Financial madness is sweeping the country like some infectious virus. Far too many people are spending not just up to the hilt but way beyond it.

Recently released figures by the Bank of England reveal a frightening scenario. Personal debt has reached an all time high of £888 billion. That is an average of about £15,000 for every person in the land.

It is easy to blame the Government, banks, building societies, credit card companies and all the rest of the tangled financial apparatus. And indeed, attitudes towards borrowers are often cynical and reprehensible.

But the simple fact is when it comes managing our own spending and saving, we are our own worst enemies.

The "live for today and let tomorrow take care of itself" culture is already having a disastrous effect, especially on the younger generation. As one leading financial adviser has put it so bluntly, if inelegantly: "This generation is completely stuffed. They will have to work until they drop."

People need to learn to save, even if it means living on bread and water and sitting on orange crates.

Of course, this is absolutely not the message the young, the hip and the trendy want to hear. They want the latest mobile phones, TVs, DVD players, washing machines, computers - and they want them now.

The concept of saving to buy something you really want is an alien one. It is something grandpa used to have to do.

Even taking out second mortgages on homes, not to improve them and enhance their value, but to pay for holidays and cars is commonplace.

Credit card companies, with their high interest rates, facilitate the plunge into debt so that paying by plastic can seriously damage your health for years ahead. And when you reach the limit of your borrowing facility, there is a fair chance you will get a letter from them offering to extend your credit further.

Roll up, roll up, all the fun of the fair! The madness of it is breathtaking.

It is not just the credit card companies pursuing this reckless behaviour.

Walking along Western Road in Brighton, I spotted one of the pavement advertising boards outside a building society office. Its message was brazen and to the point. Whatever your previous financial history, come in and talk about a loan. Astonishing.

While all moneylenders are in business to make money, some are more avaricious than others. Indeed the Office of Fair Trading is now inquiring into extortionate interest rates of about 30 per cent, charged on store cards by High Street chains such as Harrods, Debenhams and Toys R Us.

MPs on the Treasury Committee have already described them as "fleecing the public, highway robbery and usury".

One way or another, it is clear the mad spending spree has to stop. But if this generation really is "stuffed" it is already too late for them to learn.