According to the Federal Reserve, American households have cut back on their credit card use for 23 consecutive months. While the lack of spending does not help the national economy out of its slump ... the trend is a positive sign for people's personal finances.  Terry Mills with Consumer Credit Counseling of the Black Hills calls it the silver lining in a sluggish economy, people paying down their debt and saving more. And Mills says new numbers show that, for the first time ever, student loan debt exceeds credit card debt. He says student loans are often considered "good debt" because they're an investment in one's future.

Mills says, "The more education you have, the more skills you have, the more opportunity you're going to have to make money because every study shows somebody with more than a high school diploma, on average, will make about $500,000 more in their lifetime."

Mills also says people who have improved their personal financial situation have to make a behavioral change so they don't fall back into their old habits of spending beyond their means. He says it's not about how much money you make, but what you choose to do with it.

Julie Oberlander/AP