• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Home
About Us Contact Us Advertising
Articles
Budgeting Debt Frugal Insurance Investing Making Money Retirement Saving Money
Tips
Money Saving Tips Trash Audit
Make Money Forums Blogs
Create a Blog Control Panel All Entries All Blogs
Tools
Calculators Prescription Drug Coupons Online Savings Accounts Test Your Knowledge Financial Directory Credit Cards

SavingAdvice.com Blog

Bridging the gap between saving money and investing

Subscribe

 

Join Now or Login

  • Home
    • Advertising
  • Tips
    • Money Saving Tips
    • Recycle, Reuse and Repurpose
  • Make Money
  • Credit Score Guide
  • Forums
  • Blogs
    • Create a Blog
  • Tools
  • Financial Basics
    • Back to Basics: Saving Money
    • Back to Basics: Beginners Guide to Retirement
    • Back to Basics: What Every Child Under 10 Should Know About Personal Finance
    • Back to Financial Basics: Investing In Stocks

Politicians and Personal Finance: An Interview With Senator Don White

August 1, 2016 by Jennifer Clark

Politicians Saving Money
It’s not every day we get to hear about how politicians handle their own personal finances. Oftentimes we hear about politicians and how they plan to better our pockets through local bills and laws, but we never hear about how they are keeping their own bank accounts healthy. We sat down with Pennsylvania State Senator Don White to bring you a behind the scenes on what a politician’s thoughts on personal finance and saving money might be.

Senator White, who was elected to his first term in 2000 representing the 41st Senatorial District, greatly enjoys public service. “Serving in a political office was never in my ‘plan,’ but I came to recognize the need for me to step forward and offer my talents to help improve the communities I represent,” Senator White said during the interview. Prior to being elected State Senator, White spent some time in a career in financial services.

“Serving in a political office was never in my ‘plan,’ but I came to recognize the need for me to step forward and offer my talents to help improve the communities I represent,” Senator White said during the interview. Prior to being elected State Senator, White spent some time in a career in financial services.

Prior to being elected State Senator, White spent some time in a career in financial services.

Don White

How Senator Don White Saves Money

During his time in the financial services industry, White was able to obtain sound knowledge about what being financially stable means as well as some techniques that help him stay on top of his personal finances. As far as saving money, his method is pretty simple.

“Saving money is a matter of taking the time to ensure what you are spending on is both necessary and the best deal available,” he said. “As with any budget, there will be deviations, but the key is to recognize the means you have and to live within them. When you decide to make a purchase, take the time to make sure you’re getting what you pay for.”

Keep Your Finances Simple

There are a variety of tools you can use both online and offline to keep your savings on track. Politicians saving money is really no different than how you would put money aside at home. Senator White successfully keeps his efforts offline for himself. A key to saving is to choose what works best for you. Unlike many others, White likes to keep things old fashioned when it comes to his money.

“I do not use the Internet,” said the Pa. State Senator. “If you have investments, paying attention to business news is important so you can understand the marketplace and make sure your investments are diverse enough to meet the current environment.”

While he does use them for savings, Senator White does not recommend using bank accounts as an investing tool due to the current state of interest rates. He also added that he is currently happy with his personal savings portfolio that he chose through a local bank as it does reflect today’s marketplace, an important note to keep in mind when working on your own savings efforts.

 

“The old adage, ‘save til it hurts’ holds true. Try to save as much as possible for the future is unknown.”

 

 

Saving Advice From Don White

Another thing to keep in mind is wise savings practices.

“Part of saving is to make sure you are not overburdened by high-interest debt,” he said.

He recommends “evaluating if it makes sense to use savings to pay the debt off depending on the interest rates.”

Another key piece of advice that Senator White offers?

“The old adage, ‘save til it hurts’ holds true. Try to save as much as possible for the future is unknown.”

Other than choosing the right savings platform for you and your goals, the state senator mentioned that the best financial advice he received is, “Diversify your savings, manage your debt. Debt is OK, but it has to be balanced, and it’s important to make sure the rates are reflective of the marketplace. Interest rates are an important part of investing, make sure you look into the best rates available.”

Takeaways from our sit down with Don White:

  • Take time to evaluate your expenses and budget.
  • Reconsider before using a bank account as an investment tool.
  • Save as much as possible.
  • Debt is OK as long as it’s balanced and maintained.

 

When Mr. White isn’t serving his community, he enjoys a new role of playing grandpa to his grandson Ben and fishing, although he mentioned public service does allow for little down time. You can learn more about Senator Don White and his work here.

Reader Interactions

What did you think about this article?
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading...

Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Primary Sidebar

    • Articles
    • Tips
    • Make Money
    • Credit Score Guide
    • Forums
    • Blogs
    • Tools
    • About
    • Contact

    Subscribe to Our Newsletter
    Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
    Your subscription has been successful.
    Copyright © 2025 SavingAdvice.com. All Rights Reserved.
    • Privacy Policy