You've got to Live - Spend Your Money???

I was listening to a radio talk show this morning and the fellow was talking about the economy. The radio announcer was complaining about Suze Orman and Suze's style of money coaching.

The comment came up that Suze recommends that people save their money and cut down on expenses. The announcer then indicated that people need to live their lives and spend their money!

I love that logic.. the announcer said, "well yeah, you need to save and pay down debt, BUT you also need to live your life."

Isn't that what got us into this problem in the first place?

Here's my point:
1) If you don't have sufficient cash reserves - you NEED TO sacrifice and start saving your money

What this yappy announcer failed to mention was this:
Most Canadians and Americans have really low savings rates. We love to spend our money , but hate saving it.

This becomes a huge problem in an economy such as this economic crisis. If all individuals had an abundance of cash reserves they would never be worried about losing their jobs . They wouldn't be worried about paying bills or paying down debt. Quite frankly, I don't think individuals would have too much debt if they had an abundance of cash saved.

For those who have no savings, and are in debt... It's my opinion these people should take a time out from spending, and put their money in the bank. Plain and simple... Just save it.

You have to live, I agree, however you need to have safety measures in place. Why are Americans so worried about this economic down turn? If they had sufficient cash reserves in place, and little debt, there wouldn't be much to worry about.

IE.. If Americans and Canadians were recession proof, they wouldn't have to worry.

What harm would it do to Sacrifice for a few years and save money ?
So you kids have less toys.. you have less vacations.. you have less consumer products.. you eat out a little less.. What would your kids say about that?

Your family might complain for a few years about not having any money to spend. At the same time, you would have less fights because of lack of money, less stress, and less worry about paying bills.

What's more important to you, instant gratification or long term peace of mind?

I wish that the media would get on board and stop asking consumers to borrow more and spend their way out of the economy. Consumers need a financial rest. They need to have their money take a time out and spend some lonely time in the bank account.

Ultimately this will make the consumer feel better, and eventually give them a more confident feeling when they start to live their life!