Home equity lines run late

USA TODAY, July, 2008 by Anna Bahney

The troubled economy is leaving consumers with increasingly tough decisions about which debts to pay first, and in some cases, which to pay at all.

In the latest indication of these pressures, late payments on home-equity lines of credit rose to an 11-year high in the first quarter of 2008, according to the American Bankers Association.

"It's not a surprise at all that delinquencies are at an 11-year high," says Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors. "The consumer is getting hit from all directions."

Falling home equity and stock values, job losses, rising food and energy costs, and slow income growth have stretched consumers in the first quarter. With more demands on discretionary income, consumers have fewer resources to devote to...