It has never been easier for people to live well beyond their means than it is today. Credit is easy to obtain, and in a society obsessed with material gain, credit is sought and used on a basis that is so regular even financial watchdogs are beginning to sound warning bells. The average savings for the United States and Canada over the next few years are actually expected to go into the negative figures, as more people purchase what they cannot afford.
One of the main contributors to this phenomenon is the credit card. Credit cards are very easy to obtain, and most people get them thinking they will be handy in an emergency. This is the case, but what the credit card companies know is that it will not be long before you use that piece of plastic to make a purchase that is certainly not in an emergency situation.
One way that credit cards have succeeded in getting a flood of people to spend beyond their means is to make credit cards available everywhere. The rise of the Internet has fueled a massive increase in the use of credit cards, as it is often the sole means people have to make an online purchase. Anytime you make a credit card purchase, however, there is...