Debt is deceiving. If it werent, we would have no problem with it. Debt satisfies a basic human desire, the desire to have it all right now. Our grandparents and great grandparents, many of who lived through the depression, learned the hard way about debt. As a result, most of the people who survived the depression were great savers. My grandfather paid cash for everything. He learned the secret of delayed gratification.

Today, things are different. We have access to easy credit for everything from furniture to automobiles. We no longer look at the total price of an item, but rather the amount of the monthly payment. This easy credit view of life is a slippery slope and once you get over the edge, it is almost impossible to recover.

With that in mind, I have a short quiz for you. It will only take a couple of minutes, but the results may surprise you. Simply answer yes or no to the following ten questions. One or two yes answers will not hurt you, but five or more mean you are slipping over the edge of the debt slope.

1.You use more than one credit card on a regular basis.

2.You don't know the interest rate on each card.

3.You don't know the total amount owed on all your cards and other consumer credit accounts.

4.Your total balance owed on all cards has increased every month for more than six months

5.You pay only the minimum payment required each month.

6.You occasionally skip payments.

7.You are near the credit limit on one card.

8.You are near the credit limit on more than one card.

9.You don't have enough money in your bank account to obtain a debit card

10.You use a credit card to get cash advances to pay other bills.

Could you answer, yes to five or more of the above questions? If so, you need to take immediate action before you slide over the edge.