Photo Credit: Elsie Esq.
Who Are You Following Over the Cliff?
If there was only one example NOT TO FOLLOW when it came to finance, it would definitely be that of the United States Government. It seems as though it’s getting easier and easier to use our government as the prime example of what not to do. Here we are without a budget, with no savings, in debt like never before AND they just found a 2.3 trillion dollar mistake in the budget projections for, I think, the next 10 years. (2.3 TRILLION?…WOW!) Employment SUCKS, and people are losing their jobs left and right. We have states crumbling to the ground at the brink of chaos. We’re now involved in a third military front, and to top it off Japan is in extreme danger which some say, could effect us in a very big way economically.
Think about that for a second….
Now insert yourself into that statement and look at it in terms of your own household. Your household is “like” a small government that YOU run. You have no budget. You are in debt and it is growing by the month. Your household is on the brink of bankruptcy, yet you keep piling it on. Your minimum payments are rising. Unemployment is a serious risk. You have no savings to fall back on. If you’re married, your marriage is severely strained, and you have no idea if you’re going to make it.
Not to worry. Just go on vacation!
Seriously. Pack up and go. If you follow the direction of our government then that’s what you’d do.
For those that think this is a rip on President Obama alone your wrong. Trust me I have my issues with Obama, but I actually have some of the same issues with those on the right, especially, when it comes to spending and debt. My beef is with the entire government and it’s lack of priorities, not to mention the new American way that says, if you are having financial problems and it seems too hard — go on vacation or have some fun. Unless I’m mistaken, congress is either on, or getting ready to be on a break too. Perfect timing too, because everything is hunky-dory!
Let’s face it. If you’re going through all, or even some of what I listed above, and you went on vacation instead of dealing with it — I promise you — your situation would get worse.
Race to Freedom Challenge of the week:
I’ll admit, some of you may run for your life, mostly because self-examination is hard. It leads to reality. It leads to truth. Often times it leads to denial. It’s how you handle what you find out that matters the most. The truth shouldn’t scare you but ignoring the truth should.
Ask yourself these very important questions.
- Why are you in debt?
- What have you done financially that led to NOW?
- Are those decisions helping you or harming you?
- Are you taking your situation as seriously as you should be?
- Could you pay off more debt?
- Could you make a better effort to save an emergency fund?
- Are you prepared for your worst case scenario?
- And lastly, are you following the US Government’s example of how to handle YOUR financial crisis?
Some will say. “But, I don’t consider my situation to be a crisis. I mean…I have debt, but things are going good.” Good doesn’t last forever. Sadly, that’s the mistake most of us make. I’ve sure been guilty of it, before I realized we were taking our family on a voyage on the “unsinkable” ship. Remember Titanic? Guess what? It sank.
We think our situation now will be our situation forever. Tell that to the people getting laid off every single month. Your debt, if not taken seriously, will be the end of you financially. If you’re REALLY lucky, you won’t lose your family because of it. Debt and finance in general can cause the best of families to crumble much like you see some of the states doing in the United States. Look at California!
How bankrupt do you have to be before you wise up and do what needs to be done?
I’m proud to say I know most of you are changing course, otherwise, you wouldn’t be here right now. You have started searching for answers and are playing an active role in eliminating your debt. CONGRATULATIONS! Some of you have realized what you want but feel lost. YOU’RE NOT ALONE! All of you, have a very serious decision to make. “Do I continue down this path or is NOW the time to lead my family to security?”
I hope you take this opportunity to ask yourself the tough questions.
(no video submissions — just respond in the comments below.)
P.S. Is anyone having a yard sale at the end of March? Do you plan to use the money to pay off debt?
I love this post! The government’s attitude toward spending and debt is yet another reason we shouldn’t rely on them for our financial security. Recently, a family member told me her blood pressure medication didn’t cost a thing when I insisted she look to her diet and physical activity as a long-term solution to her health problem. I’m pretty sure the government is subsidizing the cost of her meds. At some point, we’re gonna have to come to grips with reality and seriously cut spending. I don’t want to be unnecessarily relying on the government for an essential product when that happens.
Shawanda the more I delve into the political arena I find that both parties have it wrong on many counts. The size and scope of our current government is ridiculous and both parties are responsible for both the debt and the spending. They always see to find a way to avoid doing what needs to be done so the problem just gets passed to the next guy and then the next one, only to get bigger and worse. I equate it to being like giving your kid a $15 a week allowance, then, because things get tight, having to cut it from the budget. It might suck, the kid will probably pitch a fit and kick and scream, but it HAS TO BE DONE. That’s what I see happening in this country right now. People say they want to fix the spending problem but when the cuts are made, the kids come out to protest the budget decision. There are a bunch of whiny children in this country that instead of taking responsibility for their own lives, want the tax payers to foot the bill. Personal responsibility is lost and that’s one of the biggest problems with America right now.
