credit card debt

Consider the facts: there is over $852 billion in debt in the United States - and 98% of that debt is credit card debt.

Here's a riddle for you: What do most adults have even though nobody wants it and Alaskans have 30% more than average Americans?

Consumer debt has become a part of the American dream for most with over $2,400,000,000,000 (yes, that's trillion) outstanding as of August, 2010.

The U.S. reached a very disturbing threshold this year when the amount of money owed for student loans exceeded the money piled up in credit card debt for the first time ever.

When I was provided the option to spend a ton of money right away on things that I want and then pay for them later on, I was absolutely thrilled.

For a shopaholic like me, this was a dream come true. Flash-forward to 15 years, and here I was, with a boatload of debt.

Little did I know that the simple credit card that I signed up for would come with so many strings attached that it would almost leave me broke one day.

But, despite all odds, I made it and will share with you this amazing story of elation, disappointment and recovery.

Billions in charges written off by banks could have more to do with the drop than the frugality of struggling consumers.

Do you buy a $1,000,000 home when you can only afford a $150,000 townhouse? Then why in the world would you ever let your 18-year-old kid, who is no longer allowed to get a measly credit card on their own, to walk blindly down the path of financial suicide just to go to an expensive school?

With fresh figures released this week showing the recession is forcing more and more American's to burden their credit cards with debt, Finance experts are asking whether the increasing accrued costs are manageable, or are ruining lives.

Here's a statistic that should give us all pause: The average credit card debt of seniors grew by 26% between 2005 and 2008, CreditCards.com reports.

For the rest of us, the increase was a comparatively modest 3%.

The mortgage meltdown was bad enough, but a credit card debt meltdown has been forecast by some analysts.

It doesn't help when creditors arbitrarily raise interest rates, and that's what's happening here.

A new book explains how American culture and an out-of-control financial industry combined to create a mountain of credit card debt that may never be paid off.