Hello, Frugalistas! I read this Newsweek essay by billionaire Peter G. Peterson, who is a retired co-founder of The Blackstone Group, a financial advisory firm. Peterson, who is the son of Greek immigrant father who saved money and practiced philanthropy, has vowed to create financial awareness about America's national and personal debts and committed $1 blillion to his Peter G. Peterson Foundation. His foundation is like a think tank/financial charity. Organizations with programs and ideas that help Americans make smarter money choices may get grants.
From the essay:
For the first time in my memory, the majority of the American people join me in believing that, on our current course, our children will not do as well as we have. For years, I have been saying that the American government, and America itself, has to change its spending and borrowing policies: the tens of trillions of dollars in unfunded entitlements and promises, the dangerous dependence on foreign capital, our pitiful level of savings, the metastasizing health-care costs, our energy gluttony. These structural deficits are unsustainable. Herb Stein, who served alongside me in the Nixon White House as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, once drily observed, "If your horse dies, I suggest you dismount." And yet, we keep trying to ride this horse.
Wow.
What do you think about his $1 billion committment? If you had $1 billion to donate to a charitable cause, what would it be? Do we Americans need to change how we spend, save our money?
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I think we need to change our relationship with money. Money is good to provide family security, a home, food, a little fun, but the gathering of material things to the exclusion of all else is where we get into trouble. Think about it. We collect so much stuff that we can’t keep it all in our homes so we spend more money hiring storage lockers to hold stuff. My thought, if you’re stuff doesn’t fit into your space, it might be time to get rid of some stuff!