10. The American Dream
We stand at once the wonder and admiration of the whole world, and
we must enquire what it is that has given us so much prosperity, and we
shall understand that to give up that one thing, would be to give up all
future prosperity. This cause is that every man can make himself.
-Abraham Lincoln, 1856
11. The American Dream
-American Dreams have usually been
a lien against future
-Longstanding American willingness
to get ahead by getting into debt
-Americans have an innate optimism
12. The American Dream
-Alludes to self-fulfillment, better life,
freedom
-Also means to that end: house with
white picket fence, car, etc.
-Since 1920s pursuit of that life has been
through consumer credit
14. Current Events
-1 in 3 chance that economy will be
worse than the recessions in 2001
and 1991
-2/3 of health of economy measured
by consumer spending
21. Current Events
- 75% increase in CC holders
between 1990-2004
-Amount charged in that period
grew by 350%
-Most people will keep using
credit cards regardless of current
economy
22. Lessons Learned
The easiest way for your children to learn about money is for you not
to have any.
-Katharine Whitehorn
23. Lessons Learned
-Usually parents teach by giving an
allowance or spending money
-Little financial education
- Most kids grow up imitating
parents’ relationship with money
27. Relationships
“I was raised to think of
money as being a private affair.
I never knew how much
money my parents made. It
wasn’t something that was
acceptable to talk about.”
-Debbie, 50
28. Relationships
“It makes me really
uncomfortable to hear people
talking about their money
problems, especially co-workers
whom I don’t know that well. I
immediately want to walk away
from the conversation.”
-Cindy, 29
29. Relationships
"It's pretty common to find out that the
person you married has more debt and less
income than you realized. Essentially they
had other relationships with money going on
that you didn't know about. The
opportunity to feel betrayed is huge."
-Scott Stanley, Ph.D., University of Denver and
coauthor of You Paid How Much for That? How
to Win at Money Without Losing at Love.
31. Psychology
-People feeling sad spend more
money to acquire the same
commodities than those in a
neutral emotional state
-Borrowing money activates
“reward” part of brain
-Exposure to the concept of money
elevates a sense of self-sufficiency
33. Habits
-The typical family's credit card balance is
now almost 5% of their annual income
(median U.S. household income of
$43,200.)*
-Average personal savings rate in the U.S.,
which, after reaching a peak of $2,285 in
1984, dropped below zero with an average
negative $322 in 2006.
* Source: Federal Reserve
34. Habits
“Although my husband and I
don’t ENJOY being broke, we’re a
lot more accustomed to the
experience of lack, debt, and
financial strife than we are with
the experience of wealth,
abundance, and financial
prosperity. Therefore, I believe
that we have invited and created
our present situation. “
-Beth, 37
35. Habits
"I reclaimed an old
Bohemian identity that I'd
always been comfortable
with. I stopped thinking
of myself as a consumer
and started thinking of
myself as a citizen."
-Judith Levine, author of
Not Buying It: My Year
Without Shopping
36. Habits
“This is a time for action when it
comes to people taking
responsibility for their personal
finances. This is just the motivation
I needed. It's forced me to look at
things differently.”
-Sharon, 30
37. Recommendations
All of us who professionally use the mass media are the shapers of
society. We can vulgarize that society. We can brutalize it. Or we can
help lift it onto a higher level.
-William Bernbach
43. Money, of course, is never just money. It's always something else, and
it's always something more, and it always has the last word.
-Paul Auster
44. Money, of course, is never just money. It's always something else, and
it's always something more, and it always has the last word.
-Paul Auster
45.
46. Psychology
-Chronic self-doubters look to things
to impress people or express how
well they’re doing in life*
-People pay more attention to price
tags than real value
-78% of Americans see money as the
# 1 stressor on their lives*
*American Psychological Association *Study by Robert Arkin, Ph.D., of Ohio State University
Notas do Editor
I’m here to talk about money. I know it’s a very sensitive personal topic, but hopefully we can all get through it with few injuries. As you could see from the clip I just showed from the movie Maxed Out, money and our country's reliance on credit has long been a topic in the news. Unfortunately, we are rarely taking this conversation from the news into our homes.
