Are the kids of 2009 like the kids of 1929?  It seems like in some ways they are.

Visitors to www.themint.org, a financial website for kids asked, “If you spotted a great item at the mall that you couldn’t afford right now, what would you do?”   Nearly half (49%) said they would save each month until they had the full amount to buy it.  Nearly one third (31%) said, “Forget it.”  Only 8% said they would charge the purchase to a credit card.

These kids’ responses seem to be at odds with the behavior of their parents.  After all, we are only now emerging from a period when personal savings rates were at record lows, even dropping below zero at one point in 2005.

The generation of Americans that grew up during the Great Depression of the 1930s was well known for being frugal.  Even decades after the Depression ended, they remained skeptical of banks and often preferred paying in cash, not credit. It will be good news if our current generation of children learn to forgo unnecessary debt, and surveys like the one above suggest that they will.

But while being frugal is one thing, being afraid to use credit is something else entirely. Responsible use of credit will be important to future wealth. So for the next generation our hope is that there would be an appropriate balance between using credit responsibly and not getting over their head with debt.