Credit card debt shot up in November

Because of the credit crunch and housing crash, fewer Americans are able to take home equity loans so they have been reaching for their credit cards. We've already heard about the need for many to use credit this winter to cover heating expenses, so the November jump is a very bad start to the season. At this point, it's still difficult to say if the cards are being used to live above their income or just to cover (increasing) expenses, such as gas, electricity and food.

Banks are much less forgiving these days with delays in credit card payments, taking a much harder line against even slightly late payments. This may have something to do with talk in Congress about cracking down on the credit card industry, but either way, this is not the time that anyone wants to be adding personal debt, if they can avoid it.