Credit card debt - Why do we have it, part 2

In part 2 of this article, we will look at the common ten reasons why Individuals have so much outstanding debt on their bank cards. Credit card debt has overwhelmed many Consumers, with the average family holding a $10,000 debt on almost twenty credit card accounts.

• Inability to talk with spouse about financial matters. Not only should a husband and wife be able to talk about financial matters so that they might effectively manage it, they also need to have a common goal and not work against each other. Communication is important when it comes to managing finances. If one spouse is frugal and the other is buying every item described on cable TV, the household will have a crisis, and a large one. A great number of households have two salary earners who are not well versed in talking about money.
• Health expenses. The Medical insurance mechanism in this country is a problem, and an entire Site could be dedicated to finding solutions to the mess. Until Washington can work out some sort of fair and universal strategy for health coverage for everyone, medical expenses and charge card debt will always be intertwined. The bottom line is this - Americans who have health insurance have it because they work for someone who is kind enough to buy it for them, and everybody else is out of luck. If you have ever needed to pay for a root canal or surgery with a credit card, you know that the experience can be as uncomfortable as the medical service itself.

• Waiting for the sweepstakes. Some individuals hope that they will win the lottery, or the Publisher's Clearinghouse sweepstakes, or perhaps they'll discover oil on their property or inherit a ton of money from Aunt Elsa. Some people just don't worry about the future, assuming that, perhaps by magic, it will tend to itself. Do not count on what you don't have and don't spend tomorrow's money today..
• Insufficient information. A large ingredient of financial management is realizing how financial transactions work. Many people do not even find out how to write a personal check in class; it's no surprise that they don't learn about stock funds, savings or checking accounts or IRAs, either. Information is power, so if you don't know how financial transactions work, buy a book.
• Less work than they need. If you are going to spend more, then you need more money. Until your salary catches up with your purchases, you're spending too much. Keeping a part time job and spending like you have a full time job is a problem.
• Gambling. Many Americans have lost all they have this way - job, home, spouse, auto. It's not only a quick path to debt, but it's also a speedy path to personal bankruptcy. The ease of Web gambling, permitted by law or not, makes it way too easy to blow hundreds or thousands from home.

The disaster of spending too much and saving little or nothing is rampant in this country. People with financial woes should devote the time to review their circumstances in order to see how they could effectively do something about it. Overcoming financial woes is lots of work, but it can be done.