Borrowing money has become easier in recent years, and credit cards have become abundant and more and more competitive. It seems to be so much easier to get hold of credit nowadays so its no surprise that there is more debt in the developed countries than ever before.
Credit card companies, banks and other lenders all make their money on the interest they charge you for borrowing money from them.
Obviously we can never predict in life when something is going to go pear shaped, we may lose our job for one reason or another, we may have ill health and be unable to work, we may have other financial commitments and find that the money we have doesnt seem to stretch very far. This is unfortunate but quite often things can be resolved quite soon with the least upset.
People on lower incomes or poorer credit ratings are generally offered higher interest rates, and this is where many people come unstuck. Each month you have to make a payment, and quite often people on low incomes will pay just the minimum balance from their credit card statement, now this seems great for a while, until one day you realise that all you seem to be paying is interest! Your balance is...