CHARGE! Americans swiped their credit cards more often in October and borrowed more to go to school and buy cars, pushing consumer credit up by $14.2 billion in October, compared to September.

BIG TAB: The October increased pushed consumer credit to an all-time high of $2.75 trillion.

GIVING THEM CREDIT: Economists believe that an improving labor market should keep consumer borrowing rising at a moderate pace in coming months, which should help to boost consumer spending.