A former co-worker who was born in France and is now an American citizen told me once that she had a hard time getting used to the concept in the United States that it was OK to buy things for which you didn’t have the money. She kept thinking there was a catch.

“I give the saleswoman this plastic card and I walk out with clothes even if I can’t pay for them?” she said, laughing. “That can’t be right.”

Yes, you would imagine most reasoned, thinking people would feel that way. But in fact we know that is far from the reality of America’s collective consciousness. We are expected to have debt. It’s a lifestyle.

This is what I thought of as I opened my mail recently. As one who likes to dabble in courses and workshops in the New York area, I am on the mailing lists of such places as The New School, Mediabistro.com, the Open Center and New York University. This week I received a letter from the NYU School of Continuing and Professional Studies with a very nice offer:

Any NYU-SCPS continuing education (noncredit) student enrolled in courses of four or more class sessions will be permitted to withdraw from the course at any point during the semester with a full tuition refund, including fees, if the student loses his or her job while the course is in session … And, if you are among those who have been laid off within the last six months, we are offering for the fall semester a 15 percent discount on courses to assist you … the 15 percent discount will also be valid at the NYU-SCPS Office of Career Management, which offers comprehensive and customized career counseling, job search preparation, and resume advisement packages.

This is terrific news for adults looking to further their skill set or even de-stress with a course in modern poetry. I spend an awful lot of my life coaching time suggesting these kinds of courses to my clients because I think they’re invaluable whether they’re for business or pleasure.

Hats off to the continuing ed program, and by no means do I want to take away from NYU’s gesture here and go with the glass-half-empty approach, but I can’t stop thinking about the 19- and 20-year-olds who are going into massive debt to be there for more than just dabbling in an occasional course. They are full-time students building the foundation for their adult lives in a big, fat financial hole.

Some of today’s students roll their eyes at those of us who proudly proclaim that we worked our way through college and paid for it ourselves and I understand where they’re coming from. It must be frustrating to hear what is essentially impossible for many to do now. But there are far more students who assume they will start their adult lives in debt – scary debt in some cases -- and they’ve taken it in stride.

And, really, why wouldn’t they? In most cases they’ve watched their parents do it. The problem is how disproportionate tuition costs are with relation to the cost of living now. According to a recent article and graph by Charles Eisenhood on NYU Local, “in 1950, NYU charged $496 for a year of education ($4,442 in 2009 dollars). This year, tuition is $36,586.”

I’m not trying to pick on NYU. This is simply a microcosm of what’s happening nationally. Eisenhood goes on to say, “the underlying issue is that, last year, NYU saw a record number of applications and, according to Sexton, ‘enthusiastic admitted students.’ The price, on its face, seems justified. Tuition hikes aren’t hurting the admissions pool, so the sensible move is to drive up prices.” Then he adds, “Remember when everyone thought the housing market had nowhere to go but up?”

That’s food for thought. I feel like this recession has us talking around the problem, but not getting to the root. It’s far too easy and acceptable to go into debt in this country. The answer doesn’t lie in stop-gap solutions. It lies in an attitude adjustment.

We really need to get that in order to live well.

Nancy Colasurdo is a practicing life coach and freelance writer. Her Web site is www.nancola.com. Please direct all questions/comments to FOXGamePlan@gmail.com.