Fred Ecks (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} fredx) wrote,@ 2006-11-27 13:37:00 |
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Turkey Day in the desert
Ann and I returned yesterday from Death Valley, where we've camped since Wednesday. It was a gorgeous time to be there, even though I should've paid more attention to average temperatures before packing (it was chilly!). Returning was kinda tough, as we found ourselves in the midst of the holiday traffic going home last night. Still, it was worth the trouble; we had a fine time in the sunshine and total silence of backcountry Death Valley.
And now I suppose the holiday shopping season is getting into gear. Sure enough, there's a good "beware" article in the SF Chronicle:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c
To give a little perspective to the numbers in that article, given about 110 million households in the US, the $2.4 trillion of consumer debt works out to just about $22,000 per household (that's excluding mortgage debt). The $12.3 trillion including mortgages (and home equity loans) means about $112,000 per household, on average. Keep in mind these averages include the elderly folks with no mortgage and no consumer debt, so for many people, these amounts are higher.
Debt is a deep hole with a very slippery slope. My personal perspective is that debt is the reason Americans work so hard. We wouldn't take our jobs so seriously if we didn't have to make those monthly payments...
What are y'all's holiday plans this year? Will your debt level increase, decrease, or stay about the same? Likewise, how about stress? Any ideas for how to keep it sane?
Ann and I returned yesterday from Death Valley, where we've camped since Wednesday. It was a gorgeous time to be there, even though I should've paid more attention to average temperatures before packing (it was chilly!). Returning was kinda tough, as we found ourselves in the midst of the holiday traffic going home last night. Still, it was worth the trouble; we had a fine time in the sunshine and total silence of backcountry Death Valley.
And now I suppose the holiday shopping season is getting into gear. Sure enough, there's a good "beware" article in the SF Chronicle:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c
To give a little perspective to the numbers in that article, given about 110 million households in the US, the $2.4 trillion of consumer debt works out to just about $22,000 per household (that's excluding mortgage debt). The $12.3 trillion including mortgages (and home equity loans) means about $112,000 per household, on average. Keep in mind these averages include the elderly folks with no mortgage and no consumer debt, so for many people, these amounts are higher.
Debt is a deep hole with a very slippery slope. My personal perspective is that debt is the reason Americans work so hard. We wouldn't take our jobs so seriously if we didn't have to make those monthly payments...
What are y'all's holiday plans this year? Will your debt level increase, decrease, or stay about the same? Likewise, how about stress? Any ideas for how to keep it sane?
