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St. Louis News Today

Sunday, January 12, 2003

Getting Out of Debt and Losing Weight Tie As
the Top Priority for Most Americans
ST. LOUIS, MO, (Newstream), January 12, 2003 - For the first time ever, the same percentage of Americans (29%) say getting out of debt and losing weight and exercising more are their top New Year's Resolutions, according to the Cambridge Consumer Credit Index.

In January 2002, 30% of Americans said losing weight and exercising more was the most important thing they could do, closely followed by 28% who said paying down debt was most important. The percentage of Americans wanting to improve their personal relationships dropped from 13% in 2002 to 11% this year. The percentage of those wanting to stop smoking and drinking, on the other hand, rose from 8% in 2002 to 11% this year.

These findings are the result of monthly nationwide telephone poll of 1000+ adults conducted by ICR/International Communications Research, sponsored by The Debt Relief Clearinghouse.

"The results of Cambridge Consumer Credit Index indicate that the $1.7 trillion in debt consumers are carrying has become such a burden that the same percentage of consumers now consider getting out of debt equally important to the perennial favorite New Year's Resolution of losing weight and exercising more," says Jordan Goodman, spokesperson for the Index.

The overall Cambridge Consumer Credit Index dropped by nine points in January to 58, as an enormous drop in expectations for taking on debt in the next month outweighed a large increase in debt taken on in the last month filled with holiday gift-buying. The "Reality Gap," which is the difference between the amount of debt consumers say they will pay off in the next month compared to the amount of debt they actually pay off a month later, doubled to10 percentage points, widening the gap between intentions and reality. A month ago, 69% planned to pay off debt, while a month later only 59% actually did so.

The Cambridge Consumer Credit Index is a forward looking economic indicator gauging consumer spending and debt. It is released on the fifth business day of every month to coincide with the Federal Reserve Board's G19 release of consumer credit outstanding data.

In conjunction with the Index, the Cambridge Credit Counseling Corp., is releasing its monthly survey of people who have called in for credit counseling services over the past month. Cambridge representatives ask callers for the primary reason that they found it necessary to get help with their debts now. Of the 1084 people who answered, this was the order of their responses:

1. I am frustrated with high bank rates and fees (32.1%)
2. My income has been reduced from a lower salary, less overtime or layoff (26.1%)
3. I got into too much debt by overspending (12.5%)
4. I want to improve my ability to achieve future financial goals like buying a house or saving for retirement (9.5%)
5. My lack of financial education caused me to take on too much debt (8.5%)
6. Large medical expenses forced me to take on huge debts (6.3%)
7. Other reasons (2.7%)
8. My recent divorce or widowhood forced me to take on large debts (2.3%)

"January and February typically are our busiest months in terms of consumers looking for help with excessive debt levels," said Chris Viale, general manager of Cambridge Credit. "In December alone, we have witnessed a 26% increase of consumers seeking assistance with debt management needs, due to unemployment and a reduction of income levels. This serves as a clear indication that market conditions are having a negative affect on the financial stability of American households."

Department of Natural Resources Launches
New Campground Reservation System
JEFFERSON CITY, MO, (Newstream), January 12, 2003 - Have you thought about spending the Fourth of July weekend in a Missouri state park? With the new enhanced campground reservation system, you can make your reservations now for a campsite in one of 24 Missouri state parks for important spring and early summer weekends.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has implemented a new enhanced campground reservation system in 24 state parks. The new system, which was implemented Jan. 1, has increased the number of campsites that are reservable to 2,000 and makes reserving a campsite easier and more convenient. You can make reservations by calling toll-free 1-877-422-6766 (1-877-ICampMO) from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week.

"The department is always looking for ways to improve customer service and support tourism statewide. We believe this new system will not only make campground reservations easier for our campers but also support tourism and be more cost-efficient for our state park system to operate," said Steve Mahfood, director of the Department of Natural Resources.

Another major change for the reservation system is that campers can now make reservations six months in advance instead of three months as in the old system. That means reservations are now being taken for favorite times such as trout opening (March 1), Memorial Day weekend and Independence Day. Reservations can still be made up to two days before arrival if campsites are available.

To ensure that the state park system serves all campers, a significant portion of campsites in state parks with reservations will remain available on a first-come, first-serve basis. The only exception is Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park, where the entire campground is reservable. Also, in 2003, all sites in 15 state parks and historic sites will be first-come, first-serve basis.

The regular camping fees will apply. An $8.50 fee per site will be charged for making a reservation, and there is a $5 charge for changing or canceling a reservation. Payment for reservations can be made by credit card, debit card, check or money order.

For more information about Missouri's state park system and the campground reservation system, contact the Department of Natural Resources toll free at 1-800-334-6946 (voice) or 1-800-379-2419 (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf) or through e-mail at moparks@mail.dnr.state.mo.us. Information is also on the Web at www.mostateparks.com

Ban Spamming Says Large Majority of Those Online
ROCHESTER, N.Y., (PRNewswire), January 5, 2003 - The public is up in arms about spamming and does not want to take it anymore. Among those who are online, fully 80% say that they find spamming very annoying, a huge increase from the 49% who felt this way two and a half years ago.

As a result of this hostility, an overwhelming 74% to 12% majority of those online favors making mass spamming illegal. This support for banning mass spamming is found among every demographic group. Between 70% and 80% of all age groups, all income groups, both sexes, blacks, whites and Hispanics, Republicans and Democrats all favor such a ban.

These are the results of The Harris Poll(R) conducted online by Harris Interactive(R) between November 22 and December 2, 2002 among a national sample of 2,221 adults, aged 18 or over, who are online.

While many people are annoyed by many different kinds of spam, messages selling pornography (91%), mortgages and loans (79%), investments (68%) and real estate (61%) annoy the largest number of people.

While those who are angry about spamming have increased dramatically, some other problems associated with online activity have decreased since March 2002 when some of the same questions were asked in another Harris Poll. These changes surely reflect improvements in technology, with more people having faster connections to the Web, and the increased sophistication of Internet users. As a result:

Those who are very annoyed by "how long you have to wait for the information you want to come up on your screen" have fallen from 25% to 17% of all online users.
Those who are very annoyed by "how long it takes to find the websites you need" have fallen from 20% to only 10%.
Huge increase in last two years in those who find spamming very annoying
Pornography and financial services top the list of most annoying types of spam

Two other kinds of annoyance have not changed very much since 2000. Those who are very annoyed by "information you get from the Web which is not accurate or reliable" are relatively unchanged at 32%, compared to 35% in 2000. And those who are very annoyed at the "times when you need help from someone outside your home to make your system work properly" have not changed much at 21% now, compared to 18% two years ago.

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