Living within their means

Now I'm as guilty as the next credit card toting consumer (without an mortgage) but, is it just me or does this sound suspiciously like a good thing?

Economy Fitful, Americans Start to Pay as They Go - New York Times: "But now the freewheeling days of credit and risk may have run their course — at least for a while and perhaps much longer — as a period of involuntary thrift unfolds in many households. With the number of jobs shrinking, housing prices falling and debt levels swelling, the same nation that pioneered the no-money-down mortgage suddenly confronts an unfamiliar imperative: more Americans must live within their means."