Monty Loree: Tell me about the – my kids are 16 and 18 and of course we're having discussions about money all the time. Of course they have to hear all the extra details because of what I do for a living. Tell me about, what is the mentality of somebody that's 17 or 18 or 19 and they're just getting out of high school. They're starting to get their first job, maybe they move out or whatever. Tell me about that a little bit. What's on their mind?
Nick Farina: It really depends on the person. But what I found is that even though the last five years have changed pretty drastically, about five years ago, young people starting out – it was a pretty relaxed attitude. You thought, “Oh, the future is bright. I'll rely on my parents until I get a good job or until I graduate from the university.” Then after that, “I'll have a good paying job and pay my credit cards all the time,” and all that. There was a huge problem still with debt because credit card companies were getting credited to anyone with a pulse. They were offering these slick deals that had them sign up on campus. Students were pretty relaxed about it. In many ways that was actually a bad thing because students would freely sign up for credit cards. Their parents have credit cards and their parents were okay. They didn't see the harm in that and there is also this kind of ignorance. I've been asked questions as basic as, what's an ATR. The minimum payment, does that mean I still pay interest? So there was an ignorance about it and combined with that, that's what got people in trouble. Now it's different because the global economy is sour to such an extent that people are scared and they see how their parents are now in deep trouble too. Their parents are and their friends are getting jobs. So it's almost better now, I think, for young people's finance because it's given them this healthy fear of credit in a banking area and the money problems. It's made them step back and say, “Maybe I should save instead.” It's almost gone the other way for the credit card companies. Now we're seeing this eagle empire by many young people. That's a huge thing. I think now there's a lot more fear. There's a lot more thinking going on.
