Credit Card Nation: How we went from record savings to record debt in just two years

Stephanie Roth, 41, realized just how much her financial situation had deteriorated when she was signing up to bring a dish to the Valentine's Day party at her kids' daycare.

"I used to always be a mom who would sign up for the main stuff like the sandwiches," she says. "You know, the big, expensive things."

A change of fortune

Before the pandemic, Roth was in a good financial situation. She could bring the sandwiches, the soda and the cupcakes. But last month, she realized that was no longer the case.

"I was literally looking at the list thinking, 'What has inflation not messed with?' And I signed up for bananas, because they're still 59 cents a pound."
 

Roth has three children, ages 2, 4 and 6 and lives in Lebanon, Tennessee, just outside of Nashville.

She has a full time job as an administrative medical assistant, helping adults with disabilities get services. She had never really had debt and had always been good with money. But during the pandemic, Roth went through a divorce and her finances and lifestyle changed dramatically.