Why do men go into debt? Businesses subconsciously market and appeal to our hidden need for love, approval, companionship, significance and relief from anxiety. We live in a society of mass consumerism and the goal is always more consumption. Ads on tv, radio, online and in social media prompt us all to buy, buy, buy and spend, spend, spend. This may boost the economy, but what does this do to you and your pocketbook? It drives most folks further and further into debt. Debt beguiles us into believing that if we just buy one more thing it will satisfy our thirst.

And the problem with debt is that it’s addictive–once you find out how to get things with it, you drink up more and more as if it were sweet wine. And then your palate just wants to be delighted with even more. But long after the novelty has worn off of whatever you’ve purchased, long after the vacation is over, we have to pay back the money. Debt is a mirage. The most insidious thing about debt is that it enables men to pretend for a while that they’re someone they’re not, but the façade does not fool the bill collectors.