated to raise around the administration a moneyed aristocracy dangerous to the liberties of the country."

-- President Andrew Jackson - (1824)

[Sam's Army]

"In the Sacramento area we have a high lifestyle, and we don't adjust our lifestyle, even when one spouse loses a job or income goes down," she said"

By golly we gotta keep up with the Jones' don't we?

[HighRoadToChina]

BUMP

[BlackJack]

Long term unemployment is at record levels and rising. We could
be in for another depression.

[Sloth]

"What I do is have them pay minimum on every card except for the one with the lowest balance," she said. That allows them to achieve zero balances, one card at a time.

I am curious about what you all think of an idea I have to manage some credit card debt... Suppose I owe a total of $10,000 to 5 different credit cards with various interest rates. I take out a personal loan from my credit union sufficient to pay off all the cards, then cancel all but one, and keep a zero balance on it while paying a fixed, low-interest payment on my loan... it would be paid off in roughly half the time it'd take me to pay off a new car.

Does that sound better than the above suggestion from the article?

[Ahban]

I am having a hard time believing the stats. I just can't accept that HALF of the cardholders are just paying the minimum. I just can't accept that 44% are in such huge trouble that they are still increaing debt even though debt is already at record levels.

This can't go on.

[SamAdams76]

When we paid off our last credit card some time ago, they got very irritated with us. They started sending us blank checks, almost pleading with us to transfer a balance from somewhere else or to go out and buy something big. The credit card industry has a name for somebody who pays the bill off each month: Deadbeat.

When I was in my 20s, I used credit cards all the time. I never got into any trouble with them, as I was always able to keep up with payments. But I never had any money left over to save either because all my extra money was going towards credit card payments. Getting out of the credit card trap was one of the top five things I ever did in my life. Within no time at all, I had a very significant amount of money saved up. By that time, I had cash available to meet any expense that came up and never had to use a credit card for anything again.

[dufekin]

Hey, I'm one of those people making no payments to credit-card companies right now. You see, I don't have any credit cards, therefore, I do not accrue credit-card debt. I do not pay credit-card companies because they do not bill me. I do worry, however, about identity theft, which apparently is rampant ("involuntary debt"). How can I determine whether I have any such "involuntary debt?" As I understand it, I am legally, criminally, and civilly responsible for anything that happens to my identity.

Of course, this survey probably was of Californians, so what else would one expect of those dummies?

[Rebelbase]

I know of a couple who have accumulated $65,000 in credit card debt after four and half years of marriage. They know they are in trouble but show no signs of slowing down.

[LibKill]

Not this American. I'm using the credit card for gasoline and not much else anymore.