Going into debt is a good way to avoid having money. Until we know the reasons that we avoid having money, we will continue to generate debt after bailing ourselves out.

Some people don't want to be wealthy and debt ensures that they won't become that.

My credit card debt really isn't that bad, I owe $2800.00 on one credit card and that's it. I wish I could just pay it off, and be done with it, but unfortuately I have had some medical issues this year, and have had to charge quite a bit because of it. I too have had to use my credit card for emergencies and it sucks.

Osteoron, Please do not tell me that because people have debt, that means they don't want to be wealthy. Just because people have debt, does not mean someone "hasn't learned their lesson" about having debt. I work for a living helping people with their bonds and stocks, and I consider myself to be pretty knowledgeable about saving. Most people don't have a savings cushion when there's loss of a job, medical problems, or new baby. All of those things can take a toll on a household budget.

My husband is self employed and this summer he had issues getting a client to pay him. I had just finished school, hence no job yet, and before I really started looking, found out I'm pregnant. My job would have a lot of risks to an unborn baby, so we decided that I wouldn't work. We went almost 3 months with next to no income. We bought a house in May, and didn't get paid till August. Prior to it all, my husband applied for this huge credit card and they gave it to him, with a limit of 9K! It really helped pay our bills till we got some money, but now all our cards are maxed and the budget is SUPER tight. We don't ahve health insurance, and this baby is going to be a huge expense too.

In addition to the above situation, we have had a few questionable spending habits and have made some money management mistakes. My husband's business isn't set up to do W2s (so no taxes are withheld from his income), and we failed to set money aside to pay taxes. We spent beyond our means and we owe the govt thousands of dollars (at least they're good about payment plans).

Since a baby is on the way, my husband decided to get a job that will provide consistent income. With this comes the tax deductions. It will certainly help the tax situation, but in the meantime, he's bringing home quite a bit less than what we're used to. So we have all kinds of debt from this summer as well as mounting medical bills and a few bills we got behind on in addition to our regular expenses with less money to pay for it. Heh oh yeah, and my student loans are going to start being due in a month or two.

The reasons I used my credit cards are many; but really I was just plain living way beyond my means.

Being a single parent...I wanted my girls to have new shoes/school clothes when they needed them. If insurance didn't cover an expensive medical bill..I charged it. I needed work clothes...charged them. If the car broke down I would charge the repairs.

I had 2 nephews who married out of state (different years). To this day, I am not sorry that I charged it so we could go. My mom has since passed away, and I am so glad we had that time to spend with her on those trips. However....I am now paying for living beyond my means.

Christmas, birthdays...I charged the gifts.

I make a decent middle class wage; however with all my credit card debt-$25,000 :~( I live paycheck to paycheck. I now have a roommate, (which I rather not). It helps me to make my ends meet.

So, basically I lived way beyond my means; and now I am paying for it. I now have to live within my means, trying to pay off this debt. It will take me many years to get out from it. So...there is my story. As I pay off my cards, I am closing the accounts- so I'm not tempted to charge on them.

One of the big traps I fell into was having low interest on my cards when I first started using them. Now the interest rates are over 20% on most of them. The credit card companies are a bit like vultures. But hey...I really can't blame anyone but myself for being where I am! So...I usually read or watch TV for my entertainment these days. Can't afford beach vacations, or new clothes...all that good stuff.

I also have lots of medical bills, from all the cancer tests, treatments and follow ups.

I still have hope for the future...getting out of this debt! I am thinking if I sell my condo, I could pay off my debt, and start over. I need to do some organizing and cleaning up to put it on the market. In the meantime, I make my payments...without much left over.

I used Credit Cards cause I was a drunk and did not care and too young at the time to understand what I was doing to myself. Going to the casino and putting $1000.00 on a card for cash to gamble with was no big deal at the time. Wow, if I could only go back!!!!!

We have a huge debt too and I assure you it's from nothing extravigant. We have never gone on a vacation or to an amusement park. It's mostly all medical ang gifts for chistmas and birthdays. We both have a huge family. Finally this year we told the extended family that we will not participate in the gift exchange. For ourselves we always just bought stuff we needed and wrapped up... you know... new socks, that type of thing. But for others we spent more. And felt preasured to spend more for my hubby's side. They all have money and expect only the best. They would get pissed after opening our gifts because they were not from the right "high end" type stores.

We learned the hard way.. not to spend any money we don't have and never use the credit cards. So now we are in recovery mode.

My credit card debt is mostly because I got injured at work and lost my job. My disability didn't cover enough to live on so I charged everything for about 2 years. Groceries and gas (and therapy lol) So now I'm going through a credit counseling program and I've paid down about 14,000 to about half that and have a while to go but it will be paid off eventually. Now all of my credit card accts are closed and I pay cash for everything. I do without any extras but sometimes sacrifices need to be made! I just dream of the day that I make that final payment!!! Until then I am learning my lesson every day. Hopefully I'll never dig myself into this horrible hole again!!! I wish us all the best of luck!!!

I have always been good with money and have never had problems with debt. Then I got married to a compulsive spender (I didn't know it at the time). She convinced me that she could handle our finances and I made the mistake of trusting her (funny that you should trust your spouse, eh). By the time we divorced, she had wracked up $75,000 in debt and kept in hidden by bouncing it back and forth between multiple on-line credit cards. Love sure is blind and I got financially raped because of it. I am now struggling to pay child support, spousal support, pay off the consolidation debt from HER over spending, and trying to live off of the scraps that are left. Some fun, eh?

I got into debt on my credit card when my grandchildren were young and my d.i.l. was home schooling, I had them a lot, and another grandchild that lives near as well. My husband was working and so was I, but I simply didnt realise that the debts mounted and mounted until one of the cards was declined. I had really spent rashly on them - I couldnt believe it had mounted up so. I got a loan to pay it off slowly and never again, to this day, have I had a credit card. I simply dont trust myself as I find it difficult to keep track of money....(possibly a little because I have dyslexia - with maths, a four year old level), but I am sure because of personality as well..