illiteracy

There are still countries in the (Western) world where they have poor literacy. Whilst that might be a problem, there's another, much bigger, first-world problem: financial illiteracy.

It seems to be the general case that financial basics aren't taught almost anywhere. That might be on purpose, but why are we then surprised when doctors end up in credit card debt?

It's clearly a trap, but it's the one most of us fall into voluntarily. No fraud happened if I spent too much on retail therapy. I can't blame the media for getting indebted for a Porsche. Keeping up with whatever the Joneses are called in your country isn't anyone else's fault but yours.

I've been there. I swiped credit cards. I financed shopping sprees. I spent much more than I earned.

Fortunately, I stopped before I hit bottom. Stopped the bleeding. Read the books. Made a plan. I started saving and investing. And now I'm saving north of 50% of my monthly income, and there is some passive rental income as well. I got here slowly, and I only blame (and give credit to) myself for both things. My. Self.

Quit being a trapped victim.