We may have been living through a period that historians will refer to as the 'I want it now' era. This wasn't a generational thing like so many other fads and fashions. This was far more significant and it was being practiced across all levels of society, everybody wanted it all and they wanted it now and they were happy to get into debt to join in with the rush to buy stuff.

We all fell for the illusion that it was possible to have our cake and eat it too but where did this idea come from? Previous generations were always cautious about getting into debt. Neither a lender or a borrower be, was a commonly held view, so where did we go wrong and how did we let it happen that we are left with all these debt problems?

There may be lots of conspiracy theories around out there but I don't believe anybody planned this. It was simply a joining together of several different developments that happened to lead us into the mess we are now in. Greed played a huge part but like a pyramid scam everyone made money until they ran out of the customers who could borrow more money to add another layer to the pyramid.

It started out with manufacturers having lots of product they wanted to sell so they employed the advertising agencies to encourage us all to want their stuff. Trouble was we couldn't afford it all anyway so the banks and finance companies came up with some ways to lend us money. Next they encouraged us to borrow from them with the carrot that we could then afford all this cool stuff the manufacturers had available and our lives would be improved.

Credit cards were presented to us as the future of money. We were told that cash would die out to be replaced with plastic. It was modern and sophisticated to spend using plastic cards and it was a mere detail that every time we used those cards the banks and card providers made money.

The politicians were happy to see all these smiling consumers buying lots of stuff with their credit cards. It kept manufacturers happy as they were making lots of money and there were plenty of jobs for people to make all this stuff we were buying. It kept the stores happy as they made lots of money selling stuff. The advertising industry was making a ton of money coming up with bigger and better ideas to persuade us we needed all this stuff and the financial industry was getting big and fat on all the money they were making from supply all this imaginary money to us to use on our credit cards to buy everything. Everything in the garden was wonderful, or so it seemed.

The idea of borrowing money to do something is not a bad thing and it does not always lead to debt problems because loans are useful financial tools which in the right circumstances can help you buy a house, build a factory or get yourself educated. Debt can be used to give you and your family a better future if the debt is being invested in some way but when you start using debt to buy shoes, TVs and MP3 players that are thrown away long before the debt is paid off you are moving into a far more dangerous situation.

It works great the first time around. You buy your TV and throw it away while still not having paid for it and you get another on your credit card. You are now paying double for your TV viewing pleasure because you are now paying the debt on both TVs. Maybe two or three years on you want a bigger TV or a flatter screen TV? So, you use the credit card once again even though you may still be paying the cost of the old one, or two.

Now who was it that convinced you that you needed a new TV anyway? Why, it was that guy on TV talking about the latest and greatest developments in the TV world and telling you how your life would not be complete without them. Well, actually, yes it would. You would have been very happy with your previous TV if everyone didn't make you feel like a jerk because you didn't have a mega flat screen TV and you wouldn't have all these financial problems with credit card debts.

Big business was making a pile of money and wanted the gravy train to continue forever but consumers had been squeezed hard. Consumers were paying for the huge bank bonuses, the palatial finance company offices, the company planes and the outrageously expensive company conferences and parties. Ultimately the consumer pays for it all and There is only so much money to go round. The whole of society was spending more than we were making. Like all good illusions it works well for a while but you need to stop before the trick is discovered.

We had a good run and we borrowed more and more and bought lots of stuff but after a time it got harder to borrow the money and then the repayments became the problem. Not only couldn't we afford the stuff we were buying but we could no longer afford to keep up with the repayments on the things we already had. The wheels of debt were coming off the waggon and our debt problems were becoming overwhelming.

We had been conned and we fell for the oldest trick in the book. Buy this and your life will be great. We were given the impression that our lives would be richer and more fulfilled if we just bought this product. Trouble was it didn't make us feel better so we had to buy another one and then another but it never did make us the happy people we saw in the adverts.

We grew up surrounded by images that supported the story that buying stuff would make us happy and credit cards would allow us to have the lifestyle we dreamed of. We bought into a dream that everything would be better and our children would have wonderful fulfilled lives. For many people that dream has turned into a nightmare of problem debts spiraling out of control taking people from being comfortably off to suddenly finding themselves homeless. The future for our children looks unsure to say the least now the jobs have dried up and the factories are closing. How are we supposed to pay all those credit card debts now?

We were told that the consumer was king. We were led to believe that the consumer was the most important person in the whole chain of business. So how come the consumers are the ones who are struggling now and the bankers and the speculators are off on their private islands and their yachts enjoying the spoils of success that we all paid for. How come the banks could be bailed out with billions of dollars while taxpayers will be suffering and paying the bill for years to come.

The rock band queen summed it all up rather well when they sang, "I want it all and I want it now" and everybody joined in the chorus. For some it was a roller coaster ride that made them incredibly rich with enormous salaries and huge bonuses. All those people who did so well out of the last twenty years or so have taken the money and run away to their private islands to enjoy the spoils leaving us ordinary consumers with all of our debt problems wondering how we have been left with the bill.

Modern day pirates don't have to fly a skull and crossbones and sail the seven seas. They can sit in ivory towers and conjure up new ways to separate the consumer from their money and have a very good life just using paper and computers as their weapons.

Self interest and a decent spreadsheet can make you a lot of money if you know how to use and abuse it. It's just a shame the rest of us didn't use a spreadsheet more to work out the projected cost of all this borrowing and the true effect it was having on our society.

The 'I want it now' era would seem to be over and the 'I'm paying for it now' era of austerity may be with us for some time to come.