The trouble is, many are putting it on their credit cards--and most of them don’t even realize it.

Much has been written about credit-card debt swirling out of control, but the blame so far has been leveled mainly on self-indulgent baby boomers or low-income families using credit to survive.

But economists and financial specialists have identified a more puzzling group: Conscientious savers and avid investors who are carrying hefty balances on their plastic.

In effect, "they’re borrowing to save," said Nate Franke, head of retail services at Deloitte & Touche in Costa Mesa.

Indeed, in a study on credit card debt, MasterCard found that more people are using debt to purchase financial assets such as stocks and bonds.

Generally, according to the study, it’s a circuitous route. A consumer uses a credit card to pay for a new sofa, or delays paying off old debt, for instance, so he can maximize his contributions to a savings plan.

That finding was reinforced by a Times Orange County Poll. More than one-third of those who owned stocks or stock-related investments also said they didn’t pay off their credit card debt every month. The poll of 600 Orange County adults was conducted March 2000 by Mark Baldassare and Associates.

Whether that’s a safe bet depends on whom you ask. MasterCard argues that going into debt to help finance savings is far superior to using credit cards only for goods and services with no lasting value.

"Most people try to balance living well now with saving for the future," said Lawrence Chimerine, chief economist at the Economic Strategy Institute and a consultant for MasterCard. "As long as [the debt] is matched by an increase in the value of assets, rather than funneling all of it into consumption, I think it’s healthy."

But what if it isn’t matched?

Stock markets can go down as well as up. Some financial experts have been warning that surging stock market returns led some people to fall into a dangerous trap of getting more heavily in debt because they felt more flush at the moment--even if their investment funds were tied up in long-term retirement plans.

These advisors point out that the stock market historically averages an 11% return. By paying finance charges on their debt, they say, investors are effectively wiping out at least part of their investment income.

Often, though, that advice fell on deaf ears.

Larry Beltramo, a financial planner at Regency Securities in Irvine, said that some people became so enamored by the stock market in the past couple of years that they wanted to plunge in despite large existing debt loads. Some even wanted to add to their debt to raise cash to invest in stocks. He told them to come back and see him when they’re debt-free.

"Some people get mad. They say, ’What do you mean? Everyone else is investing.’ They’re not looking at the big picture."

Maintaining a Lifestyle

For many people, a certain amount of credit card debt, weighed against their savings, has simply become an acceptable risk.

Take Julie Harkins, a 52-year-old middle school teacher in Irvine, and her husband, Chuck, a retired aerospace engineer, who manage to sock away about $12,000 a year into their investments. They have IRA accounts, a mutual fund and stock, and she expects to have an annual income of about $30,000 when she retires in eight years.