My Mother, My Father, My Money

have a simple mantra when it comes to money: "Spend less than you earn...."
Your Mary regularly spent more than she earned and overleveraged herself. That is poor decisonmaking for which she and others who made the same decisons should take responsibility. Now that she's spent more than she's earned, President Karl Obama wants people who did not make imprudent decisons to bail out the Marys --net, net, she gets what she (over)spent and the rest of us pay for it... How about some personal responsibility?

I don't think there is a single person who has never had a financial crisis. No matter how smart we think we are the real world smacks us upside the head at least once, giving us some painful but necessary real world lessons. There is always a moment of disbelief on just how fast money can slip away and how much savings a person really needs. Hopefully this lesson is learned sooner than later. For me the lesson came late as I grew comfortable with my parents continued financial support through grad school and then my ex-husbands support. One day I found myself alone in an apartment footing all of my own bills and it was quite a shock. I got it together and now am financially sound, but for those learning the lesson in the midst of an economic crisis and misleading financial advisors, the blow is even bigger.