50 Weird Ways People Go Broke

33. Living on Credit Cards

Using credit cards like free money is another way people go broke, said Cooper. People will get five or six credit cards with $5,000 or $10,000 limits. They’ll feel like they have a lot of free money, and they start living the good life.

But credit runs out and needs to be paid back, and that’s where the problems come in. Managing minimum payments often turns to juggling payments among the creditors that are the most persistent. Interest and finance charges start piling up, and the debt won’t go down.
“A lot of people end up exhausted and file for bankruptcy,” Cooper said.