kane

That is the number one thing people can do. We are a consumer driven economy and it seems like most people have no problem running up massive amounts of debt and they do it without worry. I watched a show the other day about credit cards. The average US citizen has around $8900 in credit card debt that runs about 15% interest. It also said that 43% of people spend more than they make each year. That amazes me. What shocked me most about it was that people get into collage (or if they don't go to collage right after high school) and they get a ton of credit cards. It used to be that someone without credit had trouble getting a credit card, now they are lining up to give them to you and it's not a problem. The show said it is not unheard of for people in their early 20's to have over 25K in credit card debt before they ever really have a real job.

But one thing is for sure. We have turned into a culture where we don't take responsibility for our own actions. Say something offensive and you can go to rehab and make it all better. Buy too much stuff and you can declare bankruptcy and often keep most of the stuff. Get caught doing something illegal and you can blame everyone but yourself. So it's no surprise that many of us don't have any control over our finances and it is worse yet that our economy is dependent on those people.