Debt…"a Tanglesome Net"

It has been long since Samuel Johnson said, “Do not accustom yourself to consider debt only as an inconvenience; or you will find it a calamity.”¹ In a world that needs so much to search itself in spiritual and moral and ethical matters, one feels defensive in mentioning a matter so mundane as money, but always there is need of honesty and balance and soundness and solvency. And in marriage, in the home, and in all of life, many difficulties and much misunderstanding come from the mismanagment of money⎯and many difficulties come from attitudes of immaturity and irresponsibility toward debt. It is not the necessary borrowing that we are speaking of, but the often too easy attitude that debt doesn’t matter very much. But aside from the necessities of sickness, education, buying home and some other essentials, “Getting into debt,” in the words of Benjamin Franklin, “is getting into a tanglesome net.”² And borrowing for luxuries would seem exceedingly shortsighted. Recognizing the reasons for borrowing in business, and sometimes for personal essentials, it is still true that what we owe to anyone is a mortgage on our future, and that what we owe, we owe, and it must be paid if we are to keep our credit, our honest moral obligation and our good name among men. And while borrowing sometimes seems relatively easy, paying back is relatively difficult to do⎯with interest added. The home is the source of stability in society. And home and marriage are happier if there is responsibility and good management in money matters, with parents and children facing and living within the financial facts. These simple rules are suggested: Buy wisely. Control debt. Save regularly. Use a family budget. Get good advice. Read the fine print in all contracts and commitments. Don’t plunge. Don’t buy on impulse. And except for absolute necessity, borrow only according to the ability to pay back. Honesty calls for sincere commitment to pay our debts when due. And finally, “If you want the time to pass quickly, just give your not for 90 days.”³ “Do not accustom yourself to consider debt only as an inconvenience; or you will find it a calamity.”