While the actions of risk-taking Wall Street traders and poorly regulated financial institutions may have been major causes of the great stock market crash of 2008 and the ensuing financial crisis, we can't ignore the reckless behavior of the American consumer.

When politicians and regulatory bodies discuss ways to prevent such financial disasters from happening again, the term "moral hazard," creeps into the conversation. Despite the fact that Congress recently passed the new FinReg legislation, average consumers shouldn't breathe a sigh of fiduciary relief. Good sense begins at home and in the classroom.

In his book, "The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008," Nobel-Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman said a moral hazard is "any situation in which one person makes the decision about how much risk to take, while someone else bears the cost if things go badly."

Crafty Wall Street investment professionals have and will continue to mine for loopholes in regulations and develop sophisticated investment products to circumvent them. So there will be plenty of financial Henry Hills out there selling band uniforms and trumpets to lazy and greedy individual investors.

Rather than relying on the U.S. government to protect us, why not heed the adage, "If it sounds too good to be true, it is."

And realize you can't spend a nickel you don't have.

There are lots of data to suggest that many Americans have indeed been living on the edge in terms of management of their personal finances. Data published by reliable financial sources is frightening.

Average U.S. household debt, not counting mortgage debt, is $14,500. And some 40 percent of American families annually spend more than they earn. Most scary, average personal wealth of a 50-year-old American, including home equity, is less than $40,000.

Sadly, many of these facts don't seem so startling today as they may have a generation ago. We have become a society driven by debt. Spending and not saving has become the norm. We are not saving for retirement. A lot of Americans are living so much beyond their means that if they miss a few paychecks, they could be forced to declare personal bankruptcy or face homelessness.

Many people lack sufficient retirement savings or get into serious financial trouble due to unexpected events because they lack a basic understanding of family budgeting, how credit works and how to save for retirement. Not many people really know "the number" or how much they need to have saved to live a comfortable retirement.

As parents and teachers, we should teach our youth the concept that financial planning, thrift and retirement saving is not just a virtue but an issue of survival. Personal financial management and the basics of retirement savings should be core curriculum in our high schools and colleges. A financial "the birds and the bees" discussion would also be in order.

When a child hits his or her tweens and wants a new smartphone, the latest clothes and concert tickets, why not make him or her get a job or start a small lawn-mowing or dog-walking business to pay for it?

Of course, the best way to teach is by example. So throw the credit cards in the shower to cool them off for awhile.

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