Credit Canada

There are only five weeks to Christmas. And with easy credit being shoved down our throats and overly indebted consumers ready to open their wallets to spend, spend, spend -- let me issue this grave warning: Financial distress can be a killer.

Some experts will argue, some debt is bad, some debt is good. But I say debt, especially too much of it, is Enemy Number One.

The pain and suffering of easy credit, coupled with skyrocketing costs of post-secondary education, where cellphones and credit cards are plentiful, can be seen everywehre.

So, how bad is your debt hangover?

If Queen's Park is serious about helping kids avoid becoming credit junkies, personal finance would be a mandatory course taught in our schools.

It's enough to make a grown man cry. And it did. An abusive collection agency that took harassment to a new level, phoning Robert's 81-year-old dad and a neighbour, telling them he owed money and he better pay up.

For 62-year-old Butch, who's worked as a tool maker his entire working life, the future looks grim. Very grim.

Since 2005, its's been a flurry of pink slips, with long bouts of unemployment and no money coming in. Though Butch is now working again, his hourly rate has been slashed by 30% and he no longer has medical benefits. Every day he sits in fear that the axe will fall again.

Kim knows all about "love money." That's borrowing from family and friends, when tough times hit.

Ever heard this remark?, "Mama, don't let your babies grow up to be credit junkies." or how about: "Why do kids these days think moneygrows on trees."