for starters, maybe your friend is not paying tens of thousands of dollars in interest per year - but maybe closer to $15,000 per year.
the only reason for any debt, would be to purchase assets, which will keep their value - and it is fair enough,for a family to want a home - and there is no way, that a home, can be purchased from savings.
no one needs a $20,000 car, when a $2,000 car will do the job. no one needs to spend a thousand dollars on chrissie presents, when there is no money.
when times were tough, in watso's child hood years - watso recalls getting a plastic toy gun for xmas. ahhh the bastards (watso's friends) across the street, had cowboy outfits, and metal guns (the sort of guns that took "capshots", or whatever they were called. oldies will recall.
in most cases financial hardship is caused by over spending, in rubbish, that is not needed
