A new report released Tuesday by the Federal Reserve shows that consumer debt — excluding mortgages and home-equity loans — fell from a whopping $2.49 trillion in June to a slightly-less-whopping $2.47 trillion in July — the sixth consecutive month of decreased borrowing.

Still, $2.47 trillion is nothing to sneeze at. Split that up among the 225 million Americans over the age of 18, and you’d find that each of us would owe about $10,977 in credit cards, car loans and personal loans.

It’s kind of like that children’s book, “If You Give A Mouse A Cookie,” published in 1985 and read to current and future editorial board members ever since.

If you give a mouse a cookie, he’ll want some milk to go with it. But he can’t have the milk without a straw. And before you know it you’re running all over town trying to meet the little mouse’s needs, and he’s eaten you out of house and home. Or so the story goes.

The American version is a little different: If you give an American a credit card, he’ll buy a pizza. But he’ll want something to sit on while he eats, so he’ll buy a La-Z-Boy recliner. Since he can’t recline without something to watch, he’ll get a newfangled plasma TV. Pretty soon, he’s up to his neck in debt.

But the story may have changed. This time, the mouse decides he wants only two or three cookies and no milk. Or you decided he’s eaten one too many of your cookies already, and you put a stop to his antics.

Or maybe it’s both. Revolving credit, made up mainly of credit cards, fell at an 8 percent annual rate from June to July. Consumers are wising up.

And about 35 percent of banks in the most recent Federal Reserve survey indicated that they had tightened their credit card lending standards — although that figure is down from 60 percent in April.

Sure, lower consumer debt means fewer customers spending money, which could stall economic recovery.

But could it also herald the beginning of a new, more responsible era of consumer spending? Could it mean an end to the insanity of buying things we don’t need, carrying a balance on our cards and paying it back with 20 to 30 percent interest added onto the sticker price?

Maybe, maybe not. But we sure hope so. And you should, too. As ISU students, debt is something we’re much too familiar with already.

Improve your financial literacy. Save, don’t spend. Go for needs, not wants. Buy used. Don’t carry a credit card balance. Like the protagonist in the favorite children’s book, teach yourself that the lure of the consumption cookie isn’t worth the cost.