The Federal Reserve recently released a chart that shows how much debt we carry on loans -- credit cards, car loans and personal loans. As a country, our level of consumer debt has doubled in less than 10 years, adjusted for inflation. The increase began after 9/11 and kept climbing, along with the federal budget deficit.

Today, 70% of us owe balances on credit cards. Not long ago, it was still 60%.

When it comes to cars, some of us could take a cue from Clark's 24-year-old associate producer Joel. He scoured Craigslist and other classifieds for a used car that was in his budget, and he wound up paying $3,200 in cash for a 2000 Nissan Altima. Joel learned early that we don't have to borrow money for transportation. Yet it's anecdotally been said that only 1% of car buyers pay cash!

The truth is we create our debts and obligations. Clark recently saw an illustration in US News and World Report that showed a consumer using a MasterCard shaped like a shark. Next to the consumer was another person walking a dog marked with a dollar sign. The implication is clear: One person has money on a leash, while the other is at the mercy of debt.

We choose to create the debt monster. Nobody held a gun to our head and said, "You must borrow money on a credit card, take a personal loan or buy a car with borrowed money." We choose to do these things with our own free will.