Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In Debt is our Trust."
And the finance charges in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

According to the Federal Reserve, US consumer debt increased at an annual rate of 5.25% in the third quarter of 2007. The actual amounts are even more staggering: revolving debt grew to $920 billion, and total debt reached $2.482 trillion in September 2007.[1] Considering that repaying revolving debt has a tendency to cost about $2 of finance charges per $1 of principal, I think it is clear that many Americans are going to be working as debt slaves for years to come.

I recently took the time to watch Maxed Out[2], a documentary that focuses on the love relationship that Americans have with personal debt, and I wish schools took the opportunity to screen this documentary to introduce their students to the subject matter before they turn 18 and sell their souls to the credit card representatives enslaving the campuses of our proud nation.

It is time for Americans to realize that the chains of debt are the primary barrier to their pursuit of happiness, and that the inability to shed debt via bankruptcy means a signature for the new flat-screen TV may well buy a free ticket to eternal financial damnation.

Of course it is difficult to recognize the need for personal responsibility. After all, even the leaders of our Land of the Free have not realized that living within our means is the only way to preserve our achievements and values. At the end of the day, though, that is no excuse.

Lock your credit files. The Consumers Union's Guide to State Security Freeze Laws provides all the necessary information to close the door to the debt insanity. On a side note, this is considered the only reasonable protection against identity theft.

Permanently opt out from firm offers of credit or insurance. Your friends from the consumer credit reporting companies have set up OptOutPrescreen.com for just that purpose. If you feel adventurous, try the phone number on the site, but be warned, the computer is a total nightmare when it comes to making sense of the address you provide.

Dump your credit cards. Of course there is the argument that this harms your credit scores, but given the long amount of time it takes to build a good credit score and the short amount of time it takes to be blessed with usurious rates, there is really no true gain.

That is about all there is to it. The only real change is that you buy your possessions the old-fashioned way - you earn them first.

References