How did I come up with this topic? I read a letter to the editor from this man- I’ll call him Bob- and he was upset that he had bought a house a few years ago and he made sure he was buying something he could actually afford and make payments on. And he was mad that someone/subprime borrower, like Larry, had purchased more house than he could afford, and now there was talk about him being bailed out by the government. Bob didn’t think that was fair. People like Larry abused the system and now they’re being bailed out and they’re not even going to learn something from the situation, and they'll probably do the same thing again. Is there a reason people like Larry are betting against their future by borrowing more money than they can afford to pay back?
How did I come up with this topic? I read a letter to the editor from this man- I’ll call him Bob- and he was upset that he had bought a house a few years ago and he made sure he was buying something he could actually afford and make payments on. And he was mad that someone/subprime borrower, like Larry, had purchased more house than he could afford, and now there was talk about him being bailed out by the government. Bob didn’t think that was fair. People like Larry abused the system and now they’re being bailed out and they’re not even going to learn something from the situation, and they'll probably do the same thing again. Is there a reason people like Larry are betting against their future by borrowing more money than they can afford to pay back?
How did I come up with this topic? I read a letter to the editor from this man- I’ll call him Bob- and he was upset that he had bought a house a few years ago and he made sure he was buying something he could actually afford and make payments on. And he was mad that someone/subprime borrower, like Larry, had purchased more house than he could afford, and now there was talk about him being bailed out by the government. Bob didn’t think that was fair. People like Larry abused the system and now they’re being bailed out and they’re not even going to learn something from the situation, and they'll probably do the same thing again. Is there a reason people like Larry are betting against their future by borrowing more money than they can afford to pay back?
How did I come up with this topic? I read a letter to the editor from this man- I’ll call him Bob- and he was upset that he had bought a house a few years ago and he made sure he was buying something he could actually afford and make payments on. And he was mad that someone/subprime borrower, like Larry, had purchased more house than he could afford, and now there was talk about him being bailed out by the government. Bob didn’t think that was fair. People like Larry abused the system and now they’re being bailed out and they’re not even going to learn something from the situation, and they'll probably do the same thing again. Is there a reason people like Larry are betting against their future by borrowing more money than they can afford to pay back?
When I first started talking about this topic, and Bob and Larry, I thought I would be looking at the past 10 years or so, just studying this recent housing boom. Then I read somewhere that credit had been deregulated in 1978, so I thought, ok, I'll be talking about the last 30 years, then I found this book called Financing the American Dream and it put forth this idea that our whole country was founded on credit. I realized it went back farther than I had even realized.
Our entire country was founded on a faith in our future. our founding fathers came over taking a risk that that gamble would pay off.
and there's a longstanding willingness of Americans to get ahead by using credit. Having said that, consumer debt has also become more acceptable as it's become more prevalent.
Americans have an innate optimism and believe that if they want something they can achieve that.
To many people, the american dream is about self-fulfillment, freedom, a better life, security. unfortunately part of the american dream has been subverted into the things that you need to symbolize that you've made it and achieved the american dream. like the white picket fence, car, etc.
since the 1920s the pursuit of the american dream has been through consumer credit
As many of you probably know, the real estate crash and subprime mortgage market are both huge topics in the news right now. The deepening house recession is taking a toll on the overall economy. Not only is is affecting consumers, but, of course, it’s affecting companies as well. U.S. car sales are down almost 5% from last year. Proctor and Gamble is raising prices by 4-8% in the next few months to offset rising costs.
there’s a 1 in 3 chance that what seems to now be a definite recession will be worse than the recessions in 2001 and 1991. (because real estate and credit are involved) But during those recessions people mostly used credit cards for discretionary purchases. Now we use our credit cards on everything from groceries to gas.
2/3 of our economy depends on consumer spending. But unfortunately for consumers, the health of our country is measured by how much we spend. As you saw from the beginning clip when President Reagan was encouraging people to keep spending, our government wants us to keep spending in order to keep the economy healthy. And if you look at the way our government deals with its own debt, It's easy to see that we've been acting on cue for the economy, to the point that we've kept spending well beyond our means.
