Comments on: Don’t Forget: USA Was Built on Financial Discipline http://www.azmortgageguru.com/dont-forget-usa-was-built-on-financial-discipline/ Home Mortgage Expert in Phoenix, Arizona Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:32:06 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 By: Dru Bloomfield http://www.azmortgageguru.com/dont-forget-usa-was-built-on-financial-discipline/#comment-2240 Dru Bloomfield Sat, 14 Jun 2008 13:10:34 +0000 http://www.azmortgageguru.com/?p=917#comment-2240 I discovered MS Money for tracking finances when it first came out, and thought it was a pretty cool tool for tracking income and expenses. Managing and watching our net worth became a game to me, and a way to set goals. Now having a teenager who thinks that money grows on trees (omg, my dad used this phrase, too), I'm finding myself more conscious of my financial habits again, as I teach him about income vs. expenses. Since he is in Special Education, he also has received focused life skills training on budgeting and the like, so the topics aren't foreign to him. What I'm not so sure of, is how much of the general high school population is exposed to financial management. I think that creating a focus on financial education would be a step in the right direction, much as the focus on health and nutrition has created more awareness and changes in our grocery stores and restaurants. Like Chris says, "things need to change." I discovered MS Money for tracking finances when it first came out, and thought it was a pretty cool tool for tracking income and expenses. Managing and watching our net worth became a game to me, and a way to set goals.

Now having a teenager who thinks that money grows on trees (omg, my dad used this phrase, too), I’m finding myself more conscious of my financial habits again, as I teach him about income vs. expenses. Since he is in Special Education, he also has received focused life skills training on budgeting and the like, so the topics aren’t foreign to him. What I’m not so sure of, is how much of the general high school population is exposed to financial management.

I think that creating a focus on financial education would be a step in the right direction, much as the focus on health and nutrition has created more awareness and changes in our grocery stores and restaurants.

Like Chris says, “things need to change.”

]]> By: Chris Butterworth http://www.azmortgageguru.com/dont-forget-usa-was-built-on-financial-discipline/#comment-2233 Chris Butterworth Wed, 11 Jun 2008 04:51:35 +0000 http://www.azmortgageguru.com/?p=917#comment-2233 Sobering. If an individual lives beyond hisr means, eventually he'll reach his credit limit and the cash flow dries up. Overnight he goes from being "leveraged" to being bankrupt. If a company has more expenses then revenue, the same thing happens. One day it has access to cash (via debt), and the next day it can't make its payables, and the doors close. Why would it be any different when we have millions of people, a national government, and plenty of local & state governments, who are having a hard time balancing their budgets? Things need to change.. Sobering.

If an individual lives beyond hisr means, eventually he’ll reach his credit limit and the cash flow dries up. Overnight he goes from being “leveraged” to being bankrupt.

If a company has more expenses then revenue, the same thing happens. One day it has access to cash (via debt), and the next day it can’t make its payables, and the doors close.

Why would it be any different when we have millions of people, a national government, and plenty of local & state governments, who are having a hard time balancing their budgets?

Things need to change..

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