Credit Card Beast Hits Growth Spurt

With the holiday shopping season now over, the painful credit card bills will soon be rolling in. Credit card debt hit an all time high last year. In 1992, the average household debt reached just beyond $3,000. Ten years later in 2002, it soared to $8,900. Experts estimate average credit card debt to reach $10,000 from 2003. And the problem faces 35 million Americans. You know you`re in trouble if you have to use one credit card to pay off other cards; you don`t have a budget; or you let payments go until you receive your next paycheck. Some of us are living beyond our means, and others have lost jobs and are having to live on credit. "But it`s also just a case of mismanaging money. Wanting it now, we`re a materialistic society," says Linda Tucker of Consumer Credit Counseling Service of the Family Service Agency. Tucker says the first thing to do is assess your income and draw up a budget. Try to pay more than your minimum monthly payment. "If you`re just paying the minimum payments, $2,000 will take you 22 years to pay off at the normal rate," Tucker said. And most importantly, she said, keep track of your spending.