Hefty heating bills will take the biggest bite out of the finances of households that are already struggling. A survey of credit-card use by lower- and middle-income families done jointly by public policy groups Demos and the Center for Responsible Lending shows that, on average, one out of three households surveyed used their credit cards to cover living expenses in four of the past 12 months.
THE LOSS OF an easy source of cash could not come at a worse time for many consumers since high heating bills, rising borrowing costs, and potential price increases for other items will cut into family budgets.
