A further example of identity reinforcement lies in the debt aversion described
earlier. All interviewees construed debt negatively, associating it with a lack of
personal control. This accords with suggestions that attitudes to debt are
shaped by traditional stereotypes that ``describe the debtor as self-indulgent,
reckless and impatient, while the saver is thrifty, controlled and patient''
(Livingstone and Lunt, 1993), and which construct savings and borrowing as
moral opposites. The findings of this study suggest that such personal
constructs of identity might be integrally linked with financial management in
the home.