My absolute favorite is the trend of people paying off others' lay-aways. My mom bought much of what we had on lay-away when I was young (60s). She had 4 young daughters, and the credit card thing hadn't really started then. So it was Lay-Away. You put a down payment on an actual item, and when you paid for it, it was yours. Not really credit, since if you missed a payment, you lost it all. (sort of like buying a house, if you think about it!). But at least you were not in debt for eternity. But I truly love this trend of people going in and paying off others' lay-aways. It is something that makes me feel good.