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Article: If high credit-card debt is dragging you down, it's time to start living on a budget ; RICK LEVINSON
- Article from:
- The Boston Globe (Boston, MA)
- Article date:
- July 20, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2008 The Boston Globe. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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High credit-card debt is one of the biggest issues facing
consumers, says Dara Duguay, director of Citigroup Inc.'s Office of
Financial Education.
"If people need cash, they're going to use credit cards," Duguay
says. "Most people don't pay their balance in full, two-thirds only
pay 3 to 4 percent of what they owe" each month. And the average
consumer has nine cards.
A survey by comScore Inc. showed the number of online credit card
applications submitted by subprime applicants, those with so-called
FICO credit scores of 660 or less, increased by 30 percent in the
first quarter over the same period last year.
The cash crunch was fueled by many consumers using their homes as
a "personal piggy ...