Two things happened recently to prompt me to write what I am about to write.
The $400 question
Since 2013, the Federal Reserve Board has conducted a survey to monitor the financial and economic status of American consumers. One of the questions involved asking respondents how they would react to an emergency situation that requires them to come up with $400. 47% of the respondents replied that they would have to either borrow or sell something to come up with the amount, or that it would be impossible for them to cough up the money at all.
About a month ago, writer Neal Gabler bared his soul and shared the actual state of his personal finances in a commentary entitled ‘The Secret Shame of Middle Class Americans’ published in The Atlantic magazine. Or perhaps what he shared could be better termed as the ‘lack of finances’
Author of five books, journalist and visiting professor ......