I hope this post is successful in pointing out why doing the same thing our government does with money is unsustainable. It’s always nice to see you stop by. I hope things are going great for you. I know you were busy there for a little bit. 😀
Hi, thank you for your article. It’s really sobering. But I need it.
Your very welcome Nicole! 😀
We’re in a state of denial that’s for sure. We have an unholy alliance between the media–selling us on the goodlife and convincing us that we deserve it–and credit–enabling us to have what we can’t afford. Since most are falling for the hype, and even think it’s normal, we shouldn’t be surprised that there’s no real outrage that the government is spending what it doesn’t have.
Somehow I don’t think we’ll get out of this mess as a nation, at least not by any cohesive plan. The handwriting is on the wall that it can’t continue, but we continue to slide even as it does.
That’s why it’s all the more important that we take control individually. No matter what’s happening culture wide, we need to step out and be different. Like deciding not to participate in the consumer orgy, and to emphasize saving where ever possible.
BTW, I can’t lay this at the feet of Obama. It’s been a long time in coming. People are trying to pin it on him but I think this is another aspect of the denial. People want to believe that our problems are as simple as the man in the White House. It’s a cultural thing at this point, and it hardly matters who the chief overseer is. No one really wants anything but the status quo, and that’s why nothing gets fixed.
I love your entire statement Kevin. I think you nailed it, but I will say this. You’re right about every President getting blamed for things that they shouldn’t necessarily get blamed for, BUT, in this particular case, Obama has dropped the ball as a leader in many ways, and nothing says that more than him taking another vacation while America becomes unraveled at the seams. Take a vacation, but at least make sure the country isn’t in turmoil. There’s no budget. We just got involved in ANOTHER conflict. It’s not time to be picking basketball games and playing golf if you’re the President of the United States. Postpone your vacation Obama. Wait until you hound congress to vote on a budget before taking a week off. That can be fairly put on Obama’s doorstep, but trust me when I say our entire government has lost touch. These leaders need to stop acting as if nothing’s wrong. Our financial situation alone is enough to take us down as a country and vacation should be the last thing from anyone’s mind right now. Sorry for the rant Kevin. Haha! I try not to get too political here, but I felt I had to use the government and their actions as the perfect example of what NOT to do. You’re right! We need to forget about what the government can and can not give us, we need to take responsibility for our actions and make it happen. This country is losing a lot of what made it great.
All the questions you listed are very important. Especially “Why Are You In Debt?”
I remember when I was in debt I use to say it was the credit card companies fault, or because I didn’t earn enough money. But the problem was me!!!!
I was buying things to make myself…
*feel good
*impress other people
*look good (not a bad thing if have money to afford it)
*to have something to do
*to feel important
Now I’m very comfortable with myself and I stopped buying things to impress other people. But I still buy things that would impress other people and I pay cash for them now!
Cash money baby!! That’s what it’s about man. You don’t have to restrict yourself forever if you get your act together. You can still have the finer things in life and enjoy them without a big fat debt tag trailing behind you! Great example Steven, thank you!
I’m a new reader to Enemy of Debt, I’m 25 years old turning 26 this year.
Why am I in debt? I made a lot of financial mistakes from ages 18-23 that I’m trying to fix now. Student loans, credit card offers that I happily took. I’m about 16k in debt, but I’m hoping to pay it off by the end of this/beginning of next year (I’m single and I make an okay salary).
This is how I feel about America:
First of all I love it! Visit any third world country and you’ll feel the same.
Metaphorically speaking I think America is a really rich father who is bad with finances all the while we (the people who live and work here) are the spoiled children who are just as equally bad with money and don’t realize how much we depend on our father.
What do we do? Hold ourselves accountable for our own actions! Stop blaming the government (our dad) we are grown adults (spoiled ones). Go to work, spend less than you earn, don’t get in debt and save.
Welcome to Enemy of Debt Hannah! Welcome to the “We’ve all done stupid with money” club. It sounds like you have turned a corner and are ready to do the hard part. Congratulations and if there is anything I can do to help you along please let me know.
