ConsolidatingDebt^.com

If you didn't have your credit card payment of $218 a month, and you instead invested that money in a 12% savings plan, in 25 years you could retire with $1,354,930 in the bank.

Your credit card payment not only will cost you thousands in interest, but also prohibits many Americans from adequately saving for their retirement and makes bankruptcy look like the only alternative.

* The average balance on a credit card is $7,000

* The average interest rate is 18.9%

* Late fees are now $29.00, (if not received on the payment due date)

* The average household has 10 credit cards

* Almost half the households in America report having difficulty paying their minimum monthly payments, thus making bankruptcy seem like a good alternative

* If your credit card balance is $8,000, and you make the minimum monthly payment at 18% interest, it will take you 25 years, 7 months to pay the debt off

* You will pay $15,432 in interest charges, (almost twice the balance), bringing your total to $23,432

* Americans paid out approximately $65 billion in interest last year alone

* Last year over 1.3 million Americans filed for Bankruptcy, the highest in our nations history

* Credit card companies solicit the average American 7 times a year through the mail

* To calculate your debt to Income Ratio, divide your debt by your income. (Ex. A person making $20,000 a year gross income with $10,000 of outstanding debt has a 50% DTI Ratio.) If your Ratio is over 45%, you will be offered higher interest rates when applying for loans. The lenders will see you as "overextended"

* The typical "Minimum" Monthly Payment is 90% interest and 10% principle

A pamphlet on "Fair Debt Collection" is available from the Bureau of Consumer Protection 1-877-FTC-Help (877-382-4357)

Ever wonder why you keep getting all those "Pre-approved" credit card offers - even though you're in debt, thinking of personal bankruptcy or maybe your credit rating is far from perfect? It has been the trend, as of late, for creditors to offer their cards to all consumers, especially those with credit and debt problems in the past. They hope that your past poor credit habits will force you to spend more money with their card - and rack up plenty of interest and late charges making personal bankruptcy look appealing. They'll earn money and you'll be back in financial turmoil. You're certainly not alone:

* 1997-1998: The average American adult received 7 credit card offers through the mail, regardless of their credit history

* You might be wondering, "I owe my creditors thousands of dollars - there can't be anyone worse off than me! I need to declare personal bankruptcy!" Check out the following debt statistic and see how you are not alone. Keep in mind that the dollar amount is an AVERAGE - that means there are people out there who owe a lot more than our example:

* The average family in credit card debt carries a balance of $4,000 on several cards from month to month

* One indicator of debt in the U.S. is the number of personal bankruptcies declared each year. While many more bankruptcies are declared than need to be, this statistic shows how many people feel their debt burden is more than they can handle and declare bankruptcy:

* Personal bankruptcies are at an all time high! In 1998 there were more than 1.354 million declared

* In many ways, ours is a nation weighed down by its citizens' (and government's) debt and bankruptcy debt. National consumer debt and bankruptcy debt reflects many different factors, so we'll concentrate on consumer credit debt, which accounts for 50% of the national figure

* In 1998, the national consumer debt reached an all-time high of over 1 trillion dollars. Credit card debt was just as striking, approximately 565 billion dollars

* You can help stop our national romance with debt and bankruptcy by becoming debt free and learning the skills necessary to manage your own finances and handle your spending responsibly. Let us help you get debt free, and along the way, we can show you how to be a responsible credit consumer