LONDON (England) CNN -- Could the era of spend, spend, spend be about to end?





What is the biggest personal problem ordinary people face? The answer increasingly, is debt.





In the last 15 years countries such as the U.S., UK, Australia and Canada have enjoyed an economic golden age.





For many consumers it seems there is no product or experience that is out of reach as long as you have a few credit cards in your wallet.





It's been the era of "because I'm worth it," $1,000 "It" handbags, celebrity worship, four credit cards apiece and vacations abroad.





But a flip side is emerging from this era of excess, with potent signs in the last week that the party is coming to a close. There have been warnings signs in the U.S. this week that the economy is slowing.





Rising U.S. home foreclosures and a persistent housing slump have triggered a U.S. credit crunch which has unsettled global markets and raised concerns about a possible economic slowdown.





The International Monetary Fund's chief economist Simon Johnson said on Wednesday: "We've seen a shock that has spread to other industrialized countries faster than expected. It's an important wake-up call for all of us."





On Friday the financial world was rocked when one of the biggest UK mortgage lenders Northern Rock received emergency support from the Bank of England.  According to UK newspaper The Daily Telegraph, "it's further proof that the contagion of the credit crisis is spreading through the economy."





If the U.S. housing slump, IMF warnings and Northern Rock crisis are part of the economic big picture, then it's also important to heed the calls from the coalface. What is the biggest personal problem ordinary people face? The answer increasingly, is debt.





Drowning in debt





This week UK charity Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) said the number of people seeking assistance on how to manage their debts reached record levels. It is now the most common problem the advice service handles. The advice service recorded 1.7 million cases last year -- a rise of 20 percent of callers with debt-related problems.





Credit card bills and other loans were 40 percent of all inquiries, while there was a "worrying" rise of people struggling to pay the basics such as utilities bills.





The organization said the surge in calls for help was evidence that the lengthy consumer boom was taking its toll. They singled out the proliferation of debt consolidation companies for blame.





Economist Andrew Charlton from the London School of Economics believes the U.S. housing slump and high levels of personal debt are part of the same problem: People on low incomes getting in over their heads with either housing stock or personal debt they cannot afford.





The house of cards comes down when it is time to collect: a slight upward movement in interest rates, a drop in house prices or job losses (4,000 in the U.S. in the last month, a four-year high) means payments cannot be made and the lenders foreclose.





The chickens coming home to roost





For Phillip Hodson, Fellow of the British Association for Counseling and Psychotherapy, high levels of callers distressed by debt are no surprise.





"The chickens have come home to roost. At the personal level people have to face some very difficult decisions. It's difficult to break the (credit card) habit and people whose habit is going to the mall will find it very hard," he said.





And what habits we have: More than 4.2 million Britons have no qualms about taking their next holiday before actually paying for the last, according to statistics from UK bank Alliance & Leicester.





Research from Scottish Widows shows one in three adults in the UK refuse to plan their finances at all, and those who do find the time to review them set aside just five minutes a week.





Reliance on credit is a problem to be tackled not only by consumers but also governments, with our addiction to credit having a serious ripple effect on the economy.





In the U.S. an increase in credit card debt again pushed up outstanding
What is the fear? What do global signs show? What is the main worry of UK citizens? what is the main worry for UK people? what is cluture consumption?
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question: What is the fear?, answer: debt. | question: What do global signs show?, answer: economic slowdown. | question: What is the main worry of UK citizens?, answer: debt. | question: what is the main worry for UK people?, answer: debt. | question: what is cluture consumption?, answer: "because I'm worth it,"