It’s not a difficult situation to imagine. You’ve recently returned to college from winter break – and already you’re broke. Despite working 40-hour weeks at a department store during your “time off,” your savings have continued to dwindle. After Christmas presents, gas for your car, and this month’s rent – there’s not much left. But you need money for books - $375 to be exact. (The federal government says the average cost of books and supplies for full-time students at public four-year universities during the 2003-2004 school year was $898.)

You need the books, but you don’t have the cash. So you charge them to your credit card. Attempting to keep costs down without getting into trouble with the credit card company, you make only the minimum payment each month. You don’t make any other purchases with your credit card. (A highly unlikely situation, but a necessary condition in this example for mathematical purposes.) Four years and eight months later, you finally pay off those books. You’ve also coughed up about $180 in interest to your credit card company.

Find out what you should know about credit cards, credit scores, and debt - and what you can do about it - by scrolling over the text in the upper-right hand corner of this page. If you're worried about the cost of a college education, you can start by familiarizing yourself with available federal loans.

Rent and groceries for one month - $725.00

Interest while making minimum payments at 18 percent - $1,106.03

Spending 14 years as a slave to Visa - Lifeless