Consumers scramble to pay credit card bills, let everything else slide

In these tough economic times, people are leaning on their credit cards more than ever. So when it comes time to decide which bills to pay, those are the ones that make it to the top of the pile.

Credit reporting agency TransUnion reported Monday that credit card delinquency rates fell in the third quarter, continuing a drop-off that began a quarter earlier. Average credit card borrower debt fell by 1.87% to $5,612 from the previous quarter's $5,719, and down 1.71% compared to the third quarter of 2008. But this is not a sign that the economy is improving.