When is it OK to take on debt?

Posted by Lauren Cappelli

By MP Dunleavey
MSN Money

Interest rates are scraping bottom, credit card offers are popping up like daffodils, and a few weeks ago President Barack Obama urged us all to refinance.

The economy may not be on an upswing yet, but credit is starting to flow again, and I'm not sure what to make of that.

Like millions of other Americans, I'm waking up after a long, freezing winter and realizing that life goes on, the car is falling apart and the house needs serious repairs. Our savings can't cover everything; maybe now is the time to borrow.

On the other hand, my husband and I just got out of debt. I've joined the Women in Red Savers to support my quest to build a $15,000 emergency fund.

And the entire country is suffering from a massive hangover from having borrowed ourselves into near oblivion.

I don't want to restart a horrible cycle of overborrowing and overspending -- not on a national level and definitely not on a personal level.

Yet an argument can be made for a level of sensible borrowing to keep both personal and global economies moving. Right?

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