A lot of people think it can happen overnight. That's not realistic. You also always should include savings, because even though rates are not great right now, if something does happen, you're going to revert right back to credit cards if you don't have something saved. |
I do think this is going to be a very tough year. Many people have the rising heat costs [and that] is going to have a huge impact on people's ability to pay down debt and to save. |
People are putting everyday purchases on their credit cards, so they don't have a true picture of what may have led to [overspending]. |
That's just moving debt around. |
The combination of those factors is really going to affect the fact that people already are not saving and are piling on debt. The situation could get worse. |