When is Enough, Enough?

From Live Simply, Live Generously, Practice Hospitality:

Many Canadians (maybe even most Canadians) take debt for granted. We don't think about whether or not we will go in debt, but rather, how to manage debt - that is, how to keep solvent while still enjoying all of the benefits of life in an affluent society. Ever look at car ads in the local paper? You'll be hard pressed to find one that lists the price of its cars. What you'll see is the monthly payment or lease. We go in debt for all kinds of things - "essentials" like cars, houses, furniture, appliances, technological gadgets, vacations, education, clothes, even groceries. "Buy now, pay later" schemes, payday loans, easy credit - all of these entice us to buy things we can't afford. According to a CBC News Indepth feature, Canadians have more than 50 million Visa and Master Card credit cards and 24 million more retail credit cards. With a total population of around 31 million, that's 2.4 credit cards for every man, woman and child in Canada! And credit card debt is only a small part of our individual and collective debt load. Here's a multiple choice question for you: How much money do Canadians owe for consumer debt?

1. 152 billion dollars

2. 352 billion dollars

3. 552 billion dollars

4. 752 billion dollars

For the answer (and the rest of this excellent post) click here.