2+2=4
The other day I came across an article entitled “Why Generation Y is Broke.” The woman featured in the article was in debt with student loans and her normal bills. She had no idea where her money was going. Every time I read something like this I’m astounded. How can someone be so out of touch that they have no idea why they’re in debt? The principle is simple: if you spend more than you make you go in debt. Know how much you make. Know how much you can spend. It shouldn’t be difficult. I haven’t done the best about keeping to a strict budget but I’m not exactly swimming in debt either.
The article said something that is eerily similar to what I know about the Great Depression. It’s the idea of “buy now, pay later.” Yep I’m talking credit cards. Credit cards aren’t necessarily evil. They need to be used responsibly. I often use mine because of most gas stations requiring you to prepay or to pay with credit or debit. It’s faster and easier to swipe my card. However, I always remember how much I’ve put on my credit card. As soon as that card is swiped it may as well already be taken out of my checking account because it’s basically money I no longer have.
This reminds me of an from high school. While on an overnight trip we were allowed to go to a mall. Some of the girls were talking about how much money they had and how much they’d spent. I mentioned that I hadn’t really bought anything yet. See, I’m not much of an impulse buyer. I usually think long and hard before I buy anything. Someone said something along the lines of “I could never do that! I don’t have that much self control.” I think that’s a huge part of this problem: people don’t have self control. If they see something they want they buy it. They don’t consider if they really need it or if they can afford it.
That brings me to another subject that’s been bothering me lately. It’s this obsession with celebrities. It really bothers me when I see celebrity gossip articles as a majority of the most read articles on different news sites. I get the feeling that people are living in a fantasy world. That they really think that they can live like the celebrities do. They can spend outrageously as they do. They can live it up and party like they do. It’s simply not the truth. It doesn’t help that these ideas are marketed to kids as well, such as in the new Sears back to school ads. “Don’t just go back. Arrive.” Really, what does that teach kids? Of course it stars an actress that more than a few kids are familiar with. Impressionable kids.
I don’t have children yet so I may yet end up eating my words. However I think there are so many things on TV, in movies, on the radio and so on that are aimed towards younger children that really aren’t appropriate. I touched on this a little in my post about the latest Batman movie. Of course there are toys based on the movie that are being advertised to kids. Of course kids are going to ask to see the movie. And, of course, some parents are going to take their kids to see it. That doesn’t make it appropriate for grade school age kids. This all just doesn’t sit well with me.