Morning Scepticism: Status Symbols

Apparently there's too much household debt right now, and this obviously is a problem. But we are in a society of rampant consumerism, where the ability to consume is as much about having status symbols as anything else. If you can't afford a status symbol then on the promise of paying more in the future there are plenty who are willing to throw money at you to have it now. In an environment such as this, how can we expect anything else?