DES MOINES &#8212 With the holiday shopping season in full swing, economists and credit experts say they’re concerned about a rise in credit problems in Iowa.

The average Iowan’s debt, including such things as credit cards and car loans, grew 4.1 percent from June to September to nearly $13,000, according to the Experian National Score Index. Nationally, the average debt rose 2.2 percent to just over $16,000.

The average debt of people seeking help from Consumer Credit Counseling of Des Moines, a nonprofit counseling service, rose 54 percent from 2002 to this year to about $17,400. The number of bankruptcies also is rising to more than 600 new filings in Iowa this month.

Counselors who work with debtors say there was an unusual rise in clients this fall – a typically slow season. They believe business will be brisk after the holidays.

“Today was a wild day for booking appointments,” Tom Coates, CEO of Consumer Credit of Des Moines, said Tuesday. “People are finally hitting that wall.”

He said 2008 could be record year for new clients.

A number of unfavorable economic factors are affecting consumers, including adjustable-rate mortgages which have risen, making it difficult to keep up with payments, experts said.

In addition, credit card interest rates are rising for people already in trouble.

What it boils down to, experts said, is that even in Iowa where debt levels are usually lower than elsewhere in the country, people are spending more than they can afford.

Tony Collins, 46, of Dallas Center, recently made his last payment to a credit counseling center, ending four years of paying off $25,000 in debt.

“Within 2? years I found myself robbing Peter to pay Paul,” Collins said.

He said his plan to keep small balances on several credit cards backfired when he couldn’t keep up the payments.

“I didn’t want to lose my home, and I wanted to protect my credit and get out of debt, he said.

Tahira Hira, an ISU professor, said getting into debt isn’t about buying expensive items.

“It’s spending more than what you really have, but you don’t know you’re doing it because you never sat down and took at good picture of your money coming in, and what has already gone out,” Hira said.

Collins drives a pickup truck with more than 200,000 miles. He said he didn’t get into debt to mimic the rich and famous.

He said he probably took on more debt than he could handle when he bought modest house seven years ago for $100,000.

But his payments were double what he had been paying in rent and other expenses, such as child support, took up most of his paycheck.

Although he was making $50,000, his expenses made it difficult to pay his day-to-day bills.

“I tried using different cards to keep the balance low, but it multiplies and compounds,” he said. “When you get to every payday, you just have to decide who gets paid first.”

People who seek credit counseling get a crash course in personal finances, said Coats, of Consumer Credit Counseling.