Per capita bankruptcy filings on the increase in Colorado

It sounds like a good idea: Go out to dinner, charge it to your credit card so you can pay the bill when you choose. Heck, some cards even offer up to 20 percent cash back at some restaurants and throw in frequent-flyer miles to boot.

Be careful: 20 years later, you may still be paying off that meal with the equity from a home you can never afford to own.

During one of the most prosperous times in their history, Americans are accumulating credit-card debt faster than at any other time. When the burden gets too expensive, they are resorting to…