Journal Entry the Fifth
Personal finance seems like a complicated mess, and high schools often fail to fully inform their students about managing money. I have very little experience with topics such as budgeting, investing, saving, and purchasing. However, I found the readings to be informative and interesting.
In the first reading, the statement that satisfaction rises with income until it plateaus around a six figure income. Then, other concerns such as health and marriage relations take priority in affecting health. Working too many hours, unemployment, debt, commuting and inflation all contributing to unhappiness are also valid points. The second article did not seem accurate in my mind. It is difficult to categorize people’s monetary ideas just based on whether they are introverted or extroverted. I feel that I am in between an introvert and extrovert, and my spending habits to not match those presented in the reading.
The idea of hyperbolic discounting returned in the third reading. The “instant gratification monkey” returns as well but in a fiscal sense. I attempt to reduce my spending and increase my saving, but sometimes that monkey gets the best of me. The astronomical amounts of money one can manifest through investments is very intriguing, but it is difficult to save responsibly. Many Americans are not saving as much as they should. The fact that my generation has a negative savings rate does not surprise me, but it is concerning. My family stressed the idea of serving, and my parents are very skilled with saving and investing money. I hope to learn from them and apply their knowledge. Additionally, the fact that 100 CEO’s have more saved for retirement that 41 percent of US families does not surprise me due to our country’s incredible wealth distribution issue.
