People Returning Solid Financial Planning

As the crisis has unfolded the folly of a debt-driven economy and personal finance lifestyle, people are returning to strategy of financial basics, and that's a really good thing.

When queried about their customers, financial planners say that their clients are getting back to saving more, using less credit, building up an emergency fund, understand how much risk they can be exposed to, and diversifying in safe investments.

Oh, and most importantly, they're now looking at long-term wealth building rather than wealth trappings created by the illusion that debt provides.

"Before the market chaos, there was a very low savings rate, inappropriate use of credit cards, too much risk in investments, excessive spending on residences," says Tom Warschauer, a finance professor. "Virtually every type of financial decision was being made in a kind of fairyland atmosphere, thinking 'This will lead me to be better off' when in fact that was never the case."

While some financial planners predict this may last for a decade, hopefully it will become the way of life for consumers around the world, who will have to go through it all over again if they never learn that excessive debt will inevitably always lead to these results.