Parents should set a good financial example for their kids by teaching them about the importance of repaying loans on time, it has been suggested.

Writing in the Worcester Telegram, columnist Kenneth J Moynihan points out that parents who pay off their credit cards, mortgages, heating bills and pay day loans on time will be less likely to get into debt.

Imparting this attitude onto children will ensure that they do not suffer serious debt problems themselves when they get older, he suggests.

"Depending on their ages, the youngsters can be taught to enjoy vicariously the satisfaction we all feel as we demonstrate the discipline and the good luck necessary to keep our personal debts under control," Mr Moynihan states.

And he claims it is likely that "belt-tightening" will have to continue into the decades ahead as wealth becomes "concentrated" in fewer hands and the gap between rich and poor widens; a lesson that must be passed on to younger generations.

According to figures from the Federal Reserve, total consumer debt in the US stands at $2.587 trillion.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------