I Owe, I Owe Its Off To Work I Go
The author has nailed it on the head as to the reasons it is so fashionable to buy something with “low monthly payments”. As he said, staying away from debt and using cash is doable. If we take care of the four contributing factors that he talks about in his article, we can achieve better things than a life filled with loan payments.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvTnn9CeV7o
Amplify’d from www.catholic.org
What is standing in the way of many Catholic households achieving financial success? It is a four letter word.DEBT!
We want financial success.
And yet, we find ourselves paying this month, for last months, last years, or even decisions made many years ago to spend, or purchase, or acquire some asset or experience.
What happened?
There are at least four contributory factors
We have a hole we try to fill. We utilize spending, purchasing, and rewarding ourselves to address a deeper need for meaning that goes un-addressed.
The Easy Payment Plan. The Business Community has learned the secret of selling goods, and services to a consumer without sufficient savings to make the purchase: An affordable monthly payment credit plan.
We do not have a plan for allocation of our life’s income
We buy the asset, when what we truly want is the experience
Can you imagine a lifestyle in which the majority of your income for the month is not already allocated before it is received? It is possible. It is doable.
Read more at www.catholic.org
Categories: Anti-Consumerism
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Assuming one actually does an analysis of monthly expenditures, I suspect most folks will discover that their largest expense is actually taxes, as opposed to personal debt servicing.
The implementation of income taxes in the 1900’s as a “temporary” measure, has evolved into a system for “redistributing” wealth that allows governments to soothe taxpayers that they too may get some benefit for the strictly enforced “source deductions”, collected for the common good. All that is needed to understand the fallacy of this assumption, is to note that the gap between the incomes of the poor and the middle class and the incomes of the “inner circle” of the rich and powerful, continues to grow.
People do need to break the cycle of “instant gratification” = debt @ compound interest. I suspect the current “jobless recovery” will emphasize this need. Furthermore, the inevitable, (and likely) imminent rise in interest rates, will really drive this point home to those that are indebted.
1 month agoRe: http://amplify.com/u/1nhq @HansWobbe Thanks for the recommend.
1 month agoI agree, taxes are high. And I believe, as we are a nation of spenders, we elect spenders to lead. So, until we, as citizens, learn to control our spending, we will continue electing spenders to lead our nation.
1 month agoGood point about “citizens”, but aren’t the “leaders” supposed to set an example, or at least a direction?. But then as Gandhi said “I must go now, for my people are leaving and I am their leader”. Perhaps our leaders should pay a bit more attention to their constituents.
1 month agoTaxes pay Police, Fire service and, here in Europe, health services. Its not dependent on employers contributions. Being able to have a the services of a doctor or hospital without payment is so reassuring especially for those with long-term illnesses.
1 month ago