As the economy worsened Americans found themselves deeper in debt than ever before.  The average American is carrying $10,000 worth of credit card debt right now.  For the majority of us, trying to figure out how to pay that debt is all consuming.  How did it get this bad?  Why did the credit companies give me so much credit?  Maybe the answer is closer than you think.

The simple facts are that we open our mail and are excited to see yet another new credit card waiting to be used.  We see the latest gadget advertised and we must have it.  The new version of this or that is now in stores and we rush to pull out our credit cards!  As a society we want instant gratification.  We want what we want and we want it now! 

Many of us have given in to this temptation for years and are only now realizing the results of our actions.  We are facing an economic crisis.  Unemployment rates are climbing and for many of us the harsh reality of no paycheck is putting the spotlight on our debt.  Suddenly that brand new 52 inch flat screen television now seems like an unnecessary, even frivolous purchase.  We are being forced to look at our spending habits in a whole new way and it isn’t pretty.

It is so easy to make blanket statements blaming the credit industry.  How dare they approve me for $10,000 worth of credit!  They know I can’t afford that and yet they give it to me anyway.  They charge outrageously high interest rates and finance fees, which is the reason I am so far behind now.  These major credit corporations trapped me, sucked me in and now I am drowning.   We hear it every day!  The television news reinforces this blame by reporting on how much money the credit companies make every year on the interest they charge card holders. 

The harsh reality is that we got ourselves here.  “THEY” didn’t whip out that credit card for every new shiny object they saw, we did.  They didn’t decide they had to have the latest and greatest of everything, we did.   And now, we must pay for those choices.  It is time to stop placing the blame everywhere except where it belongs, at our own front doors! 

Credit cards should make life easier, they should help us handle emergency situations and help us establish GOOD credit scores. It is the individual that chose to spend more than they could afford to re-pay.  It is the individual that chose to pull out those credit cards at every turn.  It is the individual that must accept the blame and take the steps needed to climb out of the debt they are in. 

If nothing else, maybe this economic crisis woke us up to the fact that we can’t live beyond our means and expect to thrive for very long.  The old saying “you play you pay” applies best.  Stop looking for others to blame and start realizing the blame belongs to you.

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