Liam Dann: Reckless debt claims absurd, Government risks being too cautious

How much debt is too much? We all have different risk appetites when it comes to personal finances.

A student loan in my 20s (now paid off) and an Auckland mortgage have left me debt averse and overly diligent about paying off credit card bills and keeping cash on hand.

In reality the housing boom and low interest rates on offer have left me with enough equity to be leveraging myself more cleverly and making all sorts of smart investment choices ... or at least driving a nicer car.

That's just me though. I'm not a personal finance writer so feel free to go crazy with your credit card. I'm sure you deserve that new lounge suite and four-day beach break in Bali.

But what about our collective debt? Does New Zealand have too much?

National debt is a more controversial topic than how we leverage our own lives.

It's not talk-back radio controversial, like gender-neutral toilets or whether Tana Umaga should apologise for that tackle, but among those who worry about macro-economics it is one of the biggies.

New Zealand has a lot of debt and it worries people.

When you tally up all our private and public liabilities you get a whopping $528 billion outstanding as of April 30.