The average debt per household is $9,000. The rate now is $180. It will be $360.

You'll see creditors get more aggressive at collecting debt, the reason being that they can.

Between car payments, getting married, buying property, having children, dealing with deaths, most people walk a very tight rope with debt. They make the huge mistake of only making minimum payments. Once something goes wrong in their lives and they need money fast ? they are at a major loss.

People spend what's there. If it's not there, they're not going to spend it.

Obviously, this is theory and easier said than done. Tracking every nickel is a big process and a lot of people don't do it. You can make the best budget, but if you don't track it, what good does it do? In my house, every month, we compare the actual to the budget. It's not fun. My wife hates me for it. But you have to track what you're spending.

Most people don't budget properly because they're not taught to. There are no courses I know of, especially in the high school level. A lot of families purposely don't talk about finances; I think that's extremely detrimental.