Source: Anna Bahney, USA Today

The troubled economy is leaving consumers with increasingly tough decisions about which debts to pay first, and in some cases, which to pay at all.

In the latest indication of these pressures, late payments on home-equity lines of credit rose to an 11-year high in the first quarter of 2008, according to the American Bankers Association.

Falling home equity and stock values, job losses, rising food and energy costs, and slow income growth have stretched consumers in the first quarter. With more demands on discretionary income, consumers have fewer resources to devote to personal debt.

Read Full Article: Home equity credit line delinquencies hit high