Americans borrowed less for an 11th consecutive month in December, paying off credit cards while increasing borrowing for cars and other products. link

This is great news. For 11 months in 2009 the American people not only covered their bills, but they paid down debt. The irony of that is clear. 2009 was a horrible year financially for a lot of people.

This next line in the USA Today article clears up why the stock market tumbled on this news.

The mixed picture raises hopes that Americans may soon return to spending, a necessary condition for economic recovery. link

Our national economy, jobs in America, and some would tell you the future our our nation itself… depends on you and I going deeper and deeper into debt to buy stuff we don’t need with money we don’t have. Cute, eh?

Maybe we should all collectively just hold on to our money for another 11 months and enjoy this recession a little more so we can all get out of debt?

Think about it like this. In the worst economic year in decades and we collectively covered our monthly bills and paid down our debts for 11 straight months. This is great news! And it also reveals that debt is a head issue and not always a money issue.

I know for our family 2009 was a hard year. We had to wrestle through stuff we didn’t like to wrestle through. But the flip side is that we are way better off financially for it. Less debt, more savings, and an attitude of frugality we hope lasts a lifetime.

Seriously, there are still tears in my eyes. Amazing.