A major survey released by the think tank Demos provides some important new insights on how average American families are using credit cards. The implication is hard to escape: many middle- and low-income American families are using consumer credit as a way to weather fluctuations in their finances.

That all portends "payment shock" for those with adjustable-rate mortgages whose loans are due soon to adjust, said Javier Silva, senior research and policy associate with the public policy research group Demos in New York City. "Lots of ARM customers are experiencing payment shock already, and we

According to Javier Silva, a senior research and policy associate with Demos, a New York think tank and public policy organization, homeowners' equity fell from an average of 68.3 percent to 55 percent between 1973 and 2004. Americans now own a smaller stake in their homes than they used to. In the

According to a Demos study, Americans from 2001 to 2003 cashed out $333 billion in equity from their homes. Many did so to pay off credit card debt and finance ongoing living expenses -- both good and noble financial causes. The study concluded that Americans own less of their homes today than they

Professor Robert Frank of Cornell University, the author of Luxury Fever, compares conspicuous consumption in an economy like ours to the military arms race, and we already know that's destined to end in mutually assured destruction. The key to countering this headlong rush towards ever-more

Hefty heating bills will take the biggest bite out of the finances of households that are already struggling.

"The Plastic Safety Net" study found that middle- and low-income households were racking up credit card balances just to cover everyday expenses. One-third of the 1,000 survey respondents said that basic living expenses contributed to their current debt level.

Last week, New York-based consumer action group Demos and the Center for Responsible Lending released findings from a new report, "The Plastic Safety Net: The Reality of Household Debt in America." The survey results found that 7 out of 10 low- and middle-income families are using their credit cards

One-third of low- and middle-income consumers are using their credit cards to pay basic living expenses - including their monthly mortgage, according to a new study. CRL and Demos also found that even though consumers are using home-equity loans to pay down their credit cards, many households are

The average credit card debt of low- and middle-income indebted households was $8,650, according to the study from Demos and the Center for Responsible Lending. The more stringent law comes at a tough time for American consumers. A survey released last week showed that total credit card debt now