Quote: People don't know how to handle money.   We don't teach it in the schools.   Personal finance should be taught in high school.    I see lots of middle-class people living paycheck to paycheck just wasting money left and right, neglecting their own safety net.   For a country that supposedly has a "shrinking middle class" we sure have a lot of people who waste their money at Starbucks.   We sure have a lot of people who drive nice cars.  It's a lot more than 1% of the population. 

 

There's no excuse for borrowing money to buy an expensive car.   I see commercials for companies like BMW which tout their financing options.   No one has any business buying a BMW if they have to finance it.   If you're borrowing money to buy a BMW or a Mercedes, that is a stupid choice. 

 

So many of these struggling middle class people are struggling because of their own personal choices.   I guarantee you, half of the people in this country have enough income that they could get rich if they had the discipline.   It just takes time and discipline. 

 

I have a lot of sympathy for truly poor people, and I think we should help them a lot more than we do.   But I have a lot less sympathy for the mass of people who have good jobs and cannot get ahead because they make stupid choices and don't know how to handle money. 

 

I don't think it's that people don't know how to handle money.  I think it's that they prefer comfort to safety.  And I think most people are this way to an extent.  


My wife and I would be much better off if we didn't have kids.  But we did, and I think we're happier than if we made personal choices that wouldn't have given us children.  We had to buy a new house because our old one was falling apart.  Sure, we could have chosen to rent an apartment instead.  But we both feel a family needs a home, not an apartment.  Of course we've made sacrifices.  I gave up on my bachelor's degree so my wife could finish college, and so we could put money into a college fund for our kids.  Of course if I lose my job, that sacrifice will hurt more because finding another job will be difficult (and will likely pay much less)


Some frugality should be expected.  But there's a limit to it.  Comfort and Safety need to be balanced.  Having money in the bank makes you safe, but if you're not comfortable safety doesn't mean a whole lot.  That sort of balance is a lesson I'm not sure can be taught, because for everyone it's different.  And it's a hard lesson to learn. 

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