New Math
Maybe I just don’t get it. For almost 50 years I’ve been managing my personal finances. In the beginning it was just trying to make ends meet. Gasoline was about 30 cents a gallon; hamburger was 25 cents a pound and on good days you could buy stewing hens for 11 cents a pound. Of course I was only making $390 a month so after taxes, insurance, utilities and rent there was less than $50 a week for food and other stuff. There were times (before computers) that I’d cash a check for $20 at the corner grocery store and run over to the bank and deposit it to keep the one I wrote the day before from bouncing.
Later, things eased a bit and we were actually able to buy a house and a car. Those were the only things we put on the cuff as my Dad had cautioned me that paying interest was the bane of society. Later, I put two kids through college. But, things got even better and towards retirement we were actually putting money into IRAs and other investment funds.
But from that meager beginning to now there were some pretty simple principals I’d learned to follow. They were that if you were spending more than you were making you really had only 3 choices. You could somehow make more money; you could cut back and spend less; or you could borrow. It still seems so logical to me. Now, as I said, my Dad had explained that the borrowing option was only for cars and homes…nothing else. So, I applied that logic and lo and behold, I currently own my home, own my car, and have some money sitting in IRAs if I should need it. In all, I feel pretty financially secure.
Then, here come the politicians! They all tell me that they can give me more services (health care, infrastructure refurbishing, all the toys I can conceive of; etc.); return to cheap gas; have jobs for everyone; and cut my taxes significantly. And, in doing this they will balance the budget and pay off the National Debt, maybe even in the week after inauguration! Well, that just blows me away since it’s exactly opposite of the lessons my Dad taught me. In simple terms they promise to make less, spend more, and yet, have no red ink on the balance sheet. And you know what? There’s a lot of Americans that believe this crap! And, if you’re one of them…Shame on you!
The time has come that when you get your silly rebate check you should pay off some debt. Don’t go out and buy a new IPod made in Korea to replace last-year’s IPod made in India that’s now obsolete. Don’t buy a lot of gas to drive your SUV to Disneyland and pay for a cheese sandwich what you’d pay for a 4-course meal at a nice restaurant. Don’t splurge on a trip to the tanning salon or the spa. PAY OFF YOUR DAMN DEBTS! Yeah…I hear you, it’s not as fun and anyway, whomever we get for our next President is going to spend more, tax less and everything will be cool. Right?