Paying your bills late is the single largest factor (up to 35 percent) of how credit bureaus calculate your credit score. Did you know that? Probably not—and there’s much more the average American doesn’t know about credit and the current credit crisis we’re in, says South Florida attorney Edward Port.

In his new book Surviving the Credit Crisis, Port says: You’re in debt, and you don’t know how to dig yourself out. The vast majority of Americans want to do the right thing he adds. What can you do? Port goes on to explain, in non-lawyerly ways, how to develop a plan. And it was a lack of planning that got most Americans into debt troubles, says Port. It wasn’t until the 20th century, for example when Americans used credit to finance consumption. Prior to that, only the wealthy did so. But as America got further and further into the 20th century, the buy now, pay later mindset became the rule rather than the exception-as illustrated by the following numbers.Quoting both private and government sources, Surviving the Credit Crisis dramatically illustrates the problem this way: In 1950, Americans owed $19 million in consumer loans. Forty years later, the number has rocketed to $803 billion. And by 2010 it hit a mind blowing 2.6 trillion, says Port. That’s the problem. And the answer? What’s needed is a plan. Its in Surviving the Credit Crisis, says Port. And after reading it, You will have a plan—a plan that will guide you through the steps to relieve your stress…and to get a fresh start.