Twitter and Facebook Poll: How did you Accumulate Debt?

Americans racked up $972.73 billion in credit card debt by the end of last year, according to CreditCards.com. The average credit card debt per household reached $8,329. So if you’re sitting on a pile of debt—you’re not alone. We wondered where all that debt came from. Using Twitter and Facebook, we asked how you accumulated debt. While there are many culprits, it looks like school loans are often to blame for creating debt. Here are the answers we received.

Twitter
Claresa: I got a job that didn't pay much in a city where I knew no one after buying a car with pretty high payments. Caught up w/ me.

LewTurner: Mine came from college. Damn free t-shirts.

TheYellowRibbon: Student loans and paying for the power bill on my credit card while unemployed.

Clhughey: ah debt...my partner for life. Student loans, uneducated spending, careless balancing, eyes bigger then stomach syndrome. :)

UntamedBeer: Student loans, car loan and outspending my income

Sharonsuchoval: The only credit card debt that I have exists because of the adoption of my daughter. Best money I've ever spent!

Facebook
Patrick Bloodgood: I bought a house... that suddenly required a lot of repairs, which caused me to go and get an equity loan. Then the market crashed and now if I wanted to sell said house, I wouldn't be able to. Because of the equity loan and the fact that the house isn't worth what I paid for it.

Darren Whitehead: Stupidity with credit cards.

Randy Hansen: I got married.

Stephanie Storm: School loans were a big one for me. And after college I needed everything to set up a home. Furniture, pots, pans, dishes...that was a time when I thought I would never have a savings account!

By Alison Storm

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