America is the great nation of "stuff." The more of this stuff you have leads to a make believe victory in some minds. There is a "look-at-me" bravado with the latest car or the latest television, house, pool-table,etc. For many these victories are built on a weak foundation and debt becomes the ultimate victor.

The average credit card debt is reported to be nearly $9,000 dollars with many families way above that. Of course, many times mob-like interest rates are charged so it seems like the debt never goes away. Often this leads to more borrowing to pay off a car, a house or the latest thing to buy us happiness. Naturally, the happiness is eluded time and time again. Is this the "Beavis and Butthead" era when it comes to financial responsibility? Could be. But the incredible bombardment of products and fake imagery to get us happiness is driving the one thing that will ensure debt forever:vanity. Vanity is without a doubt the best friend of money hucksters who want your cash at all costs. It leads to a constant need to show off to others your latest thing. It leads to a desire to be looked at although it is just for a moment. For many, it also leads to depression, anger, divorce, debt and even suicide.

America was once the place where each generation would do better than the one before. That is no longer true. Debt driven by ego is one reason for this( along with jobs being deported.)

The generation of our parents and grandparents was one not dealing in too much debt. Credit cards were really not a big deal. Now, according to credit card analysts, there are about 1.2 billion cards floating in North America. That is not a misprint. This is nothing short of a disaster. Vanity causes nothing but harm in countless ways. Financially it can be very destructive. Solution: Buy what you can afford... with cash in most cases. Also, dump the dumb cards. They are borderline criminal in some cases. Finally, stop pretending to be someone you are not. People could care less either way. The saying, "Life is short" does not apply when you owe up to your eyeballs.