Yazmin Lopez, here at home in Madison, Wis., first learned about credit scores from a personal finance book she picked up at Goodwill a few years after coming to the U.S. as a teenager. Lianne Milton for NPR hide caption

Across America: Debt On The Rise
Stephanie Roth and her three children. Roth works full time but struggles to keep up with bills as prices rise. Like millions of Americans, she has found herself in mounting credit card debt. Stephanie Roth hide caption
Credit Card Nation: How we went from record savings to record debt in just two years
This illustration picture shows debit and credit cards arranged on a desk on April 6, 2020 in Arlington, Va. Americans are using their credit cards more to pay for everyday expenses at a time when interest rates are rising. Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Americans are piling up credit card debt — and it could prove very costly
New research tackles the central question about "buy now, pay later": Does it encourage people to overspend? Peter Dazeley/Getty Images hide caption