The current credit crisis was fuelled by country wide home loans being given to low-income families for over-valued homes and now the storm has hit many people find themselves with ‘negative equity’ – their home is worth less than their mortgage!  As well as the housing market, consumers with an over-reliance on their credit cards are being hit hard too.  The minimum APRs on even the low rate cards are at least 4% higher than two years ago.  As well as this, some companies have been forced to double minimum payments on customers with higher interest cards!  When these facts are aligned with the shocking rise in the price of gas it is easy to imagine that a lot of families will be hit hard and will be forced into foreclosure and ultimately bankruptcy.