Let’s go back to Larry for a second. Subprime lender, like Larry, who defaults on his mortgage affects his lender and Wall Street which lent money without thinking of the consequences. Homeowners took out mortgages to buy houses they couldn't afford. Wall Street then borrowed money to essentially buy up those mortgages, betting leverage would spur bigger returns. It affects a Bank of America which recently bought Coutnrywide. BofA turned around and recently raised their credit card rates for some cardholders- suspected of doing it to offset future debt- both caused by the economy and the fact that they just bought countrywide. It is also affecting student lending agencies like Sallie Mae which doesn’t have as much available money to lend out for student loans. Sallie Mae is raising student loan rates by .5-1% which could lead to many students being unable to fund their education. this affects me, or Bob, who has credit cards with BofA and also purchased a home i could afford.
Let’s go back to Larry for a second. Subprime lender, like Larry, who defaults on his mortgage affects his lender and Wall Street which lent money without thinking of the consequences. Homeowners took out mortgages to buy houses they couldn't afford. Wall Street then borrowed money to essentially buy up those mortgages, betting leverage would spur bigger returns. It affects a Bank of America which recently bought Coutnrywide. BofA turned around and recently raised their credit card rates for some cardholders- suspected of doing it to offset future debt- both caused by the economy and the fact that they just bought countrywide. It is also affecting student lending agencies like Sallie Mae which doesn’t have as much available money to lend out for student loans. Sallie Mae is raising student loan rates by .5-1% which could lead to many students being unable to fund their education. this affects me, or Bob, who has credit cards with BofA and also purchased a home i could afford.
Let’s go back to Larry for a second. Subprime lender, like Larry, who defaults on his mortgage affects his lender and Wall Street which lent money without thinking of the consequences. Homeowners took out mortgages to buy houses they couldn't afford. Wall Street then borrowed money to essentially buy up those mortgages, betting leverage would spur bigger returns. It affects a Bank of America which recently bought Coutnrywide. BofA turned around and recently raised their credit card rates for some cardholders- suspected of doing it to offset future debt- both caused by the economy and the fact that they just bought countrywide. It is also affecting student lending agencies like Sallie Mae which doesn’t have as much available money to lend out for student loans. Sallie Mae is raising student loan rates by .5-1% which could lead to many students being unable to fund their education. this affects me, or Bob, who has credit cards with BofA and also purchased a home i could afford.
Let’s go back to Larry for a second. Subprime lender, like Larry, who defaults on his mortgage affects his lender and Wall Street which lent money without thinking of the consequences. Homeowners took out mortgages to buy houses they couldn't afford. Wall Street then borrowed money to essentially buy up those mortgages, betting leverage would spur bigger returns. It affects a Bank of America which recently bought Coutnrywide. BofA turned around and recently raised their credit card rates for some cardholders- suspected of doing it to offset future debt- both caused by the economy and the fact that they just bought countrywide. It is also affecting student lending agencies like Sallie Mae which doesn’t have as much available money to lend out for student loans. Sallie Mae is raising student loan rates by .5-1% which could lead to many students being unable to fund their education. this affects me, or Bob, who has credit cards with BofA and also purchased a home i could afford.
Let’s go back to Larry for a second. Subprime lender, like Larry, who defaults on his mortgage affects his lender and Wall Street which lent money without thinking of the consequences. Homeowners took out mortgages to buy houses they couldn't afford. Wall Street then borrowed money to essentially buy up those mortgages, betting leverage would spur bigger returns. It affects a Bank of America which recently bought Coutnrywide. BofA turned around and recently raised their credit card rates for some cardholders- suspected of doing it to offset future debt- both caused by the economy and the fact that they just bought countrywide. It is also affecting student lending agencies like Sallie Mae which doesn’t have as much available money to lend out for student loans. Sallie Mae is raising student loan rates by .5-1% which could lead to many students being unable to fund their education. this affects me, or Bob, who has credit cards with BofA and also purchased a home i could afford.