I LOVE AMERICA TOO! It is the greatest nation on Earth in my opinion. With the current path our government as a whole has been taking for the last 40-50 years, it might not be the best for long though. I especially agree with you on the taking responsibility for your own actions. Too many people have become reliant on a government that cannot manage itself. We must get back to what made us strong in the first place. Hard work, personal responsibility, and common sense principles. I think we can do it too!!
Anyway, thanks for taking the time to comment and I look forward to seeing more of you around in the comments section. Knock that debt out!! 😀
Why am I in debt? I’m in debt, but not too much, just a student loan and a credit card. Luckily, my house and car are paid for so I have a bit of extra money to use for my debt snowball. My student loan is a result of me being addicted to going to school. I love the academic environment, costly though it may be. As far as my credit card, until last year my credit card balance was always below $2000 because that was the limit I kept on it. For the previous 3 years I had been paying as much as I could toward my home equity loan so I could pay it off early, consequently, if I didn’t have the cash for stuff I didn’t get it. After the loan was paid off last year, I suffered major burnout from pinching-pennies so tight they screamed, I raised the limit on my credit card and starting charging. Not lots, but enough to get up to the ~$5000 I’m at today. But I’m back on the becoming debt free bandwagon and hope to return to my previous gazelle intensity.
Am I following the government’s example of how to handle my financial crisis….h*ll no! Look at the shape the U.S. financial situation is in, definitely not something I want to model my finances after.
EEEKKKK, I just remembered about my questions. I have been out sick for the last two days – good thing I remembered.
• Why are you in debt?
My debt problems started when I was in my early 20’s. I was always going to the bars and hanging out with my friends; naturally I needed clothes and make up to impress my friends and the guys. I racked up quite a lot of debt that way ($5,000) and then I became a single mother. I wasn’t going out anymore but now I had another mouth to feed and not a lot of money. Paying off debt was the last thing on my mind and only the minimum payments were getting made on top of late payment fees. Finally I decided to get that under control and worked hard at a budget. Even though I have a budget for my bills I didn’t have one for my variable expenses and that is what kept me in more trouble. I lied to myself in believing that I had a great budget because I did really well at my fixed expenses. I have been working hard to get my variable expenses to budget but I really need to work harder on that one.
• What have you done financially that led to NOW?
NOW I have gotten real with myself and figured out that my “great” budget is not so great. I have changed my thinking and slowly my actions are matching those thoughts. I have a budget for all my money and expected money. I WILL do what I say I am going to do with the money that is coming in and that will help get this debt down.
• Are those decisions helping you or harming you?
Helping – This weekend I went to a girlfriend’s baby shower, usually I would buy myself a new outfit for the occasion but not this time. This time I wore a perfectly cute outfit that I already had.
Another example is the money we just got in – usually I would say it was going to go to paying something off and when I got the money I would spend it on crap. When my husband gave me the $20 from the recycling it went right into our account and then I logged on to bank website and paid the money to Kohls. When we received our tax return* I immediately put the amount needed into savings to give us $1000 in our emergency fund. I also paid off the Kohls account with the money. In the past that would not of happened.
• Are you taking your situation as seriously as you should be?
I am taking it a lot more seriously then I have in the past. I trick myself again into thinking that we are great because we are going great with our budget but if one of us were to lose our jobs we would be in trouble. Each time I want to waste money I remember that I want to be home and not at work dealing with crap that I don’t really care about. That really motivates me.
• Could you pay off more debt?
Oh ya, I can definitely find more money from our variable budget to pay off more stuff. I’m in the process of making that happen right now. That budget is the one that gives me problems and that is the one that I am currently working on fixing. The April Challenge will really help me find the extra money
• Could you make a better effort to save an emergency fund?
Luckily, our tax return helped us to have our Step 1 complete.
• Are you prepared for your worst case scenario?
No, I would seriously crap myself if the worst case scenario were to happen. I know we would be fine because we would have to adjust a lot of stuff. When I was on maternity leave we adjusted our budget to hold us through the 3 months – we did really well with that. But it was only 3 months and I knew when I would be making more money again. If one of us were to lose our job we wouldn’t know when we would be able to make that kind of money again.
• And lastly, are you following the US Government’s example of how to handle YOUR financial crisis?
No, for the first time I am really getting to the root of the problem and telling my money where to go. And the place the money is going is not to more crap but to paying off the crap we already have and to savings for the upcoming events.
* I know how you feel about tax returns but this was so unexpected. Last year we received $19 from federal and had to pay the state. I actually made sure we got our taxes done soon so that we could pay them and see how much money we had left in savings. The reason we received a refund this year was that we had the baby and I only worked 9 months.