Lending Tree, one of the largest online lending companies, has released a report, “Living with Debt: A Life Stage Analysis of Changing Attitudes and Behaviors”, that examines Americans attitudes and behaviors about consumer debt at various stages in life.

The study is based on in-depth interviews with participants in six defined life-stages:

• College Students (17-27 years old)
• Young Singles (under 35 years old)
• Young Families (under 35 years old)
• Mature Families (45-64 years old)
• Empty Nesters (45-64 years old)
• Seniors (65 years and older)

Key Findings:

The report’s major findings aren’t particularly surprising but rather tend to confirm what most Americans experience in their daily lives:

1. Living with increasingly higher levels of debt has become an accepted and normal state of affairs ? considered an inevitable and likely permanent feature of everyday life.

2. Many people attribute their willingness to go into debt ? or to take on additional levels of debt ? directly to a dramatic increase in spending on children and grandchildren.

3. Attitudes toward homeownership have changed significantly, from simply providing necessary shelter to satisfying both a need and a tangible, secure (and near perfect) investment.

4. Despite expressed needs and desires for practical financial planning services, people feel ill-equipped to create and follow a basic financial plan, especially as they transition between different life stages.

Still the study does an excellent job of providing historical perspective and explanation for how Americans’ debt attitudes have evolved. It also provides a helpful point of reference for comparing your own thoughts and attitudes about consumer debt to peers in the same life-stage.

The study also does an excellent job examining the important role that home equity (and Americans changing attitudes towards it) have played in getting us where we are today.

Both the full report and an “executive summary” are available for free download (in pdf format) at Lending Tree.