Think about it

Remember, the economy's doing great!

Consumer debt hit a record $1.98 trillion in October 2003, according to the most recent figures from the Federal Reserve. That debt -- which includes credit cards and car loans, but not mortgages -- translates to some $18,700 per U.S. household.

Wow. An average of $18,700 per household, and that's before factoring in mortgage debt. The article neglected to mention student loans, but since that's not consumer debt, we can factor that in, too. If I was an editor, my headline for this story would have been, "YOU ARE COMPLETELY FUCKED!"