If one of your New Year's resolutions is to pay off your credit card debt, be advised that it's getting harder all the time. That's because credit card interest rates climbed to record highs last month, reaching an average of 15.22 percent, according to the consumer information site CreditCards.com.
The rising rates reflect an ongoing push-and-pull between the people who use credit cards and the companies that distribute and collect on them. With the economy stuck in low gear, and with an increasing number of Americans working low-paying jobs that keep them living paycheck to paycheck, customers appear to be leaning on credit cards more and more.
In 2011, credit card users built up a collective $64 billion in debt -- a sum much greater than in either of the two previous years, according to The Christian Science Monitor.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/04/credit-card-interest-rates_n_1183248.html
