Theater review: ‘Too Big to Fail’ July 9, 2009
Posted by BDO in News.Tags: beating, big, consumerism, Debt, fail, foolish, play, theatre, too
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Lance Iverson/The Chronicle
Disclaimer: I have not seen this musical comedy play about a family trying to cancel their rising debt. But I love the intent of the play when Robert says,
It’s all as entertaining as it is didactic. Sullivan is disarmingly open about his intentions, but he also doesn’t pretend to have all the answers. He’s more intent on getting us to question the fundamentals of a system dependent on citizens “living and dying in debt.”
That is a great fundamental question. It is similar to our question, “What happens to an economic system that God considers foolish?“ A system dependent on people “living and dying in debt” is a system wrought with corruption, instability, and slavery.
So, if I was in CA I would like to go see this play and to see if it goes far enough to raise the level of discussion about the negative effects of our current economic system based on debt, overspending, and consumerism.
To read more about this article, click here.
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Show others how much you’ve beaten debt
for the price of one latte a year. – – Beating Debt Charts
America’s Thriftiest Cities July 7, 2009
Posted by BDO in News.Tags: Atlanta, Baltimore, beating, Boston, Chicago, City, DC, Debt, Denver, Francisco, frugal, Jose, Kansas, Memphis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Nashville, new, Philadelphia, Portland, Providence, San, Seattle, thrify, washington, york
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For many Americans, instant gratification has taken a backseat to long-term financial security.
Given the recession, it’s understandable that Americans are hording more cash by spending less. Some, though, are doing a better job than others.
Congratulations to the following
TOP TWENTY LARGE CITIES WITH THE LOWEST DEBT-TO-INCOME RATIO:
- Washington, DC
- San Jose, CA
- Nashville, TN
- Boston, MA
- Kansas City, MO
- Philadelphia, PA
- Baltimore, MD
- Seattle, WA
- San Francisco, CA
- Chicago, IL
- Portland, OR
- Providence, RI
- Detroit, MI
- Minneapolis, Minn
- Memphis, TN
- New York, NY
- Milwaukee, WI
- Dallas, TX
- Atlanta, GA
- Denver, CO
The above large cities have the lowest debt-to-income ratios. Though some of the “thriftiness” is due to less than ideal economic and political reasons, the point is the above cities have managed to lower their consumption of debt better than most other cities. Congratulations and I look forward to seeing who will make the list next year. Keep working hard to beat debt! Earn your freedom away from the marketers and loan officers trying to convince you to take on more debt.
To read more on this article, click here.
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Volunteer or Donate to Help Convince More People To Stay Away From Debt.
Show others how much you’ve beaten debt
for the price of one latte a year. – – Beating Debt Charts
Great Raleigh Road Race 2009 Report July 6, 2009
Posted by BDO in Team BDO.Tags: 2009, awareness, BDO, beating, charity, Debt, great, money, race, raising, raleigh, road, run, team
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On July 4th, Jason and I participated in the Great Raleigh Road Race. We ran 4 miles for BeatingDebt.org to help raise money and awareness of the addiction Americans have to overspending and debt. We ran in conjunction with BDO’s Team BDO efforts. As you can see in the pictures, we were wearing our BDO T-Shirts.
It was a tough run for both of us. Jason is a fast runner but he had to work all night and then run 4 miles. So he was tired and slower than usual. I was trying to keep up with Jason, so I was struggling to keep up and to go over all the hills on the course. But overall it was a great time!
Hopefully, our T-Shirts helped raise the level of conversation about overspending and debt.
If you would like to sponsor this race or the marathon coming up, please click here.
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Volunteer or Donate to Help Convince More People To Stay Away From Debt.
Show others how much you’ve beaten debt
for the price of one latte a year. – – Beating Debt Charts
NCSU Orientation Debt Education Promotion 09 July 2, 2009
Posted by BDO in Debt is Slavery, Organizational.Tags: beating, carolina, Debt, education, loan, ncsu, north, personal, promotion, protest, state, student, university
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At 8am on 1 July, I went to NCSU to help educate the students and parents attending the NCSU Freshman Orientation about personal debt. There were many groups of parents and students being led around the campus to show them where their son or daughter would spend the next 4 – 5 years of their life. I went there to protest personal debt and to raise awareness of the affects of debt on our lives. The motivation for this promotion came from a book and a supporting article I read that questions the traditional view that education debt at any cost is worth the price. The book Generation Debt and the article Is a college degree worthless? make strong arguments for more financial education to young people and their parents about the effects of education debt may have on their future career and financial potential.
I was only able to staple up about 15 posters. I agree that is not a lot of promotion considering the amount of freshman and parents that will come through the campus and may see the posters. I am hoping some will see the posters and it will raise the level of discussion about personal finances and the affects of personal debt on their lives. It was interesting to see how the school allows front row positions for the banks and loan officers in the student union, but no financial education groups were allowed in the student union to balance the bank’s marketing. It just seems personal debt and overspending is just a part of our social fabric. For now.
Is a college degree worthless? June 30, 2009
Posted by BDO in News.Tags: adult, beating, college, Debt, education, government, graduate, loans, student, system, young
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The higher incomes that college education brings may not make up for the savings it consumes or the debt it adds early in the life of a typical student.
Consider two childhood friends, Ernie and Bill. Hard workers with helpful families, each saves exactly $16,594 for college. Ernie doesn’t get accepted to a school he likes. Instead, he starts work at 18 and invests his college savings in a mutual fund that tracks the broad stock market.
Throughout his life, he makes average yearly pay for a high school graduate with no college, starting at $15,901 after taxes and peaking at $32,538. Each month, he adds to his stock fund 5% of his after-tax income, close to the nation’s current savings rate. It returns 8% a year, typical for stock investors.
Bill has a typical college experience. Bill will have higher pay than Ernie his whole life, starting at $23,505 after taxes and peaking at $56,808. Like Ernie, he sets aside 5%. At that rate, it will take him 12 years to pay off his loan. Debt-free at 34, he starts adding to the same index fund as Ernie, making bigger monthly contributions with his higher pay. But when the two reunite at 65 for a retirement party, Ernie will have grown his savings to nearly $1.3 million. Bill will have less than a third of that.
How can that be? College degrees bring higher income, but at today’s cost they can’t make up the savings they consume and the debt they add early in the life of a typical student. While Ernie was busy earning, Bill got stuck under his bill.
I’m not arguing against higher learning but for it — and against the degree system that stands in its way.
Jack Hough makes a compelling argument to the traditional argument that education at any price is worth it. He argues that the debt being piled on young people under the current educational system may not be worth the education. His research has found that under average conditions you will have more when you retire if you do not take on the debt of education and instead start saving as we should at an early adult age. It is something to consider now that Back to School sales, Freshmen Orientations are swinging into gear, and the traditional marketers and loan officers are selling our young people and their parents on the need for more debt in the name of higher education.
It is a tough discussion and many aspects to the issue. However, young people need to be made aware of all the information, so as young adults they can make informed decisions. This decision will have huge impacts on the rest of their life no matter what they choose.
To read more on this article, click here.
If you are against excessive debt in the name of higher education then join the Students against Debt online forum to discuss ways to accomplish a great education without much debt.
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Volunteer or Donate to Help Convince More People To Stay Away From Debt.
Show others how much you’ve beaten debt
for the price of one latte a year. – – Beating Debt Charts
A Kid's Guide to Managing Money (Ready-Set-Grow Series)
