Aussies turn their backs on credit cards http://www.heraldsun.com.au/money/aussies-turn-their-backs-on-credit-cards/story-e6frfh5f-1225995375424
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and then, this:
Is frugality still here? http://www.consumerismcommentary.com/is-frugality-still-here/
"Yesterday, American Express reported its fourth quarter income, and the company had much to cheer about. The company’s net income during the last three months of 2010 was an impressive $1.1 billion, up 48 percent over the fourth quarter of 2009" (...)
"In the midst of the recession, mainstream press offered article after article about the New Frugality. Like the Great Depression defined a generation of savers, the Great Recession would change the attitude of millions of people, leaving spending on credit behind in favor of spending no more than what someone could afford. The young people whose attitudes were defined by the recession, those hit hardest by unemployment like recent college graduates, would forever have an approach towards money that mimicked their great grandparents.
I was skeptical. Life moves at a different pace than it did eighty years ago. Attitudes, fads, and philosophies change from television season to television season — even from the Emmys to May Sweeps. I had no reason to believe that once the credit card offers started appearing in the mail again (they have), and businesses have access to loans again (they are starting to), that the country won’t quickly remember the benefits of leverage and using other people’s money. If the American Express financial report is to be believed, it looks like this is happening now."