Financial Answers "IN SIMPLE LANGUAGE"

Many of the blog articles I have written over the last several years have talked about how we are in dire need of more financial education…which is really what In Simple Language is all about.  Some recent surveys of consumers are saying the same thing.  It seems that some people are actually doing something about their financial situation.

Because of this less than stellar economy you and I are struggling with, more and more people are keeping better track of their spending habits.  That is a good thing and a step in the right direction to controlling your finances better.

A recent March Survey

A recent March financial survey taken among over 2,000 adults has shown that more and more people are watching their spending habits and keeping better records of what they are buying and spending.  The survey indicated that 43%, as compared to 42% in 2009, of consumers are watching their money and spending more on needs then wants.

That is a small 1% increase but it indicates that you are heading in the right direction…  although it still amazes me that 57% of us don’t keep track of our spending.   That is pretty scary in this down economy.

Savings moving up

This March survey also showed an upward trend in people’s savings habits from 65% to 67% from a year ago.  I am glad to hear this and it never ceases to amaze me how resilient you can be.

With unemployment in double digits for almost two years, it is in double digits because the government doesn’t include the people who have run out of unemployment benefits.  Something President Reagan created to make the numbers look better.

What is really amazing is to hear that people are saving at all, let along increasing their savings. Never underestimate the will power of the American public…a big “hell yes” for all of you in this situation.

Maybe what has happened is all of us have hit bottom and the only place to go is up.  I don’t know.

Another maybe not so surprising response came out of this survey.  It seems that about 80% of the respondents stated that it was okay to default on their mortgage.  That’s 8 out of 10 people said that they have had enough abuse by their lenders. 

I have never been able to understand how you can borrow, and I use arbitrary numbers here, $200,000 to buy your home, and over a course of 30 years of making payments you pay back more than double that amount.  That’s nuts!  Yet that is exactly the way the mortgage business is structured.

The mortgage lenders justify this by saying that you, as the borrower, are tying up their money for 30 years and they need to be compensated fairly.  I don’t have a problem with being compensated fairly. But why is it that in the first 10 or so years of your mortgage almost all of your mortgage payment goes towards interest and not the original loan amount.  What’s so fair about that?

Something needs to be done about how mortgage lending is structured so that people have a more even chance of owning their homes sooner rather than paying interest for 10 years before they actually start paying back the original mortgage loan.  I won’t get into the tax aspects of mortgages as they are another topic for another article.

If you read this far there may be something about this post that you are relating to.  There may be some financial related pain In Simple Language is talking about.  Tell us your story.  We really do want to know.

• Please ask your questions of In Simple Language and we will answer you as soon as possible in the comments section of the blog article you asked about.
• Please give In Simple Language your comments and suggestions about this post and/or future topics of interest to you.
• Like what you read?  Send it to a friend.  Click on “share this post” right above leave a comment below.
• Did you remember to bookmark this blog?

Thank you for taking the time to visit In Simple Language.   

Copyright © 2008-2010 “All Rights Reserved”

Looking for a financial speaker or financial writer?  Contact Rich today at rsowa@insimplelanguage.com or call Sowa Financial Media, LLC now at (502) 569-1714.

 Check out the “SERVICES” tab above the beginning of the post for all available services.