The troubled economy is leaving consumers with increasingly tough decisions about which debts to pay first, and in some cases, which to pay at all.

In the latest indication of these pressures, late payments on home-equity lines of credit rose to an 11-year high in the first quarter of 2008, according to the American Bankers Association.

"It's not a surprise at all that delinquencies are at an 11-year high," says Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors. "The consumer is getting hit from all directions."

Falling home equity and stock values, job losses, rising food and energy costs and slow income growth have stretched consumers in the first quarter. With more demands on discretionary income, consumers have fewer resources to devote to personal debt.

The rising percentage of home-equity line-of-credit payments that were delinquent, or more than 30 days past due, suggests that homeowners' inability to handle debt is bleeding into an area of consumer credit that historically weathers tough times.

When consumers default on their home loans, they risk having no place to live, so they tend to pay their mortgage and home-equity lines first, followed by car loans and credit cards, Naroff says. "That people are now having trouble making payments on home-equity lines is a clear sign of the extent of the pressure on the household budgets," he says.

Late payments also increased on credit cards provided by banks. Bank card delinquencies increased to 4.51 percent in the first quarter, up 13 basis points from the previous quarter and slightly above the five-year average delinquency rate of 4.40 percent.

Delinquencies will likely remain high in the near future, James Chessen, chief economist for the ABA, said in a statement. "The tax stimulus is helping to boost personal income, but persistently high gas and food prices will eat away at overall resources," he said.

Consumers should be aware of danger signs, which include making only the minimum payment on their credit cards, paying for necessities with credit, and juggling between credit cards, says Jay Seaton, an area president of Consumer Credit Counseling Service, headquartered in Columbus.