Let’s go back to Larry for a second. Subprime lender, like Larry, who defaults on his mortgage affects his lender and Wall Street which lent money without thinking of the consequences. Homeowners took out mortgages to buy houses they couldn't afford. Wall Street then borrowed money to essentially buy up those mortgages, betting leverage would spur bigger returns. It affects a Bank of America which recently bought Coutnrywide. BofA turned around and recently raised their credit card rates for some cardholders- suspected of doing it to offset future debt- both caused by the economy and the fact that they just bought countrywide. It is also affecting student lending agencies like Sallie Mae which doesn’t have as much available money to lend out for student loans. Sallie Mae is raising student loan rates by .5-1% which could lead to many students being unable to fund their education. this affects me, or Bob, who has credit cards with BofA and also purchased a home i could afford.
Let’s go back to Larry for a second. Subprime lender, like Larry, who defaults on his mortgage affects his lender and Wall Street which lent money without thinking of the consequences. Homeowners took out mortgages to buy houses they couldn't afford. Wall Street then borrowed money to essentially buy up those mortgages, betting leverage would spur bigger returns. It affects a Bank of America which recently bought Coutnrywide. BofA turned around and recently raised their credit card rates for some cardholders- suspected of doing it to offset future debt- both caused by the economy and the fact that they just bought countrywide. It is also affecting student lending agencies like Sallie Mae which doesn’t have as much available money to lend out for student loans. Sallie Mae is raising student loan rates by .5-1% which could lead to many students being unable to fund their education. this affects me, or Bob, who has credit cards with BofA and also purchased a home i could afford.
Let’s go back to Larry for a second. Subprime lender, like Larry, who defaults on his mortgage affects his lender and Wall Street which lent money without thinking of the consequences. Homeowners took out mortgages to buy houses they couldn't afford. Wall Street then borrowed money to essentially buy up those mortgages, betting leverage would spur bigger returns. It affects a Bank of America which recently bought Coutnrywide. BofA turned around and recently raised their credit card rates for some cardholders- suspected of doing it to offset future debt- both caused by the economy and the fact that they just bought countrywide. It is also affecting student lending agencies like Sallie Mae which doesn’t have as much available money to lend out for student loans. Sallie Mae is raising student loan rates by .5-1% which could lead to many students being unable to fund their education. this affects me, or Bob, who has credit cards with BofA and also purchased a home i could afford.
Let’s go back to Larry for a second. Subprime lender, like Larry, who defaults on his mortgage affects his lender and Wall Street which lent money without thinking of the consequences. Homeowners took out mortgages to buy houses they couldn't afford. Wall Street then borrowed money to essentially buy up those mortgages, betting leverage would spur bigger returns. It affects a Bank of America which recently bought Coutnrywide. BofA turned around and recently raised their credit card rates for some cardholders- suspected of doing it to offset future debt- both caused by the economy and the fact that they just bought countrywide. It is also affecting student lending agencies like Sallie Mae which doesn’t have as much available money to lend out for student loans. Sallie Mae is raising student loan rates by .5-1% which could lead to many students being unable to fund their education. this affects me, or Bob, who has credit cards with BofA and also purchased a home i could afford.
Let’s go back to Larry for a second. Subprime lender, like Larry, who defaults on his mortgage affects his lender and Wall Street which lent money without thinking of the consequences. Homeowners took out mortgages to buy houses they couldn't afford. Wall Street then borrowed money to essentially buy up those mortgages, betting leverage would spur bigger returns. It affects a Bank of America which recently bought Coutnrywide. BofA turned around and recently raised their credit card rates for some cardholders- suspected of doing it to offset future debt- both caused by the economy and the fact that they just bought countrywide. It is also affecting student lending agencies like Sallie Mae which doesn’t have as much available money to lend out for student loans. Sallie Mae is raising student loan rates by .5-1% which could lead to many students being unable to fund their education. this affects me, or Bob, who has credit cards with BofA and also purchased a home i could afford.
