The middle class seems to have a new kind of credit addiction, reminding some of what happened before the Great Recession.
It's called the online installment loan, and Thomas Nitzsche with Money Management International tells KTRH it's a way for the payday loan and sub-prime industries to get around regulations.
"They are high interest loans designed for sub-prime or near sub-prime borrowers," Nitzsche said.
Sub-prime borrowers now owe about $50 billion in these loans. Did we not learn anything from the financial crisis a decade ago?
"History tends to repeat itself. That's sort of what we are seeing here," Nitzsche stated.
And, Nitzsche adds there are two other factors; people continue to live beyond their means, and inflation is outpacing wage increases, putting pressure on consumers.