STATISTICS

“Over the past few years, low minimum payback rates of between 2 and 2.5 percent have encouraged Americans to spend, spend, spend -- and to rack up an average credit card debt of close to $10,000 per household.”  Bankrate.com, 2005

"Credit card payments more than 30 days late rose to a never before seen high of 4.81 percent for the April through June period reports the American Bankers Association." Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies, October 2005

"Already, Gen Xers have taken on debt levels that are 78 percent higher than their Boomer parents' debt." American Demographics, November 2004

"At its current growth rate, the total number of personal bankruptcies filed in the U.S. will eclipse 1 million petitions around mid-August, the earliest that milestone has been achieved in a calendar year."   National Bankruptcy Research Center, 8/03