When Steve and Annette Economides got married in 1982, they made a conscious decision to always live below their means. The Scottsdale, Arizona, couple even made the pact a part of their wedding vows.
Then the car broke down.
This is usually the part in the story where taking on a little bit of debt seems perfectly OK to do. After all, Americans collectively owe nearly $12 trillion in outstanding household debt. Sometimes other alternatives are simply out of reach.