Forex Group

Banks liked credit cards and home equity loans, too. They were much easier to underwrite and cheaper to manage. Until a couple of years ago, "most big banks would actually hand you a credit card application if you walked in asking for a consumer loan that was on the smaller side," says Gerri Detweiler, a credit adviser for consumer information Web site Credit.com.

But the real-estate crash and credit crunch vaporized home equity and credit card lines alike. Now, nearly 25% of American homeowners owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth, according to First American CoreLogic. And in 2008 and 2009, credit card issuers have cut $1.5 trillion from consumers' available credit lines, according to research firm TowerGroup -- and will continue to cut through the end of 2012.