In such instances, people sometimes find themselves living off credit, charging every purchase they make, and sometimes, like Jane, going so far as to get new cards to pay off old ones.

While credit-card abuse happens nationwide, overcharging represents only a small amount of bankruptcy cases.

“People want to pay their debt,” said Rheam, who cited confidentiality reasons in declining to disclose the number of cases his firm has handled. “The trend across the country is they want to, but can’t.”

Buying food on credit

Things started to go downhill when Jane’s marriage began to sour.

She found herself beginning to pay for items on her own, but with credit cards.

After she and her husband divorced, she rented an area house for $1,000 a month.

Because her $12-an-hour part-time job did not pay enough to support her and her children, she also decided to go back to school at a Valley university.

“The money was not near enough,” she said. “I didn’t splurge. I didn’t do anything frivolous. I lived meagerly.”

Jane recalled going grocery shopping only when she absolutely had to.

And then paying for the items with a credit card.

Consumers aren’t reckless

Divorce and separation represent a sizable portion of the reasons people face financial difficulties, Rheam said.