MONKEY SEE, MONKEY DON’T
I have said before that Washington is in desperate need of a Total Money Makeover. If you have been keeping up with current events in Washington then you probably are aware of the current spending proposal to “stimulate” the economy. If not, then you should be, because your tax dollars are being wasted on a daily basis. (Nothing new right?) In fact, your grandchildren are going to be footing the bill. It’s no wonder that most of America has a hard time managing their money, when they watch “supposedly” intelligent minds in Washington giving them the wrong impression of how to handle it. The Government is in debt up to their eyeballs, and so are Americans. To make matters worse, the Government decides to fix the problem by going into even more debt, and yep you guessed it, so do Americans! Debt caused the problem but for some reason they think that debt will solve the problem too. Common sense suggests otherwise. Monkey see, monkey don’t!
Something is added to the budget when there is a financial need right? Right! Currently in America that need is to stimulate the economy by creating jobs, giving us our own money back, and encouraging banks and loan companies to hand out debt like fresh chocolate chip cookies. The creating jobs, and giving us our own money back part I agree with, but bailing out companies so that they can loan more money out to an already debt consumed America is ridiculous. (To be clear, I didn’t say that what the Government is proposing will work, after all it didn’t work last year so why would it work this year.) The Government is trying to pass a “stimulus” package that has hidden expenses that have nothing to do with stimulating the economy. When your car breaks down, your financial need is to adjust the budget in order to cover the cost of the repairs. That does not give you a green light to pave your driveway too! It would be nice, and maybe it does need to be paved at some point, but your budget need is to make room financially to fix the problem. So once again, Washington is not a very good example to us on how we should manage our money, so stop following their lead. Monkey see, monkey don’t!
Here’s something else I find VERY interesting. You ever notice how people vociferate about how much the Government over spends, adding to our already out of control debt load? Did you ever wonder this? How many of those people are doing the very thing that they decry so vehemently? Well statistics tell us that 7 out of every 10 Americans live paycheck to paycheck. Dave Ramsey often adds that in upper middle class neighborhoods, it is more like 8 out of 10! The upper middle class households are really in denial. America has a negative savings rate, which may have gone up a little bit because of the current economic scare, but when you add in their heaping pile of debt, there really is no change in position. You might look good and appear to be doing well but the truth is you are BROKE. Monkey see, monkey don’t!
Here is something to consider. If you had 3/6 months worth of expenses in your savings account, and had absolutely NO debt whatsoever, with the “possible exception” of a 15 year fixed-rate traditional mortgage, you would not be all that worried right now. Not only would you find yourself drooling like a kid at a candy store at the deep discounts across the country, but you would actually be able to breathe. You would have room to invest, and you could even have enough money to go on a vacation while everyone else is worried about how they are going to pay their sub-prime mortgage loans. While they are waiting for Washington to bail them out you can feel safe knowing that you did the right thing. You can enjoy those icy paid for drinks on the beach, while your paid for car is in your paid for garage with not a care in the world. Don’t you think it’s time to stop doing what the monkey does, because the monkey is BROKE!
I am not judging you, I used to be a monkey too! If I told you that 2,000 miles away their was a chest full of money, and you were the only one that knew about it, wouldn’t you rush to go get it? Right here, right now, I am telling you that if you make a plan and stick to it, you can build wealth too. You can have your chest full of wealth. All you have to do is go get it! You have to do the work! It is hard for me not to show you the following example when talking about building wealth. People seem to have a misconception about becoming wealthy. Here’s the truth. The Ben and Arthur example proves that ANYONE can build wealth in this country. All you have to do is have an income without the weight of debt pulling you down. You have no excuse, so go do it! We are! I’ll see you on the beach!
Remember…monkey see, monkey DON’T!!!
