The PBS Segment
In 2016 PBS did a segment on Financial Illiteracy and Financial Fragility.
The focus of the story was on a writer who lives in The Hamptons, which is a very exclusive area on New York’s Long Island. He is purported to be successful and apparently lives from paycheck to paycheck. He at least recognizes the facts that the choices he made to live in New York, having 2 children, and sending them to expensive colleges were in fact choices . In the story he takes tacit responsibility for his choices. His home which he could once afford when times were good, has fallen into disrepair. He cannot sell the home, and cannot perform the appropriate maintenance on the home.
In the story, they talk about half of Americans being financially illiterate. In other words, Half of Americans are slow learners when it comes to spending more than they bring in. They are Debt Slaves.
The Video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tamC-M8TxtY
These folks live paycheck to paycheck, and make catastrophic choices. Such people when faced with a $400.00 unexpected expense, can’t take care of it without borrowing. The story puts forth information to suggest a middle class lifestyle requires $130,000.00 dollars yearly, and the median income is $50,000.00. They produce information that says middle class families have enough financial reserves to last 3 weeks. As you go further down the socio- economic ladder, the reserves are less.
YouTube videos support the premise of the struggle
You can watch video after video on youtube of families struggling to pay their monthly expenses. They live paycheck to paycheck, and have an extraordinary amount of debt.
There are generally 3 situations that create these situations. Student loan debt, broken homes for a variety of reasons, and health problems. Often it’s all 3.
Two other factors (not addressed in this PBS segment) that generally kick these people when they’re down are:
1. check cashing places- the fees become a major expense to the folks in the lower income brackets.
2. banks – make sure those with overdraft protection get their most expensive bills paid first, so the overdraft protected payments can generate as many overdraft fees as possible. This can generally be a problem for lower middle income brackets.
Poor Planning, Entitlement, and Shattered Dreams
The writer from the PBS special is quoted below:
“It’s a great sadness to think that people feel compelled to give up their dreams, of what they thought a modest middle class life would be, but they have..they have…even I have.”
“Half of America will have to compromise on their dreams.”
Dreaming for adults should be in line with reality. The reality to produce enough to reach your dream and maintain it. One should ALWAYS be prepared for things to turn south for a variety of reasons and deal with it. If 40% of Americans are Financial Illiterates, then they never heard the phrase “bit off more than I can chew.” It’s sad. The writer claims roughly half of America is in this situation, and that they “can’t all be idiots”.
I didn’t use the “I” word, he did. One things for certain. Parents are failing to maintain their chosen lifestyles, and they’re failing their children ethically. The parents shipped the kids off to schools where right and wrong are not taught. The parents have voluntarily handed away their children’s futures for their 2 incomes that don’t pay for the lifestyle they subsidize through credit. These kids are taught to follow their dreams, they’re entitled to their dreams, follow your passion, with virtually no ethical foundation for a sensible approach. Their parents spend tens of thousands on educations where 40% of the kids don’t graduate, and those that do, have overpaid for average careers, that a few decades ago, were achieved with a high school education.
The question one should ask is, what are the other half of Americans doing differently?
There are reasons why people are struggling. It’s not just the way it is (life), and it’s not a matter of luck. Life can throw us curveballs, but it’s proper planning and good decision making based on Biblical principles that is often the difference between the financially illiterate, and those who are not. Even if you aren’t a Christian, there are many principles in line with Biblical Principles that can help you succeed, which many successful non-christians live by. There are also plenty of Christians who ignore the wisdom they claim to follow, and are financial slaves to the lender and their own poor choices.
Conclusion
A large percentage of Americans are suffering from a lack of sense. They are suffering from poor decision making, and a lack of ability to understand cause and effect. They are suffering from a failure to heed the warnings of the Bible that teach that debt is slavery. There are hardships in life we often can’t overcome. However, these hardships can be dealt with far more effectively if we don’t make bad decisions. This is about choices, not hardship. This is about planning, not entitlement and spontaneity. It’s time to wake up from the dreams and start facing reality. This is a parental choice. This is something you actually DO owe your kids.
One big advantage of the Homeschool Dad is having the freedom to teach your children a consistent world view outside of the influences that create avoidable problems. A world view that is opposed to the status quo. It is an alternative to the thinking of half of Americans, who were either misguided or made poor choices and are now debt slaves. Biblical ethics covers all areas of life, including our finances and proper decision making. Meditation on the word, faith in the word, and trusting in the principles outlined in The Bible allows one to overcome many financial obstacles that would be catastrophic for millions of others.
If you are a financial illiterate and debt slave, there is help.
Start here: https://deliverancefromdebt.wordpress.com/