And the biggest jolt of all? These guests on TV's Oprah show all are college students in their late teens and early 20s. Two of them already have declared bankruptcy. Many of the student guests said they'd first gotten a credit card at the sign-up tables at college registration areas. One young man,- a student who had worked registration as a recruiter for a national credit card company said, "Students are the bait, and we're the sharks." He explained that he earned points for each student he signed up (or suckered in). He said that the national credit card company used students to appeal to other students, "sort of like I'm a student, too, and I wouldn't give you anything bad, would I?" He rolled his eyes as if to say, "Yeah. Right."

All the participants said they'd learned some hard facts about using credit cards:

• Be realistic about your expenditures. If you're covering routine expenses with credit (like burritos and underwear), you're living beyond your means. Period.
  
  
• Understand the wrap of minimum monthly payments. If you make the minimum payment - say the lesser of 2% of the balance, or $25 - on a $2,000 credit card balance, paying 18% interest, you won't pay off the balance for nearly 16 years. And you'll have paid $3,328 in interest charges.
  
  
• If you can't keep up with one credit card, it's foolish to add more. More cards do not mean more money coming in - they mean more going out, and for a much longer time.

If you're already in credit trouble, there is help. Contact Consumer Credit Counseling Services at (803)929-6666 or 1-800-223-9213.

Don't get in over your head.