BAILOUT: Yes or No?

[Spino]

I live entirely debt-free, and not because I make millions per year. It's a lifestyle thing, trying to consistently live below your means. I can't be the only American who pays his cards down to zero every month, can I?

You're not... The planets must be in alignment because aside from computer games that's another thing we have in common. Since I paid off my modest student loan in my mid 20s I have been debt free ever since and I also am the furthest thing from a millionaire. Furthermore the only time I have ever carried a balance on my credit card is when I forget to pay on time (I can be quite absent minded about such things). As far as our generation is concerned we are truly rare birds. For all my talk of the evils of Baby Boomers the fiscal irresponsibility of our fellow Gen-X'ers postively puts them to shame.

I'm one of those rare Gen-X'ers who buys most of their food at the supermarket and cooks it at home. I rarely buy anything unless it's on sale, coupled with a rebate or for some reason is selling at an unusually low price. I also refrain from indulging in money draining frivolities like binge drinking at the local pub every Friday & Saturday, gambling or paying for snazzy tech I admire but would admittedly never use, etc. I chalk it up to being raised in no small part by my grandparents, members of the Depression era generation who turned coupon clipping and thriftiness into an art form. Being raised in a Greek household played its part as well... seriously, we rival Jews and Scots for our ability to squeeze the life out of an innocent penny.

I've squirreled away so much cash over the last 20 years that my mattress looks like it's about to give birth to a bank... Interesting that with the looming financial collapse my friends (who live paycheck to paycheck) who previously chastized me for my cheapness have toned down the sermons about 'not being able to take it with you' or 'living in the moment'.