confidence may be part of it, but greg mcbride, sr. financial analyst at bankrate.com, thinks it may be happening out of necesssity. "household income rose only 2.1% last year, and now that's taken away by the 2% raise in the payroll tax. so people are borrowing because of stagnant wages and resorting to credit for necessities." during the next six months, bankers expect more requests for lines of credit and balances to increase. does it mean more americans will put themselves at greater financial risk? not necessarily. "increasing your credit line sometimes can help your credit score by increasing your available credit. but opening new lines of credit can be negative, depending on everything else going on there." another credit-related development - retailers may now add a surcharge if you make your purchase with a credit card, though some may do so at their own risk. "there are a lot of consumers who will walk in, see the surcharge sign and walk down the street to a competitor that doesn't charge a surcharge." it's far from universal

greg mcbride of bankrate.com is on set with us this morning with an idea or two. it's great to have you here in person. > >it's great to be here. thanks angie. > >thanks for stopping by. let's talk about this roth 401k ira idea that's new. what's happening there exactly? > >about half of employers that offer 401k plans also offer what's known as the roth 401k. which is just basically another option for people when they're making their contributions. rather than putting in the money before it's taxed and then having to pay takes in retirement when you take it out the roth is the opposite of that. you pay taxes now, but the withdrawals in retirement are tax free. > >but doesn't that mean a big hit up front for some people? > >if you're looking at converting some of your existing 401k balance into the roth 401k yes you will pay a big tax because all that money that previously hadn't been taxed now gets treated as taxable income. so i think that's going to be a hindrance to a lot of people being able to take advantage of it because you have to pay those taxes with mon

greg mcbride is a senior financial analyst. to see the number is disturbing. >> very disturbing. even compounding that is the fact this really hasn't changed much in the past couple of years, which means people are having a difficult time making progress financially and right sizing the equation to have more savings than credit card debt. >> if people save more and spend less, the economy goes into the toilet. we're in a no-win. >> it's a painful adjustment. that's why the sluggish growth. incomes aren't growing. it's not the time of environment that inspires people to spend. they're trying to focus on paying down debt and boosting savings. in the long run we're better off. in the short run, a painful adjustment. >> what are people supposed to do here? >> on the savings front, the biggest barrier is not being in the habit. automate the process. set up direct deposit from your paycheck into a dedicated savings account. get the money to work for you before you can spend it. it forces to you live on less than you make and that's the essence of building wealth. get a good handle of w