Don't Buy Stuff - Saturday Night Live

While I agree with you about the level of financial illiteracy in the general population, I don't really see what AI has to add for the vast majority of the population is simple. Basic financial advice is not hard (save regularly, invest in low cost index funds, don't take on CC debt, etc.), but a lot of it goes against most human nature, especially around delayed gratification. People have known for decades that "diet and exercise" are very important for good health, yet we still have an obesity epidemic. It reminds me of that Saturday Night Live skit from decades ago, "Don't Buy Stuff You Cannot Afford": ▶ this video

> It reminded me of that “Eat Less, Move More” SNL skit Or another skit "Don't buy stuff you cannot afford." ▶ this video

Ahh, more "innovation" from the tech industry. So much BS that is easily a net negative to society. Saturday Night Live had it spot on years ago: ▶ this video

> “I feel like the older generation is constantly pushing you to do stuff like they did when they were in their 20s, but it’s not even comparable to when they were in their 20s,” To be clear, much of the older generation didn't do this in their early 20. It's been a building concern for many decades. And they've been lectured about it forever, same as 20-somethings are today. It's not clear what "older generation" here here, but Millennials and Gen-X got stuff like SNL's 2006: "Don’t Buy Stuff You Cannot Afford" ▶ this video This isn't "Gen Z is poor; Boomers/Gen X/Millennials were rich". This is "I'm poor, and know some older people who aren't". There's no shortage of people in their twenties making well into six figures. > Ms. German-Tanner said 20-somethings were often encouraged to take financial steps like build emergency funds, save for retirement and pay off debt. Well...yeah. It's good advice. It might be hard, but it's been hard for a sizeable chunk of the population for many, many decades. That's why there's constant push for it—without this emphasis, people just borrow and spend. True in the 70s, true in the 90s, and true today.

See the SNL skit: Don't Buy Stuff ▶ this video which advertises a self help financial book whose contents are "If you don't have the money, don't buy it"

I understand what you're saying. However, I pretty much learned all there was to learn about them in 15 minutes when I got my first one. I read about them. I'm not the smartest person in the world, by far. If I can easily learn now, then anyone can learn this stuff on their own, in 15 minutes. It is NOT complicated. Getting information is exceptionally easy, and a LOT easier than when I got my first one. I knew from when I got my first credit card that I had to pay off the balance in full, every month. That using a credit card should be the exact same as using cash. You never buy anything unless you actually have the cash first. Then you can use the credit card and pay it off at the end of the month. It's so easy to understand. It doesn't matter about credit cards companies and their obfuscation. I didn't learn it from credit card companies. I just learned it because it was easy to learn. How difficult is it? Don't use a credit care unless you have the cash first . You pay it off in full and you don't pay interest, whatever level it is - .01% or 40% - it does not matter what the interest rates are, unless you don't pay on time. And the problem is that people don't care. They think emotionally, and don't give a crap about future ramifications. This is my favorite video that explains it all: ▶ this video

SNL made a wonderful infomercial in 2006 about point 3: avoid debt. Depending on your location you should be able to watch it in [1] or [2]. During my years in the US it always puzzled me that, upon reaching my credit limit, it would not just increase without any interaction, but sometimes double! American "plastic", as hailed in "The Graduate", was a significant lesson for me. [1] link [2] ▶ this video