National Household debt is starting to head in the right direction but in 2008 it hit $57 Trillion Dollars. 
American consumers are starting to realize that the best ROI is to pay off debt with their discretionary income.
Up until sometime during the second half of the 20th century, people bought homes with the full intention of paying off a land contract or a mortgage for that home in the shortest time possble. They tried to pay as little interest in total dollars as possible and to own their home free and clear as soon as possible so as to free up money for everyday living expenses. For what ever the reasons, primarily by “Baby Boomers” starting primarily in the 1980’s, American consumers started looking at ownership of a home as a liability rather than what it truely was which was an asset. The 30-Year Amortized Mortgage created a tremendous housing boom during these years, but it also started a mentality of purchase decisions based on how much monthly payments would be. This ”can I afford the the monthly payment” mentality spilled over into the buying of automobiles, home furnishings, student loans and eventually to making minimum payments on credit card debt. The whole world rode this storm of easy credit and ever increasing property values until the bubble burst in 2007 which the American Consumer along with the world markets are finding it a long hard slog to work their way out of. A total American Consumer debt total of $57 Trillion will hopefully be a high water mark and a trend towards paying off debt will finally again be the norm.
