It could have started out as a small, $500 credit card for emergencies. It’s what people tell you to do: get a credit card, use it a little, and make sure you pay more than the minimum owed each month to build your credit. So, you do it and you’re keeping up on the payments; your credit score is growing. It feels pretty good managing your finances and being responsible for your positive credit score. For about six months, you’ve been paying your rent, bills, cell phone, car payment, insurance, and groceries and logging in to pay your small credit card bill on time each month. After all your expenses, you still have a little left over from your pay check each month to live and put away (if only it could have stayed that way). That might have been the last time you felt financially free of anxiety each morning, day, and night. It might have been the last time you remember your chest and shoulders free of heavy, past due debt.

All of a sudden, you can’t get away from it. Your mailbox and email are stocked full of credit card offers and, to “reward” you for your financial responsibility of paying your small credit card bill on time, they offer high credit limits and cash-back rewards if you sign up for a new credit card right away. They make it seem exciting and the more you use it, the more you’re rewarded with cash, airline points, gas, and anything to keep you spending more, more, and more. So, because it just takes five minutes and it all sounds so good, you sign up for a credit card that you really can’t afford.