Dave Ramsey's Complete Guide To Money: The Handbook of Financial Peace University

by Dave Ramsey

I bet this sounds like the start of most of the marriages you know. We usually forget, though, that debt has not always been a way of life. In the scope of American history, debt is still relatively new. Our great-grandparents pretty much believed debt was a sin! They thought it was morally wrong. As a matter of fact, I have an old Sears catalog from 1910 that says plain as day, “Buying on credit is folly!” Can you imagine Sears telling you that today? Sears wasn’t alone in the anti-debt stance, either. Have you ever wondered what the “J.C.” stands for in J.C. Penney? It’s named for the founder, James “Cash” Penney. He never allowed credit to be offered in any of his stores while he was alive. It was only after his death that credit cards and store credit slipped into J.C. Penney’s business. And now, old James “Cash” is spinning in his grave.