It took me years, loss of dollars, and budget shortfalls to learn, I was causing my own pain. Granted, I was doing what I was taught, what we were all taught. But, regardless, it wasn’t working in my favor. I had nice things, and what looked like from the outside a nice life, but I was struggling. Finally, I admitted that my finances were a mess and I went looking for help.
Through research, classes, conversations, and more research I found answers. But the thing that was staring me right in the face was Math. How many times do we need something, want something, buy something without doing the math? It blew my mind how much money I was giving away for things I didn’t need to survive. How much did my house really cost me, my car, those designer clothes, or just regular clothes bought with a credit card? Most people don’t realize that they are giving away 35 cents of every dollar in interest payments alone. For instance, I was giving away $700. That’s 35% of the $2000 I had spent.
If you start doing the math before you spend money, I know things will change! That is just one of the eye-opening facts I learned just by going beyond what we are taught.
In my opinion, we’d be better off if we were taught practical math in high school, things like how to do your taxes, how to balance a checkbook, budget methods, investing, making change, or start a business.I have been out of hs for many years and still have had no need to figure out the area of a triangle or a circle.
That is so true. I never learned how to manage money from my parents since they were spenders, My father did have the foresight to live my mom life insurance, insurance on his car loan, and the house does not have a mortgage. My dad died at an early age of 56 and my mother never worked. My mom was able to survive since my brother-in-law was a smart investor(learned from his parents) and told her to buy long-term insurance. She loved rent-free with my sister for 17 years and then came and live with my husband and me. She ended in an assisted living facility since I could not care for her any longer. Thank goodness my brother-in-law is so smart.
Unfortunately, we are not taught on purpose, how and why to do the math.
When you take the time to add up what banks, credit card companies, mortgage companies, etc., make on our ignorance, why would they teach us real math? That would defeat their financial goals. Some of the things that you learn, when you finally start to do the research will make you extremely angry that it’s even allowed and legal. That then gives you the determination you need to find facts and viable options to get yourself out of this mess called America’s Finances.
Understanding the math on anything financial is critical to making informed choices and having a plan for the future:
The cost of debt mentioned in this post (mortgage, credit cards, student loans, etc.)
The incredible opportunity associated with compound growth
How many over value the cost of convenience (the time we save versus the cost we have to pay), along with many other things that are overvalued by the consumer
How many often don’t appreciate how much they actually spend every year and how much this may mean they need to have saved for retirement just to live a comparable lifestyle - for many, it will be too late
Phil, you raise some valid points! My husband and I see this in the next generation, we worked hard to teach them to save and how to save, it was an uphill battle all the way, now as adults, they can find value in their mistakes and are trying to rectify bad credit histories and low paying jobs. Quite often it comes down to too little, too late. Lots of unnecessary spending and impulse buys.
Phil, you raise some valid points! My husband and I see this in the next generation, we worked hard to teach them to save and how to save, it was an uphill battle all the way, now as adults, they can find value in their mistakes and are trying to rectify bad credit histories and low paying jobs. Quite often it comes down to too little, too late. Lots of unnecessary spending and impulse buys.
Too much influence of marketing and social media and other things (like convenience goods and services) on the spending habits of the younger generations - their version of Keeping up with the Joneses. They also now have the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)
