ziggy29
Moderator Emeritus
Actually if you charges the groceries, the grocer doesn't care; he/she has been paid anyway. It's the credit card issuer that owns the debt. (Most grocers won't "put it on your tab" and as far as they are concerned using a credit card is payment in full at the time of the sale.)Let's say you go grocery shopping on Friday and and spend $200 on food for a party on Saturday night. By Sunday morning the groceries have been consumed. Are you liable for paying the grocery store bill? Do you owe the grocer money? Are you in debt to the grocer? You betcha!
Still, I see what you are saying. I just don't think that personal finance needs to follow the same stringent standards as businesses filing tax documents or preparing balance sheets for shareholders. In other words, I think there is more wiggle room in terms of how the accounting is done. There can be colossally bad accounting, such as ignoring that the debt is an unpaid liability in the future, but beyond that they aren't really the same IMO.