"You really have to go back to the 1920s, and that decade is significant because it is when significant consumer products were developed -- tings like, obviously, the automobile -- everyone knows about that -- but also household appliances like the washing machine, radios, vacuum cleaners.

"Now before then, before those products, most of those tasks were done in the household and quite frankly they were done with either labor power or animal power. But when you had the 1920s and particularly when you had electricity, people were able to invent these items -- these things like washing machines and vacuum cleaners -- that really helped households do those tasks more efficiently and easily.

"But the sellers of those products -- to be able to buy them and, in many cases, those simple products were too expensive for folks to pay with cash, so the idea of consumer credit was born. And actually the rule -- the logical rule -- to buy those things is very simple that you -- it makes sense to use consumer credit as long as you are buying something that lasts a long time. So in essence, you are paying for it while you are using it. And that is indeed what people did in those times.

"I would argue that is still a good rule to use today when you are looking at paying for something on time. Think about now, am I buying something that lasts a long time so that I am paying for it over the period of time that I am using it?"