(Continued from the main Credit Card Addiction Stories page)

The relationship with credit began when she was in college. "I don't think young people can even begin to imagine the horror of debt," said Roxanne. She began getting cards from many of her favorite department stores. Eventually she had cards for car repairs, clothing and furniture. "In the beginning I would pay them off in full when the bill came but then I started getting lazy." When the bills came, the minimum monthly payments were only $20 or $30 a month. "Piece of cake" said Roxanne. One month she had problems paying her bills. She had pregnancy complications and her boyfriend became unemployed so she accidentally missed a monthly payment. The next month, something else came up unexpectedly and she didn't pay them again. It wasn't long before the phone calls started coming. Not only did Roxanne have late fees and hikes in her interest rates to deal with, she was getting so many phone calls that she began to fear picking up the phone. 

To make matters worse, Roxanne was in a car accident that made it difficult for her to work and she had two children to support. Roxanne was completely unprepared for emergencies or situations out of the ordinary. She began using her credit cards to pay for diapers, formula and groceries. Eventually all the cards were maxed out and now she can't even make the minimum monthly payment. With no credit to fall back on, Roxanne is really feeling the severity of her problem. 

Roxanne is deeply depressed and feels there is no way out of her problems. However, she was also depressed prior to her debt problems and admits that shopping and spending may have been a way to boost her mood. "I used to take people out to lunch or buy myself some shoes. I've always been a shopaholic" said Roxanne. With her recent problems, most friends have disappeared. Roxanne has the support of a few friends and her family to help her through. "I don't see any other option but to declare bankruptcy" said Roxanne. "I was supposed to go see a counselor but I can barely get up out of bed let alone go to the appointment." 

What started as a poor money management problem has mushroomed into an emotional problem, work problem, family problem and more. Roxanne has the same name as her mother. It turns out that some of her debt has turned up on her mother's credit report making extra headaches and stress for both of them.