How many golfers are financing their dream with credit cards?

Today I read an article in the Boulder Daily Camera newspaper's Business section which talked about the huge amount of debt Americans are racking up while saving very little. Basically many of us in America are living above (and actually way above in some cases) our current means.

The article, "Heavy debt a threat", was written by Associated Press report Robert Tanner. It warned that growing debt in the United States has more and more people concerned that the country is on track towards a major economic crash.

I have long thought that this country's financial fundamentals in this decade (2000 to the present), along with our mental strategies as it relates to our means of living, are in dire straights.

Yes, several years ago the economy was supposedly on the rise, which was true. However, what I saw during that slight improvement in the economy was people going back to their old ways of living above their means. They never became frugal with their money. They continued to spend on their luxuries, while still complaining about not having any cash in their bank account. These were the same people that were without a job for a year or more. It was like they did not learn their lesson when things got rough in 2000 and 2001. It is the "NOW" mentality, and Americans want most everything now. We do not want to save the money so we can purchase the items in the future when we know the credit card companies and banks will lend us money. The United States is great in terms of having accessible financing for the most part. However, maybe at this time and age financing is too easy to obtain for the individual and not expensive enough.

The "NOW" mentality is going to hurt this country if it continues to be the majority of us thinking that way. Saving rates are down below 1% (as a percentage of our income), and we use on average close to 20% of our discretionary income to paying off debt each month.

We expect everything now or we scream out heads off. Many times we forget that we have to pay our dues to correct the problem. The fix is not a "NOW" fix. It is a lengthy fix as economies move slowly.

From the article the author mentions that one of President Bush's economic advisors has the gall to say the American people are not at fault for the spending too much and going into debt over our heads. Rather Bush's advisor blames it on the people of other countries, as he believes they save too much.

We need to take responsibility for our actions and pay the consequences for those actions. We should not blame others for our own doings.

Now, you might ask how does this relate to GolfInvestors. It relates to GolfInvestors in that I would be curious to know how many inspiring golfers are financing their endeavors via credit cards. How many golfers are racking up debt on high interest credit cards to pay for their dreams tomorrow?

Yes, GolfInvestors' vision is to help golfers finance their professional tournament careers with an ultimate vision of becoming a full fledged stock market for this small segment of the golf industry. And with more and more golfers voicing a need for financing from outside sources our business concept will grow.

However, there are smart ways to finance one's dreams, and there are irrational and expensive ways of doing so. Using credit cards for a large amount of your golf related expenses is not a smart option to pursue. I used credit cards at one time to help finance some of my business operations early on when I was in difficult times. Now I am paying the price. I do not want others to have to go through the same dark tunnel if possible.