Credit Float

Ok, so the home equity ATM is closed. So what should a consumer do?

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- A surge in credit-card debt in May pushed outstanding U.S. consumer debt up at a 6.4% annual rate, or $12.9 billion, to $2.44 trillion, the Federal Reserve reported Monday.

Credit-card debts rose at a 9.8% annual rate in May, the most in six months after a revised 0.2% gain in April. Earlier, April's credit-card debt was originally reported as a 0.5% decline. Read the full government report.

The average interest rate on credit-card accounts rose to 13.46%, the highest in five years.