Boston Gal's Open Wallet

SILVIA CHASE:Three years ago, Roxanne Tsosie decided it was time to escape the war zone. 28 years old, a single mother with four children she had just gotten a $15,000 a year job. There was a catch though: it required her to have a car.

ROXANNE TSOSIE:I'm a caregiver at a home with six guys that had HIV. And that was the main thing — I needed the vehicle to take my clients to their appointment, to get groceries, to pick up their prescription, get, you know whatever they need.

SILVIA CHASE:She had no credit and little cash. But just a block away from her apartment was an attractive building with a lot full of cars and something else: a bright orange and blue sign easy credit.

ROXANNE TSOSIE:So I went over there and when they told me yeah you can leave with a vehicle, I was like, cool. Guess I'll stay here and get one then I was really happy — I cried. I was like, 'Oh my gosh, I got me a vehicle.'

SILVIA CHASE:Consumers like Roxanne Tsotsie have little money individually. But together they number in the tens of millions, and represent a massive pool of wealth. And there's what amounts to an entire industry devoted to seeking riches in their pockets one customer at a time. That day at the Albuquerque used car lot, Roxanne Tsosie got herself a 1999 Saturn. It had 103,000 miles on it. The purchase price: $7,922. She bought it entirely on credit. Her payments: $150 every two weeks. Her interest rate: 24.9 per cent. Within months, she realized that what she thought was her ticket out, was actually weighing her down. Her family couldn't live on what was left over after she made her car payments. She returned the Saturn to the people who sold it her.

ROXANNE TSOSIE:I was sad when I had to give it back. That was my first vehicle. I was proud, you know, I did this on my own but after all this happened it just crushed me. And I'm like oh my gosh, I'm back to square one again.