Credit card debt is in the news. Again. Nationwide, credit card debt is up to about $931 billion, or roughly $7,957 per household. Older Americans are taking on more credit card debt, to pay for medical and other expenses. And young people are paying off their credit card debt more slowly.   

Which is why we’re so very proud of Mary Dooe, who works as an associate producer here at Marketplace and has done some hard time on Marketplace Money. The experience seems to have hammered a few of our basic personal finance lessons into her. Such as… Credit card debt is expensive, and should be eradicated where possible! And… Reduce your number of credit cards to maintain spending discipline!

This week Mary announced she has done such a good job of cutting costs, socking money away and paying off debt, that she is able to close down one of her credit card accounts.

Congratulations, Mary!