I got into credit card debt for the first time at 24 and want to share exactly how it happened — because it wasn't dramatic.

I got a credit card when I turned 22 and used it correctly for about a year and a half. Then I had a month where my car needed $800 in repairs and I put it on the card meaning to pay it off next month.

Next month I couldn't pay it off because something else had come up. The month after I paid the minimum because I was stressed about money. Three months later the $800 had become $950 with interest and I'd added another $300 I couldn't cover.

By month 6 I had $2,200 in credit card debt and I still didn't quite understand how it had happened.

The pattern: one initial event that broke the habit of paying in full, followed by a cascade where carrying a balance normalized. The interest compounded. The balance felt increasingly unmanageable.

The solution: balance transfer to a 0% card, strict cash-only for 3 months to break the spending habit, paid off the balance within the promotional period. But the lesson was about how easy it is to cross the line from cardholder to debtor.