[quote=Diego Mamani]I see your point, AN. People should save more, but so many are buried by credit card debt and student loans… and this is by choice, I might add. If people didn’t throw their money away on silly gadgets and consumer items, they’d have a far better financial situation.
The latest TIME magazine issue has a sob story about how we’ve become a less socially mobile society. As an example, they give the case of a 24-year old schoolteacher who earns $24K a year, but has over $35K in student loans, and is therefore “forced” to live with her parents to make ends meet.
Teaching is a noble profession, but it shouldn’t be done at the expense of your financial wellbeing. In this particular case, incurring debt to pursue a teacher’s degree was a lousy investment. Had she been smarter about it, she would have gone to state college in her hometown, stayed with her parents (to save on room and board), and pursued a degree in business.
She could have zero debt, income in the $50K+ range (or substantially more), and savings. But she chose not to.[/quote]
I agree that most of the people who spend more than they bring in do so by choice. I’m just surprise so many people choose to go in debt.
WRT to the teacher story, if she really want to be a teacher, she could have easily stayed at home and go to one of the local public school, and work while she’s in college, she could have easily graduate debt free. This story reinforce the choice people make greatly affect their financial circumstances. This doesn’t mean one have to work in a profession you hate just for money. Money is not everything. However, you don’t have to get in big debt to be in the profession you love either.
