Credit Card Debt

I have been getting newsletters from Crosswalk.com, the world's largest Christian website. This morning's finance newsletter was an article written by Cheapskate Monthly founder Mary Hunt. Here are some excerpts:

"There has been a crackdown by the Office of Comptroller of the Currency (the OCC enforces the rules that regulate banks and credit card companies). Banks and credit card issuers who have been ignoring the rules will be forced to ratchet up required minimum monthly payments so customers pay enough each month to cover all fees, interest and at least some of their outstanding principal balance. "

The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility & Disclosure Act (just resurrected after a stalemate in 2004), if passed by Congress (it's looking good), will force credit card companies to state each month how long it will take to pay off your outstanding balance if you just pay the minimum plus how much interest you will pay over the life of the loan."

I was glad to read this, even though Tim and I are very close to absolving ALL our credit card debt once and for all. I would like to see figures on just what percentage of the world (probably mostly Americans) are buried under credit card debt, and by how much. I'll research this (in my spare time, haha) and post what I find.

(And, you know, I joke about not having time for anything, but in actuality, I have gotten pretty good at managing my time so I can include things that I enjoy like surfing the net, sewing and crocheting. It's almost a neccessity. We are in for big changes when Tim returns, the least of which will be less time for myself. Somehow, I think I won't really mind.)