Here is a great quote from The Economist about the financial crisis that my buddy passed along:

The financial crisis in America is really a moral crisis, caused by the series of proofs which the American public has received that the leading financiers who control banks, trust companies and industrial corporations are often imprudent, and not seldom dishonest. They have mismanaged trust funds and used them freely for speculative purposes. Hence the alarm of depositors, and a general collapse of credit.

With the greed of government and our society thinking that owning a home is a right, the influx of hedge funds catering to excess, the ponzi scheme of Madoff and who knows who else, and businesses concentrating more on short term profitability and stock price, this quote really lays out the problem we are facing. There is only one discrepancy here – the quote is from November 1907.

Of course, the financial industry isn’t the only source of frustration. Consumers have been overspending for years, families living beyond their means, and failing to live by the principles of past that have made so many before us succeed. Now is the time to restructure your life, your money, and your goals in life to find out what is truly important.