When credit was tight, it was hard for nontraditional consumers (lower income, sometimes people of color living in difficult conditions) to have any hope of obtaining credit. If you don't have access to credit, it's difficult to develop a "credit history." So it made sense for banks to make credit more available.

But why allow credit and mortgage lending to become a free-for-all?

In my mind, there's a huge difference between needing a mortgage for an owner-occupied home and a home equity loan to buy an off-road vehicle or a boat. There should be a much steeper threshold for the extras than the necessities of life.

It's where we draw the line in our own household budgets, isn't it? When my kid asks me for money for a field trip or a school project, I'm more than happy to open my purse. If they want money to buy slushies after school, I'm not very enthusiastic. Come home, I tell them. There's a refrigerator full of food and drink. Make do.

To me, that's the problem with today's 20-somethings. They've never had to learn to "make do." They think they're entitled to all their parents have, only they shouldn't have to experience the same sacrifices.

Instead of indulging every whim, I say make do. You'll get all of those things, in good time.

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Marjorie Cortez, who looks forward to the day her mortgage is retired and she can finally afford something truly frivolous, is a Deseret News editorial writer. E-mail her at marjorie@desnews.com.