Hawai'i and Alaska rank highest in the nation in the number of credit card holders who have used more than half of their credit card limit.

"Maxing out credit cards may ... have a negative effect on their credit score," said Ty Taylor, president of Experian Consumer Direct, a credit-scoring company that conducted the study.

Experian said 17.4 percent of Hawai'i and Alaska residents use more than half of the credit available to them. The national average is 14.3 percent.

The study also found that Hawai'i consumers on average carry about 4.3 credit cards, or slightly more than the national average of 4.

"My concern is how much of this is just people scrambling trying to keep up with their daily lives," said Wendy Burkholder, Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Hawaii executive director.

Burkholder said the average client comes in to her offices with about $18,000 of credit card debt. That's up from $12,000 to $14,000 a year and a half ago.

"That's a problem," she said.

Burkholder said people need to be wary of subsidizing their lifestyle by spending beyond their means through the use of credit cards.

She said people who are near or at their credit card spending limits, or who have been rejected for a new credit card need to stop and examine their finances. The same applies to folks who can't make ends meet and are using credit cards to buy groceries and clothing, Burkholder said.

"Although credit is convenient, consumers should keep in mind that good credit management means being able to pay on time each month and paying off debt in a reasonable amount of time," added Experian's Taylor.

Nationally, people have been increasing their use of credit cards since they were introduced by Diners Club more than five decades ago. In September, the U.S. Government Accountability Office report found consumers charged $1.8 trillion for goods and services in 2005, up from an estimated $69 billion in 1980. The Federal Reserve estimates the average American Household owed about $2,200 in credit card debt in 2004.

The GAO report also noted the increased use of cards has contributed to rising household debt, which totaled about $830 billion at the end of 2005. That was 14 times more than it was 25 years earlier.

Other Experian data show Hawai'i consumers may be better than those nationally when it comes to managing their finances. The overall score for Hawai'i residents in its index assessing creditworthiness is 691. That compares with the average score of 673 for the nation as a whole.

Still, Burkholder said people need to be careful when it comes to credit cards and living in a culture that encourages people to "borrow and borrow and borrow."

"Sometimes we borrow beyond our means," she said. "We're kind of in the mindset that credit is our safety net and not savings."

Reach Greg Wiles at gwiles@honoluluadvertiser.com.