Consumer debt - a world-wide trend

It almost doesn't matter where you live in the world these days. The long arms of the credit card companies are stretching far into places that traditionally have never known what it means to be in debt.

Consider this headline in an article published today at SmartMoney.com: MasterCard Gains on Global Spread of Credits Cards

"This is global momentum," Chief Financial Officer Chris McWilton said on a Wednesday conference call. "We make a lot of money when people hop on an airplane and cross a border."

You have to understand that these guys don't really care about where you live or how you buy stuff, they only want to make sure that you learn how to use their credit card, forget how to use cash and never look back.

Don't believe me?

"A lot of us who live here in the United States get accustomed to the fact that everyone has credit cards and uses them on a regular basis," CFO McWilton said. "In a lot of the rest of the world cash is still the dominant form of payment. We are seeing exceptional growth overseas."

There's a very good reason why "cash is still the dominate form of payment" in much of the world - because it's smart!

Do not be lured by the lust for the western way of living, trust me, it's so not worth it, at least when it comes to becoming indebted to a company like the one mentioned above. Next to gold, cash is always, and will aways be king.

The rest of this article is a real eye opener and I highly recommend it. Check it out here:

http://www.smartmoney.com/onedaywonder/index.cfm?story=20070502