What if we all saved?
Thoughts just spinning around, after reading about how crazy our money system is, probably a useless thought, coming from a spoiled position, good job, no dependents, but what if we all saved rather than consumed more and more?
It's an impossible question. I mean the crazy thing is that the definition of saving suggests actual POSITIVE cash flow, while it seems merely now borrowing less IS SAVING!
I suppose a better question than savings is investing. What if we all invested? And by investing I don't mean stocks and bonds and all those abstract claimed investment centers, but invested in things that reduced our future cost of living!
Live somewhere I don't need a car every day to get everywhere - save money. Pay down my mortgage - save money. Install fluorescent - save money. Invest in energy saving appliances - furance, refrigerator, etc - save money. Improve home insulation - windows - save money. Install passive solar heating, PV cells - save money.
I mean there needs to be some analysis of costs and long term benefits, and benefits are guesswork, like not knowing what electricity or gasoline will cost in the future, but there's still noneconomic benefits - less stress with less debt, or pressure to earn income - and less pollution from less consumption.
So when I say save, I mean the sorts of things that make LESS NEEDED WORK in the future, rather than more. I admit I don't have a clear answer for "actual savings" - where to invest it. I almost have a thought that its better to "give away" savings in ways that make our community stronger, just like volunteering our time. Some will have more money than they need, some will have more time than they need, depending on opportunity and where you are in life.
Again, coming from a good position income and debt, I know I can't offer proper sympathy for those who MUST take on more debt than they ought (by my standards). There's times and places where you DO have to "sell your soul" to get by, take on debt.
I don't have an absolute standard against taking advantage of "easy credit", like holding a balance on a credit card in a "bad stretch" if you think the future will be better, but it is a slippery slope, a "new power" that can corrupt, especially when things are hard, and credit creates an illusionary "safty net" that once you get used to, it makes it easier to let discipline slide.
Oh, it's sad for me, sad people find themselves "forced" into debt, given choices that are limited, and the best choice is to take on debt just to pay for regular expenses. It's sad to me to think how "easy money" creates a flow of money from those who have too-little to those who have too-much, and those with too-much just get more which expands their power to extract more wealth from those desperate enough to take their sneaky offers.
It's hard - I accept the need for personal responsibility - I accept credit cards CAN be used wisely - sadly people like me benefit by "zero fee, grace period" payments and build a credit history at no cost, which allowed me to get a fair mortgage interest rate, and all. I benefit but I'd gladly go back to $30 annual fee cards if I thought I was helping a nicer system.
I have sympathy, and unsure what it would take for more people to find a way to get ahead without delusions of get-rich schemes. Debt is a curse to me. It is slavery of our time in an unknown future. I don't understand why more people don't see this.
It's an impossible question. I mean the crazy thing is that the definition of saving suggests actual POSITIVE cash flow, while it seems merely now borrowing less IS SAVING!
I suppose a better question than savings is investing. What if we all invested? And by investing I don't mean stocks and bonds and all those abstract claimed investment centers, but invested in things that reduced our future cost of living!
Live somewhere I don't need a car every day to get everywhere - save money. Pay down my mortgage - save money. Install fluorescent - save money. Invest in energy saving appliances - furance, refrigerator, etc - save money. Improve home insulation - windows - save money. Install passive solar heating, PV cells - save money.
I mean there needs to be some analysis of costs and long term benefits, and benefits are guesswork, like not knowing what electricity or gasoline will cost in the future, but there's still noneconomic benefits - less stress with less debt, or pressure to earn income - and less pollution from less consumption.
So when I say save, I mean the sorts of things that make LESS NEEDED WORK in the future, rather than more. I admit I don't have a clear answer for "actual savings" - where to invest it. I almost have a thought that its better to "give away" savings in ways that make our community stronger, just like volunteering our time. Some will have more money than they need, some will have more time than they need, depending on opportunity and where you are in life.
Again, coming from a good position income and debt, I know I can't offer proper sympathy for those who MUST take on more debt than they ought (by my standards). There's times and places where you DO have to "sell your soul" to get by, take on debt.
I don't have an absolute standard against taking advantage of "easy credit", like holding a balance on a credit card in a "bad stretch" if you think the future will be better, but it is a slippery slope, a "new power" that can corrupt, especially when things are hard, and credit creates an illusionary "safty net" that once you get used to, it makes it easier to let discipline slide.
Oh, it's sad for me, sad people find themselves "forced" into debt, given choices that are limited, and the best choice is to take on debt just to pay for regular expenses. It's sad to me to think how "easy money" creates a flow of money from those who have too-little to those who have too-much, and those with too-much just get more which expands their power to extract more wealth from those desperate enough to take their sneaky offers.
It's hard - I accept the need for personal responsibility - I accept credit cards CAN be used wisely - sadly people like me benefit by "zero fee, grace period" payments and build a credit history at no cost, which allowed me to get a fair mortgage interest rate, and all. I benefit but I'd gladly go back to $30 annual fee cards if I thought I was helping a nicer system.
I have sympathy, and unsure what it would take for more people to find a way to get ahead without delusions of get-rich schemes. Debt is a curse to me. It is slavery of our time in an unknown future. I don't understand why more people don't see this.
posted by Ares Olympus at 8:32 PM
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