America runs on funny money now

Getty Images; Tyler Le/BI

When Mirav Steckel opened each of her 15 credit cards, she thought the discounts and rewards they offered would save her money. Instead, her plastic portfolio pushed her into impulse purchases and forced her to reevaluate her spending habits.

"If it was a really bad day at work, my first thought wasn't, 'Oh, let me go home and chill.' It was, 'I'm going to go treat myself to something that's going to make me feel better,' but it got to a point where I was...