Posted by Kevan Lee :: June 10, 2008 @ 1:46 pm
Barack Obama and John McCain have a long road in front of them. All the better for opportunistic money-conscious citizens.
Presidential candidates, in addition to having the responsibility of leading a powerful nation and influencing society for generations to come, provide a unique example of fiscal management.
Their methods of fund-raising and spending may not be reasonable blueprints for every man’s money situation, but their campaign duties and their day-to-day experiences represent apt metaphors for provincial financial peace.
Presidential Ideals
Responsibility, unity, and integrity are just a few of the foundational principles of American presidential candidates (in theory, of course). Each carries credence in the world of personal finance, too. McCain and Obama will be must-see TV on every major news channel, but in some regards, they could be just as intriguing as leading men on CNBC, Bloomberg, and other financial networks. Despite appearances, their campaigns do have carryover into both arenas, starting with the current hot topic of choosing a running mate.
And the Vice President is...
A Presidential candidate would be nothing without his vice president, which is why the decision to pick a right-hand man or woman carries so much weight. Picking the right one might mean a windfall of support and votes come November, but choosing poorly might cost a candidate their shot at the presidency.
Such costly decisions also weigh on the minds of typical consumers. In particular, one of the most important, and therefore most VP-like, is the choice of credit cards.
In a sense, the credit card is a running mate to one’s standard savings and checking accounts. The credit card, should anything happen to the savings or checking, gains full authority on spending until the greater accounts can return. Credit cards supplement one’s money situation by offering flexibility and convenience with nary a hunting trip snafu.
Chose Wisely
However, choosing the wrong card can have serious ramifications. If consumers choose a card that does not have the right payment terms or has too many fees, then their decision could be costly. Interest builds up faster than many expect, so picking poorly in this area has a chance to shoulder Lieberman-like ramifications.
Fortunately, there are people to help with the decision-making. Presidential candidates, not unlike consumers, do not go the road alone. When they make decisions, such as picking a vice president or even picking a matching shirt and tie, there is a cacophony of aides, advisors, and staff to assist them. Successful candidates are able to lean on these resources to help the process go by much smoother, but at the same time, they are able to sift through the good ideas and the bad ones to maintain a focused, strategic goal.
Get The Facts. Not Propaganda
Consumers are no different. We do not make our credit card decisions alone. We rarely make our grocery decisions alone. There are always an infinite number of resources to help us find the perfect this and the perfect that for whatever it is we need.
We owe it to ourselves to know where these resources are. Magazines, Internet sites, newspapers, friends, and family all have an opinion on what might be the best alternative for any given choice. A decision made with copious amounts of input will have a much better chance of success than one made in with our partisan perspective alone.
Whether or not we choose to listen to the advice is up to us. Like a good presidential candidate, consumers need to be able to find out which words are sage advice and which are hot air. Finding the difference between the two is easier said than done, but it also gets easier the more practice one has at it. Listening to advice from others might seem like information overload at first, but before long, tuning out the white noise and soaking in the wisdom may become second nature.
For sure, presidential candidates do not always make the right decisions. For that matter, neither do presidential Presidents. However, when they do err, the best candidates are able to take responsibility for their actions and move on to the next challenge having learned from their mistakes and being determined not to commit them again.
We Don't Always Choose Wisely
Likewise, consumers do not always make the right decisions, either (Segways come to mind). Buying a money-pit of a home or investing in a failed dot-com company can be serious setbacks to a personal portfolio. However, they are not the end of the world.
Responding to adversity, as the corny motivational saying goes, is key to success. Just because the market on pork bellies tanked is no reason to pack it in completely. There are still a number of great opportunities to grab hold of and seek out. Consumers need to take note from their future commanders-in-chief: soldier on and be better off for it.
A campaign without mistakes is a pipe dream, and a campaign run without confidence is doomed to fail. Candidates exude several emotions during their barnstorming tours across the country: glibness, courtesy, tolerability, sympathy. The list could go on and on. But the list would be pointless were it not for a campaign run with confidence.
With Great Power, Comes Great Responsibility
Candidates need to believe in their goals and ideals, and they need to have faith in the people who vote for them. Similarly, consumers need to have faith in their own ability to create financial victory. (Warning: here is where it gets all-American cheesy.) We, the people, have potential and opportunity unlike virtually anywhere else in the world. We have banks that reward prudent savings. We have free markets that pay for wise evaluation. We live in a country that desires to see its people have successful, meaningful lives, and we need to show the confidence in our own ability to do so.
Speech writing, politicking, and kissing babies are other hallmarks of a presidential race. In the same way, check writing, penny pinching, and kissing frivolous spending goodbye are tenets of solid financial planning. Much motivation can be found in the campaigns of McCain and Obama, and for the next few months, we will have an opportunity to be reminded of them plenty.
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