It seemed like Angela and Edward Johnson’s dream of owning their own home would only remain just that. A dream.

When the child care professional and retired mechanic went house-hunting with a real estate broker, he took one look at their poor credit and flatly predicted they’d never be approved for a home loan. He even suggested the Johnsons find someone else to apply for one on their behalf.

So when the Johnson’s finally moved into their new Suitland, Md., home just outside Washington, D.C. in May, Angela Johnson was downright giddy when they ran into the broker.

“I saw him. And you know I was so proud to tell him, ‘You know we bought a house and let me tell you what the interest rate is,’” she said.

She’s got a reason to beam with pride. The Johnsons beat the odds that are statistically stacked against low-income African-Americans, the Baltimore Times reports.

Research from the Brookings Institution shows that on average, lower income homeowners (defined as those making $30,000 or less) pay interest rates as high as nearly 7 percent, meanwhile people with incomes of $120,000 or more paid a rate of 5.5 percent. The Johnsons were able to secure 4 percent.

So how did they do it, and why haven't others?

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Have you encouraged your college-bound son or daughter to apply for a credit card? It's okay, many parents do.

“Credit is something everybody needs,” says Ed Mierzwinski, consumer program director at the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. “But many young people are getting too much credit and are unable to handle it."

The result is that balances may add up, instant payday loan applications may be filled out and the financial future of your children could be in question. According to Nellie Mae, a major provider of student loans, 76 percent of all college undergraduates started the 2004 school year with credit cards.

The average outstanding balance on those cards was $2,169.

“[To a student] a credit card seems like free money,” says Jim Boyle, president of College Parents of America. “That lure really sucks them into a situation where they’re paying for their purchase many times over because of the interest.”

Mierzwinski also worries about the kids who don’t pay off their balance each month. Could that mean they'll have to rely on bad credit payday loans in the future?

“They’re taking advantage of these kids and getting them into trouble at a young age,” he says.

The banking industry, of course insists that’s not the case.

“College kids are better than the general public at managing credit cards,” says Tracy Mills, a spokesperson for the American Bankers Association.

Prime targets: Most college students haven’t developed a credit history. They have very little income, if any. And in many cases, they have huge student loans to repay. So why do banks bombard them with credit card offers? Because students are an easy target, a prime marketing opportunity.

“If they can be in that kid’s wallet, they are more likely to have a customer for a good long time,” explains Geri Detweiler of ultimatecredit.com.

That’s why banks set up kiosks at on campus, offering T-shirts and other goodies to students who apply for a card. They can be akin to no fax payday loan lenders in such a way, preying on those in need. Parents just need to be aware.

Here is scary news: the American public now has a negative net savings rate. Home prices, medical care, and college tuition are all growing faster than wages, while debt has become increasingly pervasive among American households.

Individuals are aware of the problem, as 82 percent now recognize household debt as a serious dilemma, according to a recent survey sponsored by the Center for American Progress. So, why isn't the issue atop the agenga for national policymakers? Where do they weigh in when it comes to instant payday loan use?

The Center for American Progress survey found that both Republicans and Democrats (by more than 80 percent margins) agree that:

• There should be more incentives for people to save money
• Online payday loan lending companies should provide simple and uncomplicated language that explains their charges and fees
• More education and counseling should be provided to customers
• There should be caps on the rates of interest that credit card companies charge

So why have no real efforts been made on these fronts? The Center for American Progress has launched an effort to draw broader attention, especially among lawmakers, to the issue of household debt and overall quick payday loan use.

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How do consumers know it’s summer, aside from those scorching temperatures? Try the numerous payday loan, mortgage and other loan offers they’re besieged by. Borrowers are constantly encouraged to charge a vacation to a credit card or take out a cash advance for a new boat.

Of course, these can have detrimental side effects; namely, an abundance of debt. This has become more true than ever thanks to the doubling of minimum credit card payments, the new bankruptcy reform law that took effect last fall and the extreme interest rates charged by most online payday advance lenders.

With this in mind, let’s go over a few tips for controlling those balances:

1. A budget knows no season: Just because the boss is in Hawaii doesn’t mean your budget is on vacation. Post your budget somewhere visible, like the fridge door, so summer can’t burn it out of your mind.

2. Stay old-fashioned: How did you spend summer days and nights as a child? Revisit old favorites: star-gazing, basketball in the driveway, frozen fruit pops, a cookout with friends, a trip to the local pool. You don’t need a payday loan online for these activities.

3. Take it easy on vacation: Try a camping vacation or a road trip. One study found that a family of four can take a weeklong RV trip for $483, compared to $1,169 for a car trip (staying in motels) or a painful $2,918 for a vacation by plane. For a getaway on the (dirt) cheap, pitch a tent in your backyard - and borrow your own indoor plumbing.

4. Think cold: Think “Christmas in July” and plan now for holiday purchases. Make sure you have a budget in place for seasonal gifts. Then, take advantage of summer sales to get great deals. This will help you not become one of the millions that turns to faxless payday loans for last-second shopping.

Another terrorist attack? Scary. A natural disaster? We'd prefer not to think about it. But debt from credit cards and pay day loans? A recent poll shows this is the fear that most worries Americans.

More than 80 percent of citizens point to this issue as serious problem; worse, 35 percent say their level of debt has increased in the past five years. These numbers are courtest of a nationwide survey from the Center for American Progress, a nonpartisan research and educational institute in Washington.

The poll said that 23 percent of Americans aren’t able to pay their monthly debts - be it from credit cards, student loans or faxless payday loans - while 48 percent said higher living costs are contributing to their fiscal dilemmas.The situation also affects a growing number of Ohioans, reports The Columbus Dispatch, with the state ranked sixth in the nation in the most bankruptcy filings during the first quarter of this year.

