Credit card debt is not the only kind of debt that gets us into financial trouble, but it is the easiest. When many people think of debt, they automatically think of credit cards, but the truth is, consumer debt can take just as much of a toll on a person's finances as credit card debt. The difference is that it's much more difficult to add to the debt load since you have to go into the lender and apply for more funds instead of simply taking out a card and using. Of course, in the big picture, the combination of credit card and loans make up what we know as consumer debt, meaning debt as a part of the entire economic picture.

In some cases, we think of it in terms of credit cards and car loans, but the term can be a part of personal debt as well. Whatever we call it, these debts are taking a toll on both individuals and our economy as people struggle to get out of debt and lack the funds to put money back into the retail exchange system.

People have been relying on consumer borrowing for many years in order to compensate for those items for which they don't have the immediate cash. There was a time that people relied on bank loans for the purchase of furniture, televisions and other similar items, but today, most of those items are charged to a credit card, thus the reason that credit card debt is at an all time high. Instead of people buying furniture, and financing it through the consumer borrowing circle for 36 months as they used to do, they put it on a credit card and take twenty years to pay for it. That doesn't mean that consumers are not borrowing because they still finance cars, homes, vacations, and even vacation homes, all of which add to the reduction of disposable spending in the economy.

With so much consumer debt, people are using all of their disposable income to pay off their debts, and they have nothing left over to return to the economy. As a result, many stores and retailers are suffering from low sales volume, even during Christmas when the highest volume of sales is generated. Retailers are no longer able to depend on Christmas shopping to make up for an entire year of slumping sales, so they have to be creative and generate income throughout the year in case holiday sales slump. Those who do spend at the holidays do it online, a habit that has been on the increase for the past five or six years. There are many reasons shopping online is a good idea and many reasons it can hurt a budget. It means they don't have to go shopping, but it also adds to credit card debt. No mall traffic and no crowded lines make it worth it for some. Everything comes back to too much spending of borrowed money giving consumers less money to spend putting cash back into the economy.