Credit Card Destroyer

Credit card debt is the most destructive form of consumer debt, full stop. Average rates sit around 22%, so a $5,000 balance paid with only the minimum can take well over a decade to clear — and the interest can end up costing more than the original purchase.

The math is brutal because credit card interest compounds. Each month you pay interest on top of last month's interest. Meanwhile, the things you bought — clothes, meals, gadgets — are worth nothing. This is the purest form of bad debt: high interest financing purchases that lose value fast.