"The economy might be strong and unemployment may be down, but that’s not what people are feeling in their individual lives," said Bill McInturff, co-founder of Public Opinion Strategies. "You have one out of four people who can’t pay their debt."

According to the survey, 33 percent of Americans carry nonmortgage debt of more than $10,000. Moreover, only 51 percent are able to pay their entire credit card bill each month. Numbers were not available for specific payday loan balances. The problem, the survey said, is so pervasive that it’s become "a growing threat to the American middle class and the American dream."

"People don’t see debt as a low-income problem," said Anna Greenberg, vice president of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, a research and strategic consulting firm in Washington. "More people view it as a problem for middle-class families who are worried about not being able to have a secure retirement or are afraid of being victim to identity theft."

Overall, debt in the country has increased substantially over 30 years, with the average American household holding $8,000 in credit card debt. Do the math and this result adds up to over $813 billion owed. That's a lot.

As Americans took on large debt than expected in May - to the jaw-dropping total of $4.4 BILLION - it would be easy to blame the prolifieration of payday loans for these difficulties.

However, revolving/mounting debt from credit cards was the main culprit.

Borrowers in the U.S. pushed up overall outstanding consumer credit by 2.4 percent (to a total of a cool $2.173 trillion) the Fed said Monday. As interest rates are raised by credit card companies, all of a sudden the use of pay day loans to help with this problem doesn't seem to expensive.

Nonrevolving debt, such as automobile loans, fell by 2 percent during the month. Meanwhile, a slowdown in consumer spending would allow the Fed to halt its interest-rate-tightening campaign. But if individals keep spending, the central bank would likely have to go further to tamp down inflation.

It seems unlikely Americans will stop charging items left and right. For that reason, you may wish to look into the world of payday loans online for assistance instead.

It's not your imagination.

There probably are more offers from credit card companies in your mailbox as the burgeoning industry desperately seeks new customers, even as most U.S. residents have more credit cards than they even use.

• Last year, a record 6.06 billion solicitations were mailed out, a new record.
• Only about 18 million of those offers, or about 0.3 percent, were accepted, also a new record.

Recognizing the need for better bait, companies are sweetening their offers with the promise of rebates or rewards, in which consumers spend, then get something back.

There is a card that pays down your home loans. There's one that provides rebates of up to 5 percent on the money you spend on gas. Even one that combines with credit card use. For consumers, the trend offers a chance to pursue rewards of almost any flavor.

It's also an enticement to spend more than you planned, letting things slip out of control, and leaving you with no choice but to apply for high-risk payday loans to get yourself out.

"If you have a high bill that you can't repay at the end of the month, the whole point of earning a 5 percent reward gets eaten in two seconds by the 18 percent interest rate," said Linda Sherry of Consumer Action.

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Based on the Federal Reserve Board's most recent Survey of Consumer Finances, American households piled on more debt between 2001 and 2004 than ever before. Meanwhile, their net worth barely increased.

The triennial survey, which asked questions on income, assets and debt, tracked roughly 4,500 families representing a cross section of the country. The idea was to gauge where individuals stand and maybe even to get an idea of how many have considered the use of faxless payday loans in order to solve such fiscal woes.

The report said that as debt levels rose during the three-year period, families devoted more of their incomes to servicing debts, despite a general decline in interest rates. Tracking the issue:

• In 2001, U.S. families carried a median debt load of $41,300, including mortgages, lines of credit, installment loans, cash loans and credit-card balances.
• By 2004, the median debt load had climbed to $55,300, a 33.9 percent increase.

Kendall Oliphant, director of operations for Salt Lake-based Thredgold Economic Associates, said the survey offers a good history lesson, but it does not tell a lot about what is happening right now.

"The fact that it is talking about a time period where we were in recession and then a weak recovery period, that's not surprising that the numbers are a little bit ugly," said Oliphant, who added that in 2001 U.S. bankruptcies were up 19 percent.

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The Day of Reckoning is coming.

So says an article in the Toronto Sun, in reference to the indebted masses of Canadian consumers who keep on borrowing against their future to stay afloat today. Sooner or later, that house of cards will collapse and a massive pool of consumer debt is all that will remain.

Escalating energy prices and higher interest rates will finally take out the consumer bubble in the U.S. and drag down Canada, according to a new economic outlook by the Conference Board of Canada.

"Consumer spending in the United States barely flinched as energy prices tripled in recent years, but the party is expected to wind down," Kip Beckman, the board's principal research associate, said. "High energy prices and the rising cost of borrowing mean that households will have less disposable income to spend."

What we have been seeing all along is a false sense of economic stability, as consumers flock to the malls, armed with cheap loans encouraging them to buy now, pay later. This is a pattern that often leaves people strapped at the end of the month when vital bills are due, with no options remaining but to apply for a high-interest payday loan.

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The debt situation in America isn't pretty. There's little wonder why payday loan use has been on the rise when you consider the following:
- As of April, consumer debt through commercial banks was increasing at an annual rate of 6 percent, according to the Federal Reserve.

- Credit card debt in the United States rose by about 70 percent in the last decade, according to the Center for American Progress.

- Household debt is at a record high (121.2 percent) as a percentage of disposable income.

- Families have cashed out more home equity than ever before, the center reported.

- From 2001 to 2004, the proportion of families carrying a credit card balance rose 1.8 percentage points, to 46.2 percent.

- From 2001 to 2004, the proportion of families that reported that they had saved in the preceding year fell 3 percentage points.

Financial problems continue to escalate. Some may think the use of no faxing payday loans would contribute to these difficulties, but others see them as a way out.