Let’s go back to Larry for a second. Subprime lender, like Larry, who defaults on his mortgage affects his lender and Wall Street which lent money without thinking of the consequences. Homeowners took out mortgages to buy houses they couldn't afford. Wall Street then borrowed money to essentially buy up those mortgages, betting leverage would spur bigger returns. It affects a Bank of America which recently bought Coutnrywide. BofA turned around and recently raised their credit card rates for some cardholders- suspected of doing it to offset future debt- both caused by the economy and the fact that they just bought countrywide. It is also affecting student lending agencies like Sallie Mae which doesn’t have as much available money to lend out for student loans. Sallie Mae is raising student loan rates by .5-1% which could lead to many students being unable to fund their education. this affects me, or Bob, who has credit cards with BofA and also purchased a home i could afford.
Let’s go back to Larry for a second. Subprime lender, like Larry, who defaults on his mortgage affects his lender and Wall Street which lent money without thinking of the consequences. Homeowners took out mortgages to buy houses they couldn't afford. Wall Street then borrowed money to essentially buy up those mortgages, betting leverage would spur bigger returns. It affects a Bank of America which recently bought Coutnrywide. BofA turned around and recently raised their credit card rates for some cardholders- suspected of doing it to offset future debt- both caused by the economy and the fact that they just bought countrywide. It is also affecting student lending agencies like Sallie Mae which doesn’t have as much available money to lend out for student loans. Sallie Mae is raising student loan rates by .5-1% which could lead to many students being unable to fund their education. this affects me, or Bob, who has credit cards with BofA and also purchased a home i could afford.
Let’s go back to Larry for a second. Subprime lender, like Larry, who defaults on his mortgage affects his lender and Wall Street which lent money without thinking of the consequences. Homeowners took out mortgages to buy houses they couldn't afford. Wall Street then borrowed money to essentially buy up those mortgages, betting leverage would spur bigger returns. It affects a Bank of America which recently bought Coutnrywide. BofA turned around and recently raised their credit card rates for some cardholders- suspected of doing it to offset future debt- both caused by the economy and the fact that they just bought countrywide. It is also affecting student lending agencies like Sallie Mae which doesn’t have as much available money to lend out for student loans. Sallie Mae is raising student loan rates by .5-1% which could lead to many students being unable to fund their education. this affects me, or Bob, who has credit cards with BofA and also purchased a home i could afford.
Let’s go back to Larry for a second. Subprime lender, like Larry, who defaults on his mortgage affects his lender and Wall Street which lent money without thinking of the consequences. Homeowners took out mortgages to buy houses they couldn't afford. Wall Street then borrowed money to essentially buy up those mortgages, betting leverage would spur bigger returns. It affects a Bank of America which recently bought Coutnrywide. BofA turned around and recently raised their credit card rates for some cardholders- suspected of doing it to offset future debt- both caused by the economy and the fact that they just bought countrywide. It is also affecting student lending agencies like Sallie Mae which doesn’t have as much available money to lend out for student loans. Sallie Mae is raising student loan rates by .5-1% which could lead to many students being unable to fund their education. this affects me, or Bob, who has credit cards with BofA and also purchased a home i could afford.
From 1990-2004 the number of people holding credit cards rose 75% the amount that was charged in that period grew 350% to 1.5 trillion dollars. Credit card balances went from $2500 in 1990 to about $7500 in 2003. 1999 was the first time that that U.S. households started spending more than they took in.
americans unaccustomed to recessions, especially ones where they have to spend less. both the past two recessions had very minor slowdowns in consumer spending.
most people will keep using credit cards regardless of how the current economy is- which is extremely dangerous
To try to understand how we wound up in the situation we did with our spending, i thought i’d look into how we learned money lessons. And what did we learn from our parents?
The fact remains that people do not grow up with educational or philosophic conversations about what money is and isn't, what it can and can't do. Information-based money discussions are so taboo that we usually reach adulthood without a realistic sense of our family's finances. As a result of the money taboo,most kids grow up imitating their parents' way of handling money without being aware of it.
people who rate their parents high on financially responsible have more of these habits themselves
Most parents don't teach their children about finances. But here's an extreme example.
Cliff Huxtable is an extreme example. As I've said, most parents don't discuss money with their children, and that's often because no one taught them. and therefore money habits such as spending habits and sloppy money management are taught early in life by seeing our parents' example. By the time we reach early adulthood those habits are ingrained.
