If we really think about our grandparents, they had much less than us, no credit, and somehow made ends meet. Why is it so different today? Were our grandparents better at budgeting and much more frugal when it came to spending their money? Were there less must have consumer products they needed to purchase. Did they live with the philosophy if you can’t afford it, you just don’t buy it
Living through depressions and wars made them appreciate the simpler things in life? Anyone of these things could be a factor. Regardless of how they did it, our grandparents brought up much larger families than we are, most bought a home, and good portion of them invested and saved money for their own retirement.
ARE WE LIVING BEYOND OUR MEANS?
I would say that the one thing our Grandparents did not have was the type of inflation and taxation we have to deal with today. Keeping up with the “Jones” was geared more towards quality of life, like food, shelter and clothing, then worldly possessions.
I just think of my dearly departed great uncle who landed in this country at 17 years old, made 6 dollars a week, and somehow was able to save enough to bring my grandmother and my great aunt here. As a single person in these times, how many people could really afford to live, and do such a thing?
ARE WE JUST NOT MAKING ENOUGH?
In today’s world we do have credit, and most people need to survive on it, because they do not make enough. You want to buy a car, no problem 0 down $339/month for the next five years. Need a home, you can get a mortgage up to 30 years, have an emergency or need that family vacation, just charge it on your credit card, it will only cost a minimum payment for the next up teen years, which you can afford. Maxed out your credit card, need more credit consolidate you debts to one easy payment, start all over again. This system works for most people until they lose their jobs, or have a real financial problem like a huge house repair. In our Grandparents time bankruptcy was not looked upon favorably, and it was a sink or swim life. No such thing as social assistance or unemployment insurance.
CONCLUSION
In many ways we probably are living way beyond our means because of the need to have everything now. We are willing to risk everything to have the latest computers, state of the art televisions in our homes, the latest cars, and huge homes. The one thing we are not willing to risk is in investing in ourselves and making our dreams of success become reality. Our grandparents had nothing to lose and everything to gain; they knew to better themselves they needed to sacrifice a bit now for prosperous futures for their families later. That is why so many successful businesses were built during that era of time.
They never put this situation in any parenting handbook.
A few years ago we went to a restaurant for dinner. As we approached the entrance...
Business is very similar to understanding the game of hockey
Have you ever walked into a busy retail store, and heard a patron say, “this place must be making a fortune”? Obviously this analysis is simply based on the amount of people in the store at the time. Then maybe a year later, the same establishment closed. That very same patron might wonder what happened.
Would you consider yourself a diamond in the ruff waiting to shine?
I worked at many different jobs in my life before going into business on my own. Most people I knew could not figure out why I just didn’t stay with one, and move up the proverbially ladder. The truth is at the time I was not sure myself, except that something inside told me it was time to leave; I had learned what was needed to move on.
