Everywhere you turn you see the news talking of a plunging stock market, business bail outs and record number foreclosures.

Initially my thoughts are “What has this financial system done to us?” but on second thought, are we not intelligent enough as a society to have avoided financial collapse?

Just because a greedy bank tells you that you qualify for a mortgage ,did we not have enough sense of our own to know it was outside our budget? Did we consider the monthly payment for 30 years and factor in a slow economy or job loss?

These are the questions that one cant help but ask as it proves even more, now than ever- that we as a society are so undereducated in finances.  Financial literacy should be at the top of the governments list of things to do yesterday. If you cannot teach a person to be responsible with their finances then you should expect disaster.

Remember the term “Buyer beware? “That should not only go to avoiding scams, but the buyer also need be- aware. Aware of your finances, your family structure, your ability to manage your debt, retirement, your credit reports. Consumers often close their eyes and hope for the best and the result can be disastrous.

While it is the american dream to own a home, unfortunately, not everyone is capable of doing so. There is a huge responsibility that comes with homeownership that goes far beyond the application approval. We as consumers should have known better. We should have seen this collapse coming because of the sheer volume of sub prime loans that were being handed out to literally every Tom, Dick, and Harry. Default was inevitable. Couple that with an unstable economy and disaster was at our doorstep.

Now was must reap was we sow and work our way through this financial collapse. I have no doubt in the spirit of Americans and we will survive- but maybe this time around we will take responsibility for our own finances and not leave it in the hands of Wall Street and greedy lenders.

We need to take responsibility for our own future. Manage our jobs, our retirement, our credit reports, our debt. We cannot expect the government to take 100% of the blame in this financial mess. If it had turned out good, would we blame them then? If your home’s equity were up 10% would you be shaking your fist at the greedy bankers?

Did big brother charge up your credit cards and remodel your home for you? Did big brother tell you to buy two gas guzzling SUVs and eat out all the time? We all know there is a lot of blame to go around. No one got into this alone. People were in a feeding frenzy with easy loans and easy credit.

We helped  to get ourself into this mess and now we must help to get out. We cannot sit back and wait for handouts or for the market to fix itself. We need to start fresh and take inventory of our financial fitness and begin anew. Sure, we’ll see challenges all along the way but a slow and steady focus on the problem will win in the end.