So far commentary has been about availability of debt from the banks, forcing the banks to lend and more recently an indication that there is a shifting mood to pay down debt.

This story marks an interesting start to a change in attitude to debt - that this change is a deep rooted shift in society.

If one could turn on the cheap debt taps again (and the government is certainly trying with the state owned banks) then attitude to debt becomes crucial. The scale cultural shift will come as a shock to many.