Is debt free living a realistic goal in todays consumer-based society?
Absolutely. It is not a foregone conclusion that you need to incur and keep incurring debt in order to live in today’s society. What challenges stand in the way of this lifestyle? In many areas, the main challenge to living debt free is the high cost of housing. I know this is true for San Francisco. It takes a much larger bite out of your paycheck to pay for your rent or mortgage here than say Tucson, Corvallis or Las Cruces. Another challenge is when people use credit to supplement their incomes. It becomes a very vicious cycle. We are also a society that has gotten into immediate gratification. My parents’ generation would save to buy a television, a washing machine or a new vacuum cleaner. We just go out and charge it, even if we don’t have the immediate means to pay for it. Many people seem to compensate for their lack of quality time with one another with an abundance of “stuff.” As if consuming more and purchasing more will fill some void in their lives. How can people change th
