America - a Country Full of People Drowning in Debt

It seems as if every time you turn around someone else is complaining about how bad their credit score is. From simply living beyond our means and from paycheck to paycheck, just about every American has some sort of debt.

I have a friend (who shall remain nameless) who recently told me that she and her husband have over thirty thousand dollars in credit card debt plus a one hundred and fifty thousand dollar mortgage. This is a young couple under thirty with a child under two and another one on the way. They both work full time jobs and they make over eighty thousand dollars a year combined. That's insane that they can be so far in debt while making that kind of money.

I'm sure you know people just like that, you might even be one of them, but the question is how does it happen? What are the problems causing people to go further and further into debt?

Problem # 1 ~ The cost of living!

The cost of living today is the highest it's every been and it's sure to just keep going higher. I recently went to the grocery store for a gallon of milk, I couldn't believe the price when I saw that it was four dollars and seventy nine cents for one gallon of milk! I remember when milk was less than a dollar a gallon and I'm not very old! That same night I was reading the news online and saw an article stating that minimum wage has been raised to a big whopping five dollars and eighty five cents an hour. How are people supposed to survive on that? Keep in mind of course that this was decided by a politician who makes at least one hundred thousand dollars a year! What a joke! People have to work for almost one full hour just to buy a gallon of milk, that is incredible!

While we are at it, let's address the cost of gas. We know there is nothing we can do to change the fact that it's going up. But, this is helping put America in Debt! We see the major vehicle manufacturer's building new cars to run on "new" fuel methods, but that doesn't help the little people who can't afford to buy the new cars, now does it? How about figuring out a fuel method that could run in the car's we already have?

Problem # 2 ~ Living beyond your Means

Just trying to keep up with the Joneses is putting you further and further into debt! If you only make twenty thousand dollars a year, you can't keep up with your neighbor who makes eighty thousand dollars a year. It is just not possible, so stop wasting your money! Don't buy that portable DVD player when your electric bill is due. Pay your electric bill and save the money for the DVD player if you really want it, but stop spending money you don't have.

Problem # 3 ~ Credit Cards

Before the day's of these little plastic cards we have such a fascination for, did people have debt? They certainly did, but it was no where near what it is now. Prior to credit cards, the debt people had usually consisted of a minor amount of money or even bartered materials and it was owed to a neighbor, a close friend or a family member, possibly the bank. These credit cards are what have caused the majority of debt in America. They give us the ability to "deal" with the cost of living increase, to buy that DVD player we really need to have and to put a down payment on that new car with the new fuel that the neighbor's bought.

The only sure way to get out of debt and stay out of debt is to not get in it in the first place! If you are one of the unfortunate one's who have, you really need to pay attention to what you make and what you spend. Stop trying to keep up with the Joneses and get yourself out of debt!