Americans are facing a credit crunch these days on the heels of increasing consumer goods prices and decreasing wages. The result has been foreclosures, bankruptcies, and defaults at a higher rate than we've seen in awhile. One thing that many didn't forsee is just how dependent Americans have become on credit to maintain their lifestyle. Now that many people can't afford their bills, some financial planners are reporting clients that prefer to pay their credit card bills over their mortgages! Why? Because they are living off of their credit card and would be ruined if they lost the credit.

From InternationalNews:
Seven years in the credit-counseling business didn't prepare Ann Estes for the alarming trend she began noticing last fall: As her clients' mortgage bills became unaffordable, a growing number of them began paying their credit card bills before — and sometimes instead of — their mortgages. "We've never seen anything like this," says Estes, who counsels clients by phone from her office in Richmond, Va. "Their homes are at risk, and they know it. But people say, 'I don't want to let my credit cards go because that's my cash flow.'"