You always hear about how easy it is to get into credit card debt, and it’s easy to see why; it basically feels like you’re getting a whole lot of stuff for free—until you get the bill in the mail.

What you might not realize is just how common credit card debt is. A study from a couple years ago estimated that nearly nine in 10 people have experienced or will experience some significant level of credit card debt in their life. Obviously the levels of this debt will vary for each person, but it just goes to show how common debt has become in American society.

Basically, when it comes down to it, the concern of credit card debt is secondary to how convenient credit cards are.

However, the stigma of credit card debt hasn’t been entirely removed. Another more recent study shows that credit card debt is the number one topic of conversation that people try to avoid, beating out love life, politics, religion, and more. This would indicate that everybody’s getting into debt, and nobody wants to talk about it.

Part of the reason for this might be the fact that people are embarrassed at how easily they fell into the credit card debt trap. You don’t necessarily fall into debt simply by buying things you can’t afford (although that’s a great way to do it). There are all kinds of different credit card pitfalls that people fall into that send them into debt.

Perhaps another reason that people fall into debt is that they’re not talking about it with anybody. You can always seek out financial experts to get advice on how to avoid debt, such as the professionals at your credit union, especially if you feel as though it’s become a problem that you can’t handle on your own.

Have you ever had to climb out of credit card debt? How did you manage to do it?