Back in 2004, a man in Southern California got so tired of the offers that arrived in his email box for preapproved credit cards that he got an email address for his dog, Clifford. Sure enough, the offer for a credit card arrived in Clifford's inbox.

The man filled out the application. He listed Clifford's name as "Clifford J. Dog" and his mother as Pugsy Malone. For the social security number, he used all zeros, and he included a note that Clifford was a dog and not to send the credit card. Clifford got the credit card anyway.

The man set the record straight, the card was canceled, and poor Clifford never got his plastic spending spree.

The moral of this story is that anybody can get a credit card -- even a dog. If Clifford had been able to use his brand new plastic credit card, he probably wouldn't have been very worried about how he was going to pay for all of those doggie treats.

Unfortunately, many people use their credit cards with at least as much forethought as Clifford would have used. People who are otherwise perfectly reasonable and sane will make charges to their credit cards without any idea of how they are going to pay off those charges.

When the credit card bill comes due, they make the minimum payment and continue to make charges through the next month that are far larger than the minimum payment that they made. Debt simply piles up on top of debt. Interest is added. When a payment is late, late charges are added. The credit card gets maxed out and what does this credit card holder do? Why, he simply gets another credit card.

Credit card balances are loans. The balances are what you owe. You don't simply owe the minimum payment every month. The whole debt will eventually have to be paid off one way or another.