Happy Friday Dinks! Ok this week in our round up we will discuss Greece. If you have turned on any news channel or opened any newspaper in the last three weeks you have probably seen something about Greece and their financial crisis.
Today we aren’t going to discuss what the problem is we are going to discuss what we can learn from Greece. A country’s financial solvency is very similar to an individual’s personal finance. The main aspect of saving money is to spend less than you make. Money can’t go out if it doesn’t come in. Basically, that’s it.
Bad debt happens when someone (or some country) borrows money and is unable to pay it back within the specific guidelines. I can’t stress this point enough…If you don’t have it then you can’t spend it. Think if you really need it or if you just want it. In the grand scope of things (in my opinion) essentials that we need are food and shelter.
The same rule (in simple terms) applies to countries. Put money into your infrastructure and your population. Do not spend money on travel and tourism in the hopes that it will attract people in the future. Make money within your means and then save half and spend half.
When people (or countries) get into debt that they are unable to repay is the solution to accumulate more debt? I am not sure if this is an answer. People often use consolidation loans as a means to try and get them out of debt, but is this the best option?
Of course this is a brief overview and I know there is a lot more to the situation in Greece then these 200 words. Here are some articles that I came across on Greece this week:
- Dow Plunges 213 Points, Breaks 11k @ CNNMoney.com
- Down up 122 on Recovery Expectations @ MSN Money
- What The Greeks Have to Cut @ CNNMoney.com
And here are some other financial posts from around the blogosphere:
- Who is JT TEN WROS? @ Bargaineering
- Are You Eating Yourself Into Debt? @ Man vs. Debt
- This is What Perseverance Looks Like @ Budgets Are Sexy
- Help a Reader: Calculating Net Worth @ Free Money Finance
- Are Your Friends Enabling Poor Spending Habits? @ Single Guy Money
- My First Business Involved Brooke Shields [I’m an Entrepreneur] @ Pro Blogger
- How to Make Visa Obey Your Every Desire: The Credit Card Concierge Experiment @ Tim Ferriss
- Money Hacks Carnival #115 @ Money Beagle
- Carnival of Money stories #53 @ Money Relationship
- Carnival of Personal Finance #256 – Market Crash ed. @ My Dollar Plan
(photo by williac)
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Well, can we really say that the laws governing a country are the same as those that apply to individuals? I think there are some problems with the premise of this posting….
that said, thanks for the links.
Yeah, I’m with the previous on this one. the links are good, but greece is not the us, okay?
All in all, this is a pretty good blog. I just subscribed.
Again, the writing on this blog is terrible. Terrible grammar, terrible sentence structure, and writing that rambles, uses jargon, and is excessively wordy. I cannot believe that any author would begin a sentence with, “Okay, this week…” You are writing. You are not speaking. And you are not trying to mimic a valley-girl or a cheerleader. And Greece is not a “their,” it’s an “it.” Read your writing out loud. If it sounds clunky and awkward, fix it. If you find yourself naturally pausing but there’s no comma, add one. If you can say the same thing with fewer words, do. Stop the redundancy! “Essentials that we need…” Really?! Do you realize you’ve just used two sets of words together that mean the same thing? And you never need “in my opinion.” It’s obvious that an opinion statement is your opinion.
Here is this entry with somewhat corrected grammar and writing, in the event you care to improve:
Happy Friday, Dinks! This week our round-up will discuss Greece. If you have watched news or opened any newspaper in the last three weeks, you have probably seen something about Greece and its financial crisis.
Today we going to address lessons from the financial situation in Greece. A country’s financial solvency is similar to an individual’s finance. The key to saving money is spending less than you make. Money can’t go out if it doesn’t come in. Basically, that’s it.
Bad debt happens when someone (or some country) borrows money and is unable to pay it back within established guidelines. I can’t stress this point enough…If you don’t have it, don’t spend it. Consider whether you need it (food, shelter) or want it (most other things).
The same rule (in simple terms) applies to countries. Fund an infrastructure and population. Do not spend money on travel and tourism hoping this will attract tourists in the future. Make money within your means, then save half and spend half. [What on earth does “make money within your means” mean?? You spend within your means. There is no such concept as making money within your means. This entire entry sounds like it was written by a 3rd grade student.]
When people (or countries) get into debt they are unable to repay, is the solution to accumulate more debt? I am not sure if this is an answer. [Of course this is AN answer. You just might not think it’s the best answer, so say that.] People often use consolidation loans to get out of debt, but is this the best option?
This is a brief overview, and I know there is a lot more to the situation in Greece then these 200 words. Here are some articles that I came across on Greece this week:
Wow, that’s kinda harsh. I’m all for improving our own writing, but you do realize this is a blog and not the Wall Street Journal, right? This is why I personally read blogs over a lot of the more main street stuff out though – it’s more casual. To each their own though…another good thing about blogs is that we can voice our own opinions in these comment sections.
And just so you know, your 2nd paragraph has a mistake – “Today we going to address…”
Thank you for your feedback. Love it or hate it, I am glad you are reading our blog.
Marg, is your criticism constructive? Or are you trying to get hired with us here at DINKS Finance?