paying down credit cards and not the Mortgage

Here's an interesting article detailing the fact that many U.S. consumers are skipping payments to their mortgage just to use the funds available to pay off their credit card.

U.S. consumers are starting to look like a frugal, debt-fearing lot as they pay down billions of dollars in credit-card obligations. But an alarming trend is emerging: A small but growing number of people are skipping mortgage payments in favor of paying their credit-card bills.

In an unprecedented shift, for some consumers having a credit card in good standing appears to have taken priority over having a roof over one's head, experts said.

While overall consumer debt rose unexpectedly in January, consumers continued to pay off their credit cards that month -- a record 16th straight month of lower credit-card debt -- with such debt dropping about $1.7 billion to $864.4 billion, according to the Federal Reserve on Friday. For further reading, click here.