81% of Guatemalans Save
This article is pretty interesting (though it is in Spanish). Turns out that 81% of Guatemalans save money, which is good. But 37% don't have enough money to get through the end of the month, which is bad. How those two figures are compatible I have no idea. The three main reasons we save? For emergencies, to buy a car, and for our kids' education.
It's refreshing to see this after all the horrible news about the American citizen and his financial woes (getting hammered by credit card fees, debt, negative savings rate, etc.).
It just goes to show how differently people can view money. Some see it as a real, material thing that has value (Guatemalans). Americans see it as something ethereal, you don't have to have it to spend it, and there's no need to save it because it isn't real. They'll worry about it later.
It could be where I got my spendthrift ways, though I've been told the Herrera family has always been kind of cheap. Which we take offense to, and correctly call it "being economic."
It's refreshing to see this after all the horrible news about the American citizen and his financial woes (getting hammered by credit card fees, debt, negative savings rate, etc.).
It just goes to show how differently people can view money. Some see it as a real, material thing that has value (Guatemalans). Americans see it as something ethereal, you don't have to have it to spend it, and there's no need to save it because it isn't real. They'll worry about it later.
It could be where I got my spendthrift ways, though I've been told the Herrera family has always been kind of cheap. Which we take offense to, and correctly call it "being economic."
posted by Carlos P at 12:10 PM
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