Americans have dug themselves into a credit card hole

Getty Images; Jenny Chang-Rodriguez/BI

Benton McClintock, 27, had been running away from his credit card bill for nearly a decade before deciding to pay it off. When McClintock was in college, he began paying for big trips to Milan, Paris, and other getaways with his credit card, and—until his balance had ballooned to $40,000—thought nothing of it.