An indispensable tool in modern life, debt happens for many
reasons. As the economic struggle of the Depression and
rationing of World War II fades from the collective
consciousness, Americans feel more confident taking on debt and
optimistic about their ability to pay it all back and start
saving one day in the future. Robert Manning, Ph.D., author of
"Credit Card Nation," studied the financial practices of
Americans across generations to discover what influences
spending in specific age groups. The research professor and
director of the Center for Consumer Financial Services at
Rochester Institute of Technology also examined the different
attitudes toward debt to find out why people owe so much more
today than they did 40 years ago. "You really can't over-
generalize," says Manning. "You have to look at people in
particular life cycles to find out why they spent more on those
particular items than did a previous generation." |Experts
explain that debt starts from youth and continues on through
life, often in