I'm actually surprised the number is not higher. Here's a philosophical question I have. When a person gets into deep debt or loses a job but has not saved a penny -- and the person claims that he didn't know he would get into trouble if he spent like there was no tomorrow -- whose fault is it? The answer seems simple to me, but I heard someone arguing that people who grew up without good financial role models never learned how to spend well and save money and therefore we can't blame that person because he lacked basic financial education.
The one component that seems to tie together people with financial problems is an inability to see beyond the immediate horizon. If I have $100 in my hand, and there's something that I want, why shouldn't I buy it? It's my money. We've all done that to some degree, but some of us learn that we can't keep doing it. Others don't really have to learn. They can file for bankruptcy or go on welfare. It's so puzzling to see people who spend and spend and spend and then when trouble happens, act so surprised or seem indignant at their self-inflicted tragedy.
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08-12-2011, 12:02 PM
