Would you say that the masses are brainwashed to “live in the moment” and being into sensationalism so they can be duped into going into debt to achieve their temporary desires?
I think to some degree they are brainwashed, it’s also ignorance on basic consumer economics.
My wife and I go to the same restaurants and usually become friends with the bartenders/waitresses mainly because we leave good tips.
I’ve asked a number of them that either own a house or are thinking of owning a house, if they ever considered something like a 15-year versus a 30-year mortgage.
Universally they tell me a 15-year mortgage is more expensive and never considered it an option. Then on my phone I google a quick mortgage amortization calculator and run their numbers and compare the costs of a 15 versus 30-year mortgage, they are usually dumbfounded on the interest savings.
Then I tell them it’s ever worse for credit card and auto loan interest.
I remind them to add up the extra interest costs over a lifetime and its usually hundreds of thousands of dollars that could be theirs at retirement if they only made better consumer finance decisions.
I don’t know how many if any of them I convince I only hope it gives a few something to think about and begin to ask quesitons.