Why are Americans generally so irresponsible when it comes to avoiding debt and saving money?
There is really no excuse - Americans make more in salary (on average) than most other countries, except for a few countries in Europe. That means that the average American has plenty of opportunities to save money for retirement and for emergencies. And yet - the average American worker has less than $10,000 in total retirement savings! The average American household has around $9,000 in credit card debts. Many Americans save so little money that they can't even pay for their own healthcare coverage if they lose their jobs. What the heck is up with this? I remember being in Germany, and even though people make less money on average than Americans, they saved a lot more, and they could afford nice stuff like yearly beach vacations to Thailand, simply by managing their money carefully. Why haven't Americans done the same? "Who the hell are you?" I'm an American born and raised in Texas, you moron.
Politics - 13 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Americans like to spend and live for the moment. They run up high credit card bills and a lot of times are not financially responsible. This is not the case for all Americans but enough to give us a black eye.
2 :
Americans have been getting paid the same or less over the past 40 years even as things become more expensive and they become more productive. They need to take out personal debt to maintain the same standard of living they once could afford. http://www.alternet.org/economy/144388/america_without_a_middle_class_--_it%27s_not_far_away_as_you_might_think In the past one man could provide for his whole family doing blue collar work. Now with both parents working, with the burden of college debt and many years not getting paid while they were in college because there are fewer blue collar jobs, they are struggling to do the same.
3 :
Who the hell are you? Who told you it was any of your business what we do. This a FREE country. If we can afford it we can have it. If you and the other dummies would adopt the same ideals you can have all this stuff to. Get it? 6 thumbs down from the stupid and those that feel guilty as a result of their achievements. History proves my point.
4 :
Instant gratification. They want it now and will borrow to buy it. They are not willing to save for it. Many are just following the governments lead.
5 :
Because our leaders set a terrible example. If our own government can't live within its means, why does it expect us to?
6 :
Credit cards are the devil.. there is so much buy now, save now, etc.. its easy to do. Then put high interest rates on top of that and you miss one payment it completely snowballs and that's how they keep you in debt and money in their pockets.
7 :
Americans are caught up in the spending and plastic culture. I do not fall in this category because I came from a family that was frugal. I save about 25 of my take home income every month and I pay for my purchases in cash. I do not live extravagantly by any means but I was taught to only buy things that I need and to try to pay cash for everything. As a result, I have no car loan and no credit card debt and I bought a house that I could afford and put down 20%. My house payment is only 15 percent of my take home pay. Now, I do not have a cell phone with monthly bills. I have a pay as you go from tmobile and I buy 100 dollars worth of minutes every year and that is all I use. I try not to eat out too much and I watch what I buy. I took money out of my savings to purchase my car outright. I am not earning 6 figures either. The Jone's may appear to be doing better than I am but both Jone's will be working at MacDonalds in the 80's while I am island hopping. Hey poster below: This is not a democrat or a republican thing. Under the republicans people bought homes that they could not afford and attained more credit card debt in the history of the US. Under Clinton, banking rules were relaxed. There is no one political party to blame or uphold as a shining example.
8 :
Government encourages them. How are the stimulating the economy? By spending money wastefully. By Encouraging people to buy bigger houses with credits. By telling Credit Card Companies and Bank to loosen up. By bailing out failure.
9 :
Not me. Me and my wife are frugal and always have lived below our means. When we first married we had no cable, ate at home, and drove old debt free cars. Now we have a tidy sum and can afford pretty much anything we want and pay cash for it. The young generation is spoiled and want everything now, without saving for it.
10 :
Everyone's doin' it. Just like everyone's goin' to church. Maybe we can pray the debt away.
11 :
One answerer had it correct in saying that Americans like to live for the moment.They want to keep up with everyone else and everyone else wants to keep up with them.They`ll go buy a housefull of new furniture on the credit just because they`re tired of the color of the old set,and the old set is still in perfect conditon.On the other hand,some of us don`t expect this present economical society to last long anyway and we may save and do without what we want only to have the Government come along and get it somehow (by taxes,forced healthcare etc).Also it seems that most any time I have tried to save much,some emergency will present itself and it will take everything I have saved anyway,so we just figure it`s best to go ahead and enjoy life while we can.I am against reckless spending,but also against trying to save all the time.I think our money would be better spent helping those less fortunate than either spending wildly, or saving..either one.
12 :
Living in this capitalistic society, we are always bombarded with different ways to spend our money. Madison Avenue has a real grip on the populace and with everyone watching more television than ever, it's bound to have an effect. The need to keep up with "the Jones's" is a powerful drain on the wallet and with so many years of easy available credit, it was hard to turn it off. Very much like a drug. The ads are designed to make you believe that , yes... you too can live like a millionaire and have it all, when in reality, you should'nt have bought into the corporate lies. The latest banking and mortgage crisis speaks to this.
13 :
Progressive liberalism; Fannie and Freddie, Big Government, and entitlement mentality. Lawlessness, laziness, slothfulness....... Look what is happening in Greece. Socialism does NOT produce responsible citizens. Capitalism DOES. Note: I was recently in GErmany last summer and I was NOT at all impressed with the economy, $7.00 per gallon for gas (once the conversion of liters to gallons and euros to dollars) is not particularly appealing to me.
