June 2022 marks the 250th anniversary of the outbreak of the 1772-3 credit crisis. Although not widely known today, this was arguably the first “modern” global financial crisis in terms of the role that private-sector credit and financial products played in it, in the paths of financial contagion that propagated the initial shock, and in …
Money troubles are not a modern problem. Many decades ago in Bluffton, Indiana, Betty and Dave Jacobs allowed their money struggles to become the focus of an article in a national magazine. Today millions of families still suffer from the exact same money issues and troubles. They suffer needlessly. It is obvious from reading this …
The following piece by Bryan Taylor from Global Financial Data is brilliant. It demonstrates that money troubles and problem debt are nothing new. The turmoil you and others might be feeling today is the same internal shame, fear, and struggles people have been dealing with since the beginning of time. Tiberius ruled the Roman Empire …
While many view credit as a negative force in American culture, sufficient arguments can be made which uncover the hidden value that credit plays. Opponents to credit will tell you that debt, the antithesis of credit, has ruined many a life. While that is commonly stated, objective study of the facts tells a different story. …
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While sailing to England in 1757, Benjamin Franklin the famous America statesman and author wrote “The Way to Wealth” which provided advice on a variety of subjects. The text was only sixteen pages but the advice contained therein was invaluable. Franklin has very strong opinions about debt and he was not shy about expressing them. …
How to Budget, How to Buy, How to Pay – Circa 1926. This text was produced by a leading retailer. Several retailers maintained “budget” departments to help show consumers how to manage their money so they could afford to make purchases. Back to Table of Contents
Bankruptcy has been around for over four hundred years. However, what we assume to be bankruptcy, the elimination of debts, is not what bankruptcy started as intended to become. The word bankruptcy comes from bancus, the tradesman’s counter, and ruptus, broken, denoting one whose place of business was broken or gone. Under pre-English bankruptcy laws, …
Today, when we think about the neighborhood finance company, it usually carries a negative connotation. Storefront lending is now the place you go when the bank won’t touch you, or so many believe. Personal finance companies played an important part in accelerating the consumption of credit in America. Ironically, that was not their intention. In …