Professor Norman I. Silber was a featured expert in a recent study that examined the “Metro Areas with the Best and Worst Budgeters.” The study was conducted by WalletHub, a consumer finance information and social networking site.
The purpose of the study was to give “the most responsible consumers their just due while putting everyone else on notice.” WalletHub searched for the best and worst budgeters in the United States “by examining 16 key metrics, ranging from the average credit score to the percentage of unbanked households.”
To expand the discussion, WalletHub asked a panel of experts to share their wisdom and insight on budgeting-related matters.
Professor Silber was asked “What is the most important thing consumers should know about making a budget and sticking to it?”
He replied, “The biggest obstacle to staying on a budget, in the big picture, is the enormous cultural temptation and commercial pressure to use credit and in particular credit cards, whose terms make understanding the budgetary implications of using them so hard. As a nation we should be teaching consumer financial literacy from elementary school onward with a carefully designed curriculum that is oriented toward resisting commercial appeals to spend and borrow.”