Because money isn't discussed in the home, part of the credit crunch problem is that people are uneasy talking about money. Often we don’t talk about it b/c of shame over our own financial habits. the more troublle some people get into with their money, the more shame and secretive they become. But also, a lot of people consider debt and financial habits a private affair.
So, fine, Debbie and Cindy are uncomfortable talking about money with their parents or co-workers. But what happens when people get married. Unfortunately, a lot of people get married without having a conversation about their finances. More than any other issue, $ is what breaks up marriages.
In addition, because the age at which people wed is rising, partners bring extensive monetary histories to their union. Many individuals enter marriage with undisclosed financial allegiances outside the relationship. Given the avoidance, accessibility and ambivalence that now swirl around about money, it's creating an explosive new dynamic in relationships.
67 percent of women, 74 percent of men—enter marriage with at least some debt. Of those with debt, about half owe more than $5,000, primarily from auto loans, credit cards, student loans and medical bills, research associate David Schramm of Utah State University found in a study of 1,010 newlyweds
Money represents more than just money, it represents love, self-worth, power, security, dependence, freedom.
Study done that shows that people feeling sad and self-focused spend more $ to acquire commodities than those in a natural emotional state. They have heightened self-focus.
When we borrow money, the reward portion of the brain is activated. We don't think of the fact that we have to pay the money back at some point, we just think about the money we have now. When you borrow money, you are thinking not about the long-term consequences but the short-term result: You have more cash in your pocket. The pain you are going to experience down the road of having to pay -- that's in the future, it's remote, it's abstract."
self-sufficiency- example if you're poor and you're moving you might ask your friends to help you, if you have $ you don't think you need anyone and might just hire movers. we think we don't need others.
-Keeping secrets about money have never been easier
-Fiscal self-control has never been harder
Keeping secrets about money is not only tempting in our cultural carnival of consumption, it's also on the rise. The ability to spend and borrow money impulsively has never been greater, with ubiquitous ATMs, Internet banking and online shopping, to say nothing of refinancing deals and new credit card offers arriving almost daily in the mail. Consumer debt, excluding mortgages, has doubled in the past decade. It now averages close to $20,000 per household.
household debt is almost 5% of a typical family's household income.
not only are we charging so much of our income, we've stopped saving and in fact, are saving a negative amount of money, -322 dollars in 2006
people in all socio-economic levels are trapped in self-destructive behaviors. This woman, Beth, started a blog to discuss her attempts to avoid bankruptcy with her husband. As you can see, she talks about how she and her husband are more used to being in debt than experiencing prosperity. Her money problems became a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Judith Levine wrote this book and purchased nothing but necessities for a year, saved $8,000, was sometimes bored and lonely but also felt liberated and found other things to occupy her time with.
Sharon used to take 4 vacations a year and eat out almost every year. With the current economic situation, she's realized that she was out of control, and looks at it as a motivation to rearrange her priorities and straighten out her life.
We talk a lot about how our jobs as marketers aren't just to sell things, but to give people choices and to shape society. And consumer credit plays a large role in determining nature of consumer culture & sustaining it over time.
The more credit that is available to people, the more they're going to take it. I was thinking of it in terms of Halloween candy. If you let your kid eat his candy that night without reigning him in, he'll eat until he gets sick.
1)more restrictive countries are in better shape than countries with more open regulations. france- attitude toward debt-catholic thing-bad. The issue is more pressing in Europe and the United States, as many Asian economies are experiencing robust growth and indebtedness tends to be lower, often because of the stronger role of the family and a more prudent financial tradition.
The more credit that is available to people, the more they're going to take it. I was thinking of it in terms of Halloween candy. If you let your kid eat his candy that night without reigning him in, he'll eat until he gets sick.
1)more restrictive countries are in better shape than countries with more open regulations. france- attitude toward debt-catholic thing-bad. The issue is more pressing in Europe and the United States, as many Asian economies are experiencing robust growth and indebtedness tends to be lower, often because of the stronger role of the family and a more prudent financial tradition.
