Thank goodness for plastic. It's helping Jim Jeppson keep a roof over his head.

"If it hadn't been for credit cards, I wouldn't be able to pay my house payment," the 68-year-old West Jordan resident said this past week after filling up at a local gas station. Like Jeppson, more people in Utah and across the nation are using credit to pay for basics such as food and gas, as they struggle to keep pace with rising costs, said Gail Cunningham, spokeswoman for the National Foundation for Credit Counseling in Silver Spring, Md.

"Consumers are putting more charges on their credit cards because they're funneling all available money toward their mortgage payment," she said.

Consumer credit balances rose $15 billion between February and March to $2.56 trillion, the Federal Reserve reported this month. That rise comes at an annual rate of 7.2 percent. Revolving credit — credit cards are an example — increased for the month at a 7.9 percent annual rate and accounted for $957 billion, or about 38 percent, of the total.

Some of the debt that consumers are racking up goes for luxury items. But as basic prices rise, some of that credit-card use is for survival, because people are on a fixed income, or because they are already overextended. Either way, the consequences can be severe, including bankruptcy, especially in the event of a medical emergency or job loss, said Bill Crim, vice president of community impact for United Way of Salt Lake.

"The economic consequences we're facing in this country are serious," he said.

According to some national sources, having $9,000 in credit-card debt is pretty average. Barbara Holcomb of Kaysville owes that much, and she's happy to talk about it, mainly because it's $7,000 less than it was in October.

The Fairfield Junior High English teacher and reading specialist has enrolled in Financial Peace University, part of Zions Bank's End Needless Debt program. She consolidated $16,000 in credit-card debt on another card's introductory no-interest rate and chips at the balance in $900 monthly chunks.

"I didn't get into debt overnight. If you allow it, it just sneaks up on you. We went out, we ate, we played, and at the end of the day, there was a bill," Holcomb said. "I've allowed money to put me in a position that I shouldn't be in, and I'm remedying that situation."

A little over half of Utah residents say they're also paying down their credit-card debt, or at least keeping it steady, according to Dan Jones & Associates survey.