There was a documentary on New Zealand's 60 minutes last night about a girl who had racked up $70,000 in credit debt on a $35,000 salary. While driving to work this morning listening to the radio, the presenters were taking calls on this topic and specifically referring to this documentary, and discussing how easy it is to obtain credit in this country, and the problem we face with ‘Generation Y’, that is fast becoming ‘Generation Debt’!
My question is – whose fault is this?
The credit companies for practically giving away credit and just making it too tempting, with 24 month interest free deals & 12 month deferred payments?
The school system for not educating kids on how to save and spend their money?
The parents of the Individual racking up the debt?
Or
The individual who racks up the debt?
I want to explore each a little....
Credit Companies
Why the HELL should the credit companies be at fault? Isn’t it their business intention to lure people in and sign them up on these deals so they can grow their business books? So in that case; my hats off to them, as they are obviously doing a good job! It is not their problem that people over extend themselves! However in saying this, I do agree (albeit after a bit of a debate); that the credit companies could have a bit more of a tighter criteria on who they lend to and how much they lend - perhaps a more stringent way of working out borrowing capacity.
School System
God knows I didn’t last at school myself and happily bailed out at the end of 6th form; but I honestly think a little bit of the responsibility does lie within the schools. In my opinion, perhaps a little less on the pointless poems & algebra, and a little more on budgeting, banking, realistic expected salaries and actual case studies on general living & expenditure, wouldn’t go astray!
The Parents
Ok, some of the responsibility lies here also of course. Are parents teaching their kids about money? Who knows, but surely NZ kids are learning the value of a dollar – it’s not rocket science after all.
The Individual
I was shocked while listening to the radio, that everyone ringing in and also the presenters, were blaming everyone (mainly the credit companies) but themselves. Is it just me or does that seem ridiculous!? Aren’t we all adults? Do people not understand that if you tick something up – you eventually have to pay for it?
So, in my opinion, whilst there is a little bit of blame on the school system & perhaps the parents; if you as the individual have excessive credit debt – isn’t this nobody’s fault but your own? The credit companies are just doing what they do best – lending money – it is not, I repeat, NOT their fault your credit debt has got out of hand.
I am not saying I’m perfect, I have credit debt myself – but I only have myself to blame for that.
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2 months ago
1 comment:
Jodi
It is so easy to lay the blame at the feet of others - we seem to live in a world these days where we have been so conditioned to protect everyone in this nanny state that we seem to have forgotten the principle of personal responsibility.
When you are growing up you soon learn the lessons of knowing your own limits - how far to challenge your parents, how high to climb that tree, how cheeky you can be with teachers.
We all push the limits as a child and as an adult - it helps us better appreciate our limits. So it is with money - I am sure as teenagers / students we have all racked up overdrafts - but most of us learned through that the importance of be able to pay off debt.
So I am with you - let's forget this cotton-wool nanny state and let's start taking some personal accountability.
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