Recipe for Disaster? Today we are going to talk about recipes.. well actually one in particular. That is the one of school, post school and start of adult life. Also commonly phrased as “The Real World”. If your recipe for this looks like mine did it went something like this.
- Finish High school
- Find something at minimum to take in college/university and complete
- Get a career with that education.
And for this post we will stop it right there. This recipe isn’t flawed……. entirely at least. For most of us putting ourselves through college/university entails us taking out student loans and BAM!!!!!!!!!!!!! there you have it your first taste of debt. But we are told this is necessary and the money you will make in that career after completing the degree/trade will more than cover the money invested. Sure you can take a part time job to ease some of the burden and possibly had there been any course throughout high school on personal finance and investing then the outcome would be totally different as well.
The merits of college/university are there but also with getting “desensitized” to debt we will call it with student loans if this habit goes unchecked and unchallenged or not questioned it can lead on to a never ending cycle and life mediocrity at best. Seems harsh right? Well it is, for the simple reason to go into debt to further ones education in the quest for a more rewarding career is one thing, but this new numbness to incurring debt also can set a person up for the keeping up with the Jones’s scenario or following the herd so to speak.
I still to this day do not understand why in school systems there is a not a course entirely on personal finance, debt, and simple investing literally drives me bat poop crazy to be honest. Not sure why the bat poop symbolism other than Halloween is coming soon and in the back of my mind 🙂 However what I am thankful for in today’s world versus mine at the point where I was “starting out in the real world” is the fact that these topics are easily searchable online and there are lots of great articles, blogs, and groups where this matter is discussed.
So if your thinking well that’s all great GFW tell me something that I don’t know now, you are justified as this realization hits us all I am sure at some point when we get out of our post secondary institution and its time to carve out our destiny’s into the world. But right here at this step is where a lot of us falter or have faltered myself included. Why do some of us falter? Think about it and we will discuss it next post.
P.S. Too all the fellow Canadians hope your Thanksgiving day was a good as mine.
Till next round
cheers GFW