Rambling on Finances and society

When observing people and society in general around me I see so much financial devastation in families and homes across the US. As I ponder more extensively on this issue it makes me want to understand this dilemma even more.

Researching where this all begins seems so very simple but yet its is so perpetual you wonder if it will ever stop. Young people are encouraged to succeed and attend college and further their careers and yet funding for college is decreasing and student loans increasing in the last few years. There is a rise in the instant gratification in this generation causing then to lean towards obtaining things including money the fastest way possible. With no universal financial responsibility being bred into them they quickly find themselves in substantial amount of debt upon graduation. Due to this it creates the need to obtain more credit to keep the image of success. Consequently we have new families dealing with debt!

There are many programs out there that were once developed to assist the moderate to low income families in maintaining goals, but these programs have been misused and abused causing them to cut funding and some programs altogether. Now you see a population of people swamped in debt or leaving far beyond their means.

I have seen so many families that have cable, internet, cell phones for everyone in the family, fancy cars, new clothes constantly, rent beautiful furniture and entertainment items and yet are still in financial crisis. These families are filling up the food bank lines, rental assistance programs, and high electricity bills. The priorities are not in alignment.

There is an overall perception that if you have these things you must be doing well, but this is a misperception. Many individuals are such in a rush to obtain things NOW that they fail to prepare for the future or set goals.

For example, you have a single mother of 2 children who is on section 8, receives a little food stamps, works a low wage full time job, receives childcare assistance and never has anything for emergencies and thus constantly broke. Immediately hearing that you feel a little sympathetic towards her, but she has $70 cable bill, house phone for $30, cell phone for $60, internet bill for $50, rental furniture for $140, car payment of $250, and spends at least $75 on clothes every month. This alone costs her $675 which is one paycheck. Then she has $350 rent, $50 electric, $ 150 gas for car, $75 additional in food, and $50 childcare bill. This puts her negative $25 and we haven’t touched her credit card bills yet. This is the type of juggling act that most do. If even two luxury items were taken away she would live with enough money to cover items and have some small savings.

I am not attempting to be harsh in anyway as I was a single mother of 2 children for 8 years. I understand the challenges of living on one income and taking care of all the needs in the home with no support. This is sometimes not an avoidable situation and thus the person may feel hopeless.

I believe that there are strategies for every household that are achievable if they are willing to make the changes that are needed to attain to the financial and life goals.