It’s not that I was shocked at the number of people who would have to turn to credit cards to pay their winter heating bills.

I was surprised by the number of nasty e-mails from the “those people deserve what they get” crowd, who are convinced that anyone having trouble with their bills must be blowing their money on booze or big-screen TVs.

There was also a second group of angry writers, anti-environmentalists who mockingly said, “Don’t worry, global warming will save them!”

Our editorial department at www.creditcards.com publishes a scientific poll every month, btw.

Again, thanks for the kind words.