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Originally Posted by b4freedom
Do you find it challenging to deal with family, friends, coworkers, or the world in general when you’re being budget minded and they aren’t?
Or, how about our government? Does any governmental body live within any budgetary constraints?
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I'm about saving energy and money these days, but my spouse just isn't behind it. My kid will save energy turning lights off but will stand in front of the open refrigerator for minutes. My spouse seems to need to have a light on in a room no one is in.
I find it best to lead by example. Lecturing and nagging didn't work on me and I suspect it won't work on the lads.
Coworkers and I do not discuss finances.
Family outside my house does not discuss finances. I asked my uncle and aunt, who raised five children, for ideas on how to cut costs raising my kid and they wouldn't deliver the advice. Nice.
Note I wasn't asking for money.
Friends -- my friends and I don't have the same income or budget so we don't talk finances unless someone's announced a savings goal or a plan to reduce debt.
In the U.S., the states are legally obliged to balance their budget. Check out
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._National_Debt, there's an interesting two-column table. The Only Decade in the Twentieth Century in which the U.S. Govt Debt had been REDUCED was in the 1920s.
I suspect we are part of a small, not so empowered minority of people who care about balancing the budget and recognize the importance of having $$ to sustain over crises.