Lesson: Credit cards are not your friend. Like many Americans, Rebecca Bloomwood (Isla Fisher) likes to shop. In fact, she likes to shop so much that she winds up with $16,000 in credit card debt and her very own debt collector.

While Rebecca's wastrel ways are played for laughs in "Confessions of a Shopaholic" (what could be funnier than an out-of-control addiction that could potentially ruin your life?), her unsuccessful attempts to rein in her spending should seem painfully familiar to a nation enthralled with "magic cards."

According to myFICO, the average consumer has 13 credit obligations, nine of which are likely to be credit cards. (See the quiz "Do you have a spending problem?") The average individual owes $5,729 in credit card debt, and credit card companies are raising rates, even for good customers. (See "Sneaky changes to your credit cards.")

Rebecca, with about three times the average debt and a collection agency hot on her heels, manages to squirm out of her predicament by auctioning off her designer duds (see "Empty your closets, fill your pockets") and maybe, just maybe, mending her ways. But for most folks, high credit card debt can result in much bigger problems, such as losing out on a job or an apartment, paying higher insurance rates and trashing credit scores, which mean a much higher interest on that home sweet home, among other things.

And if that doesn't keep you away from the department stores, remember that financial stress can also cost you your health. (See "Want to sleep better? Save $500.")

Need help? See "Your 5-minute guide to managing debt."

Continued: "The Grapes of Wrath"