Advocating For Simpler Money Management : Alliteration Of Economic Trends That Everyone Has Been Told

O’Donnell’s essay explored the opposite of Scurlock’s, his essay was geared more towards the fact of not owning a credit card prior to entering the professional world. He explored his point through an educated professional man, who was constantly denied an unsecured credit card in spite of having a full time employment, no monthly house payments, no finances owed to other lenders and no dependents that need to be taken care of.

* Create a budget- creating a budget will help you not spend more money than you have. Creating a budget will also help you stay out of debt.

Richard Fairbank and Nigel Morris, both diligent entrepreneurs, started laying the bricks for their eventual successful company, Capital One, in the late 1980’s. They both worked in the Virginia-based “Signet Bank”. Fairbank started noticing trends in the financial industry that he felt Signet was missing out on. These opportunities were in the credit card industry. He, as well as all of Signet Bank knew that the credit card industry was very risky, but Fairbank was ready to take a chance in this, what can be, highly profitable field.

Attitudes about spending changed drastically. At this point, more people had access to credit cards because credit card companies stopped limiting their customer base to the wealthy, and began issuing cards to people with moderate to low incomes (Garon, 2012, CNN World). This gave Americans a way to purchase goods and services immediately, even if they didn’t have the cash on hand. The seven to eight percent savings rate maintained in the United States from the 1960s to the 1980s plummeted to less than two percent, and remained so until the first decade of the 21st century (Melicher & Norton, 2014, p. 168).

Most people do not invest because of their lack of knowledge. In chapter three I learned over a dozen financial myths and statistics. Some of the truths to the myths are no brainers but millions of people fall into the ensnared traps leading them down the path of financial misery. President Gordon B. Hinckley tells us that being in debt is like becoming a slave working to pay it off.

     With religion playing an important role in the average Americans lives, consumerism began to grow in the white and blue-collar workers. Their families started to spend extra cash instead of saving it. Washing machines, dryers, and new cars became commonly bought items. The Homeowner who needed some extra cash, but couldn’t work enough hours to purchase that item when he needed it, started to use personal credit. This began the craze of credit cards. ”The Diner Club” introduced the first credit card in 1950: By the 1970s the ubiquitous plastic credit card had revolutionized personal and family finance”(Henretta, pg.790). The awareness of addition free time was aware

The beginnings of this problem can be attributed to Baby Boomers and their inability to balance their spending habits (Par. 16). Gen-Xers took it to a whole new level. Gen-Xers, on average, had 47 percent more credit card debt than Baby Boomers at the same stage of life (Par. 10). Millennials continue to build on that backward momentum. We all have parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends from our Greatest Generation. They are saving and scrimping “gods” and even during the Great Depression, managed to hold off and save as much as possible. As much as it may be unfavorable, the “Era of Debt” has arrived. The growing concern that more and more Americans are living by the “if you have it, spend it” rule is growing minute by minute. The stark contrast from our point of view seventy to eighty years ago and now is drastic but not unmanageable with “bold thinking and courage” (Pars.

The Federal Reserve statistics indicate that the average U.S. household has a credit card balance of $7,283 while the average indebted household has an outstanding balance of $15,611 (Bricker, et al., 2014). Only home mortgages and student loans exceed credit card balances. If consumers hope to create an appropriate level of wealth to support themselves in the latter years of life and avoid counting on government programs as their primary source of income, consumers will need to save more of their income. Servicing credit card debt required approximately 13.9% of consumer’s disposable income in the fourth quarter of 2008 (Wilcox, Block, & Eisenstein, 2011). If these dollars were available as contributions into a retirement account on behalf of the consumer, countless people would be confident about their ability to save for an appropriate lifestyle in retirement. The abuse of credit card usage may be caused by a lack of spending discipline, lack of information or a lack of financial literacy, or a combination of the three. These shortfalls are examined to determine if policy makers can intervene to motivate consumers to generate improved decisions regarding the use of credit cards. The first step in this process is having a basic understanding or knowledge of financial matters. The need for improving financial literacy in America continues to grow as financial products and services continue to become evolve in complexity. The Great Recession has recently proved that financial literacy in this country has room for improvement at all economic levels. The CARD Act required The Secretary of Education and the Director of the Office of Financial Education of the Department of the Treasury to coordinate with the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy to develop a strategic plan to improve, expand and support financial

Many Americans have accepted the consumer debt as an essential component of their everyday life. People who say they don’t have enough money to live comfortably have greater financial worries than people who feel they have enough money. Both people who feel as though they don’t have enough money to live comfortably and people who do have enough are worried about not

In today’s modern world, I can say without hesitation that we live in a disposable society where throwing away items isn’t a tough commitment, rather we spend money aimlessly on extravagant items only to add to our wishlists after the last purchase was made. As individuals use their credit card to make purchases locally and abroad, many appear to overlook the fact that daily periodic interest charges are added to their credit card balances. Consequently, John Verdant brings the subject of purchasing into play as he describes the regular routine of the Able family. According to Verdant’s statement, “When they decide on a purchase, the Ables pay the local merchants in cash unless they choose to a credit card to get a warranty extension or to buy something locally. Paying by cash or check saves the merchant the 1.5% to 4% percentage fee they pay to the credit card company on the purchase plus the per transaction fee they have to pay to the bank.” (Verdant, pg. 153). Although card transactions can be made in the blink of an eye, the biggest disadvantage of this method of payment is the amount of debt held by the

For those who have massive credit card debts under their belts and would like to see that amount dwindle away to nothing, there are quite a number of ways to reduce credit card debts. Well there are two most important things of course such as you having both the commitment and willingness to see that the problem gets solved. This also helps reducing credit card debt so much easier in the process.

1. Repay as quickly as you can - this is the best way to pay down any kind of debt. If you are working, set aside as much as you can afford and put it towards paying back what you owe. This will require commitment from you: it will only be too easy to spend extra cash on things you like but putting it instead towards your debt repayment

Do not live a life that you cannot handle, spend within your means. Be honest with yourself, if you can’t afford something, don’t buy it! Affordability is much more than the amount of money in your bank account, it also is how long it will take for the money you spent to be back in your account. Think of your finances as a long term process, not a short term fix. This is also why you should limit your credit card usage. If you rack up your credit card and lose your sole source of income,

Money is a precious thing and it can become challenging to not spend it immediately after getting it. It is crucial that this does not happen. There is no denying that money is an important part of society. The world revolves around money and without it, one? would not be able to function. In everyday life the average household will spend one hundred and sixty dollars daily. It is safe to say that money is an resource used daily. It is a tool that can be used to connect with other people or buy anything a person could want or need. Yet it is easy to spend money without realizing how much is really being spent. With only a few simple tips it will become much easier to save money instead of spending it on frivolous things. One’s hard-earned dollar should be saved, and simple tips such as using cash instead of cards, saving small change and only purchasing what one really needs are a few of many ways of doing this. The power of money can easily be abused and it is very important to make sure that a person is well informed on ways to save and spend money wisely.

There are times when individuals feel that all of their money goes to paying off debts. We have credit card payments, car payments, and mortgage payments. Having too many debts can sometimes be overwhelming. While some bills are unavoidable, such as mortgage payments, most bills can be avoided by utilizing better money management skills. Poor money management is the third leading cause of debt (Bucci, 2005). Developing a monthly spending plan is one of the most important steps a person can take when managing his or her money. A monthly spending plan can be useful to track what our expenses are on a monthly basis. In order to track our expenses, we need to write down everything that needs to be paid making sure that