Maxed Out

I have a new documentary to promote called, "Maxed Out." It's about both the private and national debt in America and just how serious it has become and how much pressure people are under to pay it back. As most investigative documentaries go, it has certain anti-business, pro-human qualities about it (which is good, but sometimes overly one-sided); portraying Middle American couples as naive and trusting and thus somehow not to be blamed for taking on ridiculous amounts of debt that they will never pay back. What I thought was despicable was the way credit card companies prey on college students (which I've always thought, but again, who didn't get a lecture from their parents on not signing up for credit cards as soon as they turned eighteen? Apparently not everyone), and people already struggling to survive who think someone is throwing them a bone. Don't get me wrong, I think it's absurd how people are making money off of other people's debts, but I'm also a big proponent of education and taking responsibility for one's choices. It seems to be the uneducated who are being preyed upon, which brings up all kinds of other issues about why they are uneducated (some defensible, some not). So, I don't know. Check it out. I'd love to hear what others think. I know we're all at that age where we're starting to recognize exactly what we got ourselves into with student loans and credit cards during school, also with car purchases, new houses, etc. I think a certain amount of debt is fine (I've read the stat 10-15% of one's annual income toward debt is considered manageable), but it's an issue that really requires both feet on the ground. It's a challenge for a lot of people to see their life in dollars and cents; pretty cold and calculating, but real all the same. Take it seriously friends. If you're not going to plan for anything else throughout your entire life, make a plan for your financial situation. It can screw up everything else without a lot of thought.