Is there a credit card debt problem?

To find out, click PLAY or watch the trailer to Maxed Out on YouTube.

… The main premises of the documentary and book are that banks and other creditors deliberately market to people who are more likely to have problems paying predatory lending and that the creditors benefit from connections to government, the debt collection industry, and from lawmaker apathy. …

New legislation in the USA, the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights, just passed overwhelmingly.

From what I can see, it looks like rules in the States will be tightened. That’s a good thing.

People hopefully will be better protected from their own stupidity.

I can look down the stupid (at the moment) because I have no credit card debt. Certainly I have been stupid in the past. Once having over double the average credit card debt of Americans today.

graphic source

The banks have between 9-12 months to adjust to the new regulations.

A NY Times blog notes that the banks are ratcheting up fees and interest before the Fed’s rules kick in.

Best advice. Pay off your credit card debt.