Rappers Teach Responsibility

[PK]

Here's an interesting story about rappers and hip hop artists helping teach the youth about being financially responsible.

http://music.yahoo.com/read/news/31896789

Pk

[thartley]

Well, you've got my attention...so I will  now read the article....

ok, so they are teaching good stuff.  Lets hope their message sinks in while their young fans are bombarded with the image of these musicians that the industry is putting out there.

Credit cards are like credit crack.  Sucks you in and you pay for it forever.  I dont have any credit cards anymore, at all, and I am teaching my daughter than if you cant pay cash for it when you want it, you dont need it as badly as you think you do at that moment.

I recently got a bill from a collection agency for a credit card Laurie's dad had two years before she was born.  She will be 18yrs old in July.  And her father passed away seven years ago.  Big lesson for her how credit cards will follow you even after the grave.  So spend wisely and save smart.

[Ginafish]

\"The biggest misconception probably comes from the hip-hop community itself ... that the money lasts forever,\" LL Cool J said on Saturday. \"You have to do the right thing with it.\"

Just this morning, I heard that the hip hop video makers need to stop what they are doing, because with all the bling, hot tubs, etc... they are succeeding at making decadence look boring. At least some performers are still trying to make a positive message.

thartley, I'm totally down with the credit sucks. Laurie is at the rip age of \"Gold Mine\" for creditors. I hope your message sinks into her.

[Sneaker]

No worries, it sunk in. Besides, mum wouldn't let me get one even if I asked, begged, pleaded, or sold my soul for it. :laugh:

[ZeroG]

I had a elderly neighbor once who took the credit card thing to new depths. I was his neighbor for about a year and then one day he invited me into his apartment and we started talking, or I should say, I started listening.

He claimed that credit cards are going to cause the end of the United States. We got into economics and the prime rate and so on. What he was saying was that we as a society live so much on credit that our monetary system can't support it and one day it will all come crashing down.

The U.S. has the biggest economy, in the world, probably the biggest consumer in the world. How much of that is on credit?

I thought the guy was a kook at the time and got out of there as soon as I could find my way out (another story). But the more credit card apps I get in the mail, and the more I see how credit fraud is so rapent the more I think this guy was on to something. Also, seeing \"Fight Club\", and recalling this conversation, kind of freaked me out a little.

The rappers teaching financial responsibility is great, and it isn't just a good idea for individuals, but it can reduce the risk of our monetary system failing if everyone is debt free.

-ZeroG

[thartley]

ZeroG wrote:

The rappers teaching financial responsibility is great, and it isn't just a good idea for individuals, but it can reduce the risk of our monetary system failing if everyone is debt free.

-ZeroG

I think being mired in debt allows that debt to dictate your life to some extent.  I dont even have a car payment.  So my disposable income is everything I make minus my basic living expenses.  And I can truly say that I dont know of one other person who is like me.  I paid all my debt off years ago and never went back into that hole again.  Being debt-free is a wonderful place to be.