After emerging from what she described as an abusive marriage, 29-year-old Suze from Quincy says she was buried in $15,000 of debt. Years of illness had kept her from working, she said, and with little income and few options, she relied on a credit card to get by.
“My husband was abusive, so he wasn’t taking care of me,’’ said Suze, who requested not to use her full name to protect her safety. “The only options I had were credit card, like food delivery service,” she said, “just all the necessities.”
Suze’s experience reflects what consumer debt experts and lawyers say they’re seeing more often: people turning to credit cards to cover everyday expenses when illness, job loss or rising costs leave them with few alternatives. It’s a phenomenon experts call “survival debt.”
And the problem is growing. Massachusetts consumer debt cases jumped to more than 145,000 in 2025, a 50% increase from 2019, according to a recent analysis of Massachusetts trial court data released by the Pew Charitable Trusts. Suffolk County, which includes Boston and Chelsea, saw the largest increase in cases in Massachusetts, with cases up 68%.
These lawsuits include all kinds of companies suing people for unpaid debts. The vast majority are debt buyers that purchased the debt for pennies on the dollar. Court cases are considered to reflect only a fraction of the vast amount of debt carried by consumers in Massachusetts and across the U.S.
Lester Bird, a senior manager with The Pew Charitable Trusts in Washington, D.C., said the increase in debt cases in Massachusetts follows a national trend. Pew analyzed consumer court data from eight states, including Missouri and Texas.
“Already we’re seeing record-high debts for individuals. We’re seeing families and people struggling with the cost of living right now,’’ he said. “All of a sudden we’ve got more and more people facing the [wage] garnishments and the consequences that come from being sued is sort of making for a really challenging environment for people across the country.”
Suze said everything she couldn’t afford went on a credit card: food, utility bills, and other household needs. She also paid off some of her husband’s debt, something she said she felt obligated to do. Then her health worsened, she was hospitalized and the bills kept growing.
“I expected my ex to help me pay it off because that had always been our thing,’’ she said. “And then he took all the money from our joint account and dipped.”
She said that she knew credit card companies would likely come after her, so filed for bankruptcy to head off being sued for debts.
Maegan Hurley, a bankruptcy attorney and founder of the nonprofit Massachusetts Debt Relief Foundation, says she’s hearing an increase of similar pleas for help from people struggling with debt. Clients usually come to her after a crisis: a car repossessed, a lawsuit, or a pending eviction.
“Typically credit card debt is what you see,” Hurley said, “But what you don’t see is that they use that credit card to put gas in the car to go to work, or put food on the table for their family. You know, it’s necessity. It’s living expenses.”
Hurley said the foundation typically helps about 100 people file for bankruptcy each year. This year they’ve already helped 117.
“So we’re blowing past those numbers,” Hurley said.
A recent study from Lending Tree showed Massachusetts bankruptcies rose nearly 8% between 2024 and 2025.
Consumer advocates say Massachusetts could reduce the debt burden by shielding more of people’s income or bank balances from debt collection and limiting the amount of interest that can be added to court judgments that require future payments. The state Senate passed a bill in January that would make those changes but it has stalled in the House.
Hurley said many people assume that debt is due to “bad spending habits or lack of education. And that’s not the case,” she said.
“My clients know their budget way better than ... people making $100,000 a year because they have to make every penny count,” Hurley said. “They’re already doing the best they can with nothing.”
With Hurley’s help, Suze filed for bankruptcy. She’s now working again and says her health has improved. She thinks people shouldn’t judge those who end up in debt.
“I think that anyone can go into debt, especially in this economy. Sometimes people have no options. Sometimes it’s ‘go into debt or starve,’” she said, “Sometimes the credit cards are the option. Just to keep you going, just to keep you alive another day.”
