I'd tell her to ask family. Always borrow from family before you resort to friends, and especially before credit. I guess that feels awkward for some. Be an adult and pay it back. Keep the money in the family rather than involving banks.

But anyway... do most people actually not pay off their mortgages these days? I guess I have never bothered to actually read on averages. My folks paid off theirs. Here in Japan I am well on my way to paying mine off.

Hmmm.

Credit card habits in Japan are much much less than the States, but they are growing. A decade ago almost no stores accepted them and people who used them were looked down upon, but now... everywhere accepts them, everyone has at least one, and usage is very common. A lot can change in a decade. One interesting difference is when you buy something with a credit card here, you have to then and there tell the cashier how many credit card payments you want to divide the bill into. Most people say 1, perhaps partially due to embarrassment of others looking down on them if they say more than 1.

But debt is a growing problem here. I think people in Japan have even less financial sense than Americans.