Why aren't people more financially responsible?

[Anonymous]

I say it's lack of awareness and knowledge. you didn't wake up one day knowing what good credit was or how to use it. It was a class. A learned behavior, not a character trait. The first credit card didn't even exist when your parents were 19, probably. Definitely not your grandparents. So how were they supposed to learn how to use credit cards responsibly? Judging them (not saying you are) is like chiding s 20-year-old for not knowing how to use Bitcoin right now, lol!

But as we get older, we can't use our history to excuse us from knowing better. Have you thought about using what you've learned to teach the people in your family? Or people your age? My personal belief is when we get life-changing knowledge, it's our duty to share it. I've been teaching what I learn about credit for free to my peers. 

[TheVig]

I try to pass along some knowledge. However, some just have to drive the car into the wall anyways.

[sarge12]

I will fully explain this...it is due mainly to the difference in speed various parts of body develop.

1) Age 0-6....this is the preschool years...you are cute, and everyone just loves to see you. You are the hit at every gathering.

2) Age 6-17...the school years...your body grows fast, but unknown to you, your brain does not. It is somewhere in the latter stages of this age you become an absolute terror to the civilized world.

3) Age 18-25...You are now legally an adult, but you still do not have a fully developed brain. Amazingly, you think your parents and anyone their age are idiots. You don't need them anymore, you can get credit cards and alcohol. You want what you want when you want it, who cares if you can really afford it. Besides, if you don't get that video camera, how are you going to capture yourself doing the tide pod challenge for youtube.

4) Age 26-35.... Somewhere in these years you brain finally develops...Your body is still strong, which is good, because you are still trying to pay off all the stupid things you did when you were 18-25. You are likely also incuring added expenses raising a family. At some point in this time many give up on that and declare BK. You also at some time in these years realize your parents were geniuses.

5) Age 36-45....This is the age you finally get it all together...you are working hard, your mind is sharp, but your body is starting to deteriorate a little.

6) Age 45-55....Your mind is now very sharp...but your body is starting a rapid decline. Body parts hurt for no reason, and you wonder will you even make it to retirement.

7) Age 56-65....You are saving all you can to try and survive after you retire....if you live that long. Everything is hurting, all the time. You are losing hair, teeth, can't walk good anymore. The only thing that seems to work now well is that slow developing brain. Everything else is breaking down.

8) Age 65+....Retirement...Finally, you and your tired broke down body can rest, and that wore out body needs it too. It varies, but usually sometime after this, that slowly developed brain starts to break down too.

[arkane]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I say it's lack of awareness and knowledge. you didn't wake up one day knowing what good credit was or how to use it. It was a class. A learned behavior, not a character trait. The first credit card didn't even exist when your parents were 19, probably. Definitely not your grandparents. So how were they supposed to learn how to use credit cards responsibly? Judging them (not saying you are) is like chiding s 20-year-old for not knowing how to use Bitcoin right now, lol!

But as we get older, we can't use our history to excuse us from knowing better. Have you thought about using what you've learned to teach the people in your family? Or people your age? My personal belief is when we get life-changing knowledge, it's our duty to share it. I've been teaching what I learn about credit for free to my peers. 

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Well I'd argue a 20-year old in 2018 who doesn't know how to use Bitcoin definitely needs to stay in a bit more then.

[Save-n-Invest]

Classes could be beneficial if people don't see responsible financial habits at home. Looks like I predate such a class in a school system. I was always taught that if you can't pay for it you don't need it. That was at home. Outdate concept perhaps?

[TheVig]

As far as what’s taught at home, or not......some people can’t stomach the fact that their parents can be wrong. So the multigenerational stupidity continues. Grow a pair and break the cycle of stupidity.

You become who you spend time with and the information you take in and understand.

To paint the picture with an even bigger brush. Tell me what was your fathers greatest accomplishment in life, and the same for your mother. Or whoever raised you. From there I can diagnose a lot of shyt about how far you have the potential to go in life.

[Anonymous]

One needs to remember that a high or good credit score does not mean that one is in a financially sound position.  I, personally, don't have a credit score right now, and have never been above a 700.  I'm still in a very good position.  I think a lot of young people conflate credit score with overall financial health.

Now, some might ask me, how can you not have a credit score?  Well, there are no open credit accounts in my name.  There used to be a couple of cars, but each was paid off less than a year after buying the cars.  There used to be a mortgage, but when we moved, the new note is in my wife's name.  Between the two of us, we have only one credit card, an airline card that gets us no charge baggage when we fly, which is frequently.  We use it only for buying plane tickets.  

Now, why do I say that we are financially sound?  We have saved up a substantial emergency fund.  One that allows us to pay cash for darn near any emergency.  We have no payments on anything, except our house.  That will be paid off in less than 10 years on a 30 year note.  We live beneath our means and save for retirement and save for the luxuries we want.  

That is being responsible.  

[iv]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I say it's lack of awareness and knowledge. you didn't wake up one day knowing what good credit was or how to use it. It was a class. A learned behavior, not a character trait. The first credit card didn't even exist when your parents were 19, probably. Definitely not your grandparents.

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Um... Diner's Club was 1951, and Amex and BankAmericard were 1958 - you'd need to be in your 80s today to have turned 19 before the first credit card. The average teenager today has grandparents in their 50s and 60s - they are the third generation born since the creation of credit cards.

That said, while caution may be a character trait, I do agree with the rest of your point - proper credit use (including all the oddball non-intuitive details), is absolutely a learned behavior. (Or an ignored, un-learned one, in many/most cases.)

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@Anonymous wrote:

But as we get older, we can't use our history to excuse us from knowing better. Have you thought about using what you've learned to teach the people in your family? Or people your age? My personal belief is when we get life-changing knowledge, it's our duty to share it. I've been teaching what I learn about credit for free to my peers. 

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Yes! This ^^^

Of course, you can lead a horse to water... you can discuss the many benefits of proper hydration... you can even help operate the pump lever and hold up the water dipper... but the horse still needs to do the actual drinking.

[sarge12]

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@Anonymous wrote:

One needs to remember that a high or good credit score does not mean that one is in a financially sound position.  I, personally, don't have a credit score right now, and have never been above a 700.  I'm still in a very good position.  I think a lot of young people conflate credit score with overall financial health.

Now, some might ask me, how can you not have a credit score?  Well, there are no open credit accounts in my name.  There used to be a couple of cars, but each was paid off less than a year after buying the cars.  There used to be a mortgage, but when we moved, the new note is in my wife's name.  Between the two of us, we have only one credit card, an airline card that gets us no charge baggage when we fly, which is frequently.  We use it only for buying plane tickets.  

Now, why do I say that we are financially sound?  We have saved up a substantial emergency fund.  One that allows us to pay cash for darn near any emergency.  We have no payments on anything, except our house.  That will be paid off in less than 10 years on a 30 year note.  We live beneath our means and save for retirement and save for the luxuries we want.  

That is being responsible.  

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While I'll agree you can be financially sound and have a low score, or not even enough data to return a fico score, for the most part you can not get a very high credit score and be irresponsible. In the vast majority of cases, a very high score does in fact mean you are financially sound. You simply can't get the very high scores by being irresponsible, at least not for any length of time. I think you might want to rephrase that to say a low score does not mean you are irresponsible, I could agree with that.

[arkane]

IMO Financially sound =/= Financially responsible

You can be one or the other (or both or neither), but a high credit score generally only indicates financial responsibility but says almost nothing about how sound a person's finances are.