This Saturday Night Live skit provides a humorous take on a serious problem in America. (and offers a great solution!)

Wife: Credit card debt, does it ever end?
Spokesman: Maybe I can help.
Husband: We sure could use it.
Wife: We’ve tried debt consolidation companies.
Husband: We’ve even taken out loans to help make payments.
Spokesman: Well, you’re not the only one. Did you know that millions of Americans live with debt they can not control? That’s why I developed this unique new program for managing your debt. [Holds up book] It’s called, “Don’t Buy Stuff You Cannot Afford”
Wife: Let me see that. [Reading from book] If you don’t have any money, you should not buy anything. Hmmm … sounds interesting.

Debt Statistics:

76 percent of undergraduates have credit cards, and the average undergrad has $2,200 in credit card debt. Additionally, they will amass almost $20,000 in student debt. (Source: Nellie Mae, “Undergraduate Students and Credit Cards in 2004: An Analysis of Usage Rates and Trends.”)

The average credit card indebted young adult household now spends nearly 24 percent of its income on debt payments, four percentage points more, on average, than young adults did in 1992. (Source: “Generation Broke: Growth of Debt Among Young Americans”)

Average credit card debt among indebted young adults increased by 55 percent between 1992 and 2001, to $4,088. (Source: “Generation Broke: Growth of Debt Among Young Americans”)

At the end of 2008, Americans’ credit card debt reached $972.73 billion, up 1.12% from 2007. That number includes both general purpose credit cards and private label credit cards that aren’t owned by a bank. (Source: Nilson Report, April 2009)

The average outstanding credit card debt for households that have a credit card was $10,679 at the end of 2008. (Source: Nilson Report, April 2009)

In the fourth quarter of 2008, 13.9 percent of consumer disposable income went to service consumer debt. (Source: U.S. Congress’ Joint Economic Committee, “Vicious Cycle: How Unfair Credit Card Company Practices Are Squeezing Consumers and Undermining the Recovery,” May 2009)

Total U.S. consumer debt (which includes credit card debt and noncredit-card debt but not mortgage debt) reached $2.56 trillion at the end of 2008, up from $2.52 trillion at the end of 2007. (Source: Federal Reserve’s G.19 report, February 2009)