subject: Financial Crisis - Don't blame the Banks, blame yourself! [print this page] Financial Crisis - Don't blame the Banks, blame yourself!
The UK is still in the grip of a huge financial crisis and according to the media the Banks are at fault. This is the message we have been fed for the last couple of years, but if you want someone to blame, start looking a little closer to home!
Perhaps Banks have been too flippant in their attitude towards lending in recent years, but the truth is nobody forced the British public to borrow more than they could afford It is time to wake up and face the reality that this financial crisis is self-inflicted. We are simply dealing with the hangover of the binge spending we have been guilty of for years
The British public have adopted a "consume now, pay later" attitude towards credit and it has cost us all dearly. Too many people have been borrowing money that they cannot afford to pay back and regardless of why the Banks have allowed this, the truth is it is the borrower's responsibility to make sure they can pay that money back come what may.
The average person in the UK has four credit cards and goes on 1 to 2 foreign holidays a year. Many people think nothing of purchasing a Car on finance or extending their Mortgage just because they fancy a new kitchen or bathroom. There is no problem with this, except that when doing this the vast majority of people seem to do it without really considering whether they can truly afford it come what may and it's these people who have put us all in this terrible position.
For those of us who have been careful with our finances, who have taken the time to save for the things we need or want rather than borrow, the situation this country is now in is a real slap in the face.
Even those of us who have always been careful with our finances find our jobs at risk, find the public services we need cut, see the School our children attend left under-funded.Unfortunately, we are not unaffected by the actions of the irresponsible borrowers we seem to be surrounded by.
To add insult to injury, the media have consoled these irresponsible borrowers by laying the blame for this crisis solely at the door of the Banks. Why? Because telling these irresponsible borrowers the truth would not inspire them to buy newspapers.
Where does this leave us?
With the media refusing to tell the public the truth, irresponsible borrowers will fail to learn their lesson and perhaps will continue to set the "consume now, pay later" example for their children. Great!
If we as a nation want to make sure that we don't experience this type of crisis again, then its time to face reality and stop lying. It's time to grow up
So to those of you who have borrowed money without really knowing that you can pay it back, to those of you have placed the rest of us in this position think about this:
Your financial irresponsibility does not just affect you!
