That's what gets people in trouble. That doesn't help either. If everyone stashed their money, it would lead to a stagnation of production and work for the exchange of, guess what, money. Money keeps us busy and active as a society. Without a steady level of activity our economy would be nothing but periods of starts and stops.
Credit helps to level it all out.
It is not desirable for our country or individuals to be completely debt-free if we want to keep the economy stable. Money Equals Debt. The paper money we use today is debt, government debt. In theory, that meant that if the government printed one million dollar bills to put into circulation, they had to have one million dollars worth of gold or silver on deposit to cover those notes. Governments no longer hold deposits of precious metals as collateral for their currency.