A few of my thoughts on money and education | THE SALT LAKE CITY UTAH REAL ESTATE BLOG

A few thoughts on money and education

Today I listened to a wonderful speech by a financial counselor about retirement, saving, investing, the real estate market, and a few other things. He went into a lot more than I could get into here, but I wanted to mention parts of it because it made me think.Two things stood out to me. He first showed some charts that showed how America’s economy has historically followed it spending. Nothing new there, but he went on to talk about all the things we buy and how many people retire with no money but with a house full of stuff. How true that is, but it doesn’t have to be that way. We don’t have to be a nation of spenders. I can’t change the nation, but I can change me. I can be a saver and an investor. That is what struck me most about that part of the speech. One person or family at a time, the habit of unnecessary spending can stop, and responsible saving and investing can take its place.

He also made a good point about Americans and education. While I don’t know for sure if these statistics true, he said that the top graduates in most U.S. colleges are from countries outside the U.S., where they consider an education to be a treasure. It made me wonder if we consider an education to be as priceless as they do. If we don’t, what does that say about our future in innovation? It doesn’t sit very well with me.

I know that per person, we still earn much more than certain other countries that are showing improvements, but will that remain true if we are less educated? Will we spend our days swimming in our money bins, or improving ourselves?

This is just what was going through my mind as I was listening to this guy. I came out of there with a little more resolve to spend less on frivolous things, and to spend a little more time improving myself. Maybe that could be a new year’s resolution.