Here are some facts about debt:

• U.S. credit cards in circulation is about 1.2 billion
• Paying only the minimum balance on your credit card is like paying an extra bill. You may not notice it right away, but youre paying 90% interest and only 10% principal.
• 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 offbringing your total payments to $23,432!
• The current average interest rate is 14.71%.
• The average late fee is just above $30 and in some cases can be as high as $49.
• The average credit limit for initial credit cards is $3,000. Accounts more than three years old have an average limit of $6,500.
• 65% of all credit card accounts have only the minimum payments amounts being made by consumers.
• The average household pays about $950 in interest each year.
• About 18% of all U.S. personal expenditures are made on bank credit cards.
• About 25% of the adult population has some history of credit problems. However about 15% have no or a poor credit history.
• 27.3 million Americans have been victims of identity theft, which can lead to debt and credit problems, in the last five years.
• Almost half the households in America report difficulty paying their minimum monthly payments
• The typical family filing for bankruptcy in 2003 owed more than 1.5 times its annual income in short-term, high-interest debt (or, an average of $36,000 in debt for a family with an income of $24,000).
• 8.3 % of households owe $9,000 or more on their cards.
• On average, today's consumer has a total of 13 credit obligations on record at a credit bureau.
• 29 % of low and middle income households with credit card debt reported that medical expenses contributed to their current balances.
• Only 50 % of consumers survey are satisfied with their primary credit card.
• Low interest rate is by far the most important factor when choosing a new credit card, cited by 58 % of respondents.