10 Reasons You Will Never Get Out of Debt

Buried under a pile of past-due bills? Follow these tips to pay off what you owe and get yourself back on firm financial footing.

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Do you feel as if you’ll be in debt forever? You’re not alone. According to a 2019 survey by CreditCards.com, 25% of Americans with debt say they’ll never be able to pay off all of the money they owe. That’s a discouragingly large number of people who expect to carry their debt to the grave.

If you’re in this situation, step back, set aside the despair and ask yourself how you got here in the first place. Here are 10 common reasons people fall deep into debt and can’t get out of it. Identify the reasons that apply to you, then formulate a plan using our effective strategies to conquer the root causes of your debt.

Michael DeSenne
Executive Editor, Kiplinger.com
DeSenne made the leap to online financial journalism in 1998, just in time for the dot-com boom. After a stint with Dow Jones Newswires, dreams of IPO riches led him to SmartMoney.com, where over nine years he held several positions, including executive editor. He later served as the personal finance editor at HouseLogic.com and AARP.org. In 2011, he joined Kiplinger.com, where he focuses on content strategy, video, SEO and Web analytics. DeSenne has a BA from Williams College in Anthropology—a major deemed the absolute worst for career success by none other than Kiplinger.