This average is for all households - including the top 20% wage and salary earners. While someone who makes 1 million annually may only pay out 3% to debt service, the Federal Reserve data estimates that approximately 20 million households out of the lower 80% pay anywhere from 35% to 70%. So if a third of your income goes to taxes and an average 22.1% of your income goes to making payment on interest...

Just keeping up with minimum payments can be stressful. Try to put yourself in the shoes of someone who owes more each month than he or she can afford to pay. Fearing the day the credit card bills arrive, embarrassed to discuss their financial situation with an acquaintance, in some cases lying to a spouse or significant other, laying awake at night worrying what to do about debt.

From: Economics magazine January 10, 2003. Article, U.S. Household Credit Bubble Set to Explode by Richard Freeman