If you are feeling overwhelmed by mounting credit card debt, it is important to take a moment to think about how you got there.
The easy answer is that you spent more than you brought in. While you might have made some unnecessary purchases, circumstances may have forced others upon you. For example, you got hit by unexpected medical bills.
Yet, most credit card debt has something deeper at its root. If you did not have a credit card, you would not have that debt. If the credit card company had not raised your limit, your debt would be less.
Credit card companies can be free and easy when handing out cards or increasing credit limits. They encourage you to get into debt because they make money from it. The company wants you to spend more than you have, so that you need to pay interest. One report found over half of Americans carried their balance over to the next month, thus paying interest.
Society teaches us that getting into debt is normal, even something to be admired. For example, a mortgage is a debt, a loan on a new car is a debt, and society pressures you to aspire to homeownership and drive an up-to-date vehicle.
Yet, certain parts of society also condemn those who can no longer afford their debt. This attitude persists, even if it has weakened a little over recent years.
Do not feel overly guilty about filing for bankruptcy when you get into credit card debt that you cannot afford. Remember that you did not get there alone. While Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcies do not come free, the cost of fighting a losing battle against ever-mounting debt can be higher.