From the day we are born, we are gently guided and persuaded into debt. There we are kept, paying off the interest but never the principal, until the day we die. In years past the U.S. was a manufacturing exporting empire equal to none for its middle class folks. Most of the citizens lived within their means fearing the sin of debt taught by their forefathers. Over time manufacturing was gradually relocated to foreign countries in order to take advantage of their cheaper labor force. This placed a financial strain on the middle class family causing many of the women to aquire jobs in order to supplement income loss. Meanwhile it was being realized that huge easy profits could be accrued by encouraging and providing a easy path to credit keeping the average citizen in debt. This massive profit idea of debt was expanded to every nook and cranny of the vast American economy. Even further extreme profits were found using leverage which required only a small amount of collateral to borrow large quantities of money, which was then loaned out at a higher rate to the average American with a decent credit rating. It's real simple folks. Keeping you in debt is their life blood. Your misery with a life of debt is their continued path to riches. You are the easy prey to them. They completely understand and realize that your addiction to credit is the exact same thing as a junky on crack cocaine. They know your habits and that you will borrow more money over time which insures your place in the cycle of debt to them. They influence congress to pass laws that restrict your passage to the bankruptcy courts which keeps you from defaulting on them. Their rich lifestyles must be preserved at all costs. It's simple in their minds. Keep the peasants drinking beer and paying their bills, while they cruise in the Bahamas drinking fine champagne. Your life will be long and miserable in this debt trap which provides long and luxurious lifestyles for other people you don't even know. The only question left is, when will you see this for what it is and do something about it? I can lead you to the information, but I can't make you think. It's your choice.

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www.debtamendment.com

That's a great line!

Yes Robert, you just wrote about modern day slavery in the USA.

No man is truely free while he's indebted to another man.

Great post!

__________________
Gary Spicuzza, *SAFE
Copyright 1956
No Rights Reserved
*Self Appointed Financial Expert

I agree completely except that the rich are not the evil ones here as much as the lust for consumption of the poor. Most of the rich have learned to prioritize their use of money to their benefit and the poor just waste it.

Being a fan of Dave Ramsey has led me to be debtfree and reading many books on how the rich think gives me a new perspective on how money works.

Most people know by now that credit and debt are bad, but they are too selfish to change their lifesyles. Convincing people that having emergency funds and saving for the future are more important than ciggerettes and boats etc. is the real challenge.

There are those who take advantage of consumption mentality, but they are not the true enemy. Everyone can build wealth with the income they have, if they learn patience and are determined.

"There are those who take advantage of consumption mentality, but they are not the true enemy. Everyone can build wealth with the income they have, if they learn patience and are determined."

This method of building wealth slowly takes time. Often, this is time that the savers don't want to spend doing what they need to do.

People are savers or they aren't. Direct withdrawals from your checking account into a savings account or mutual fund will assure that you are taking care of yourself and your family first before all others.

This method of saving has helped my wife and me get on track with our finances. It's hard to spend what you never see.

Most people need a step by step plan with a ladder of reachable goals to get excited about saving and investing and most importantly budgeting and sacrificing. It's hard to make yourself save and pay cash for a car instead of borrowing. Prioritizing to payoff debt, save an emergency fund, invest then buy luxuries is unheard of in this society.

Personally, I have gave up my golf membership, eating out, cable, sold my motorcycle, cut my budget to the bone and I'm debtfree while doing it. I would rather read a book learning something than blow money. I choose to build a large emergency fund and invest now over blowing money on silly crap. I don't feel that I am missing a thing, but the stress of living paycheck to paycheck.

My point is, that getting information in tidbits here and there doesn't motivate people, getting a laid out plan with goals makes a big difference. The book that did it for me was The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. Since then I have read many other good books and am still reading more.

The debt cycle is a trap where many people cannot escape due to the influence on massive consumption. With the discipline of proper budgeting and careful control of one's finances, I believe that debtors will one day find financial freedom.

Most people live like they will never loose their job or become disabled or see retirement. They live selfishly for today, with no reguards for tomorrow. Those who desire financial security first, by getting out of debt, saving an emergency fund of 3 to 6 months, saving cash for their big purchases and investing at least 10% of their income, will truly live in peace.

Most people think these goal cannot be done or are to restrictive, but when you start down this road and see the benefits from one day to the next, you begin to understand and enjoy the process.