Coming from a different perspective, this is what I have to say about budgeting and spending. Don't buy something that you cannot afford. This is easier said than done, especially when everybody is so used to spending using credit cards. Could this mean that people are living beyond their means if they used cards to buy things? If by "means", we refer to our resources (according to Walter Updegrade), then using one's credit cards definitely points out that one is living beyond his or her means, doesn't it?

Could it also mean that banks put us in this predicament, since they have been offering us credit card applications ever since? It's like we have been enticed to spend well beyond our means to suffer the current financial trouble. Don't get me wrong, credit cards are good because they extend our buying power as consumers but they can also drag us down in the sense that having multiple cards gives us the faculty to spend more than we can afford and that's what put us in trouble.

According to the Keynesian economic thought, spending is the key to relieve recession as it puts the money back to where it should be. Here's how it works, other people's spendings become other people's earnings and vice versa, so if you stopped spending, then other people will stop earning and when other people stopped spending, you will stop earning, too (Wikipedia). Simply put, spending is acceptable, as long as it's within our budget. And the use of credit cards does not really mean we're living beyond our means--as long as we are able to pay monthly amortizations on time, then it's okay.