I'll admit that I'm on the email list for the Culture Jammers Network. What that means is that this time of year, I'm getting emails about "Buy Nothing Day" which to the rest of the country is known as "Black Friday," the largest spending day of the year. Last year, Americans spent $8 billion which was a 15% increase from the previous year. The problem is that over half of the purchases were spend on credit cards--primarily with money people didn't have.

I'm not choosing to join in with the Culture Jammers' suggestion to buy nothing on Friday (although I don't recommend looking for me in the malls). I don't think a spending ban would be good for our economy. However, spending money you don't have is not going to be good for the economy in the long term, and it won't be good for you at all. When people are so strapped from credit card bills, and their credit is shot, that's not good for them or the economy. And when people can't pay their bills and end up filing bankruptcy, that's certainly not good for the economy.

So, on Black Friday, be responsible. Be a good steward of what you have, and that begins by not spending what you don't have. Let "Black Friday" have new meaning by staying in the black yourself.

Related reading: "Black Friday Should Be Called Red Friday."