The nature and structure of the human brain makes it difficult to not run up credit card debt. Our brain almost automatically compares cost to benefit when we are considering a purchase; however, benefits are evaluated in a different part of the brain than costs. The reward center of the brain, the ventral striatum, activates in response to the item we want. The prospect of getting that item feels good. On the other hand, the insula, the area of the brain that evaluates pain and expected loss, reacts to actually having to pay for the product. Using a credit card to purchase something, whether we need it or not, gives us a sudden rush of instant gratification. However, we do not feel the pain of having to pay for it until the credit card bill arrives.
Credit cards are addictive because they hijack the ventral striatum (part of the dopamine system) which gives us the pleasure of buying something we want. On top of this, at least eight percent of men and women are addicted to shopping, only further triggering the potent addiction mechanism of credit cards.