If you can't afford to pay your credit card bill, little fees for things like late payments and going over your credit limit--not to mention interest itself--will cause your balance to balloon.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Ms. Paulsen has used an option to delay payment on much of her debt while the interest accrues, which has caused the total amount owed to balloon by tens of thousands of dollars.

WSJ: Student Loan Bankruptcy Fears Drive Congress to Rethink Law

In fact, the agency has already expressed an interest in bringing more transparency to the private share offerings that have allowed Facebook and Twitter to balloon to the size of public companies without tapping the public markets.

FORBES: Goldman Sachs Deal Lets Facebook Indulge Its Privacy Fetish