Reflection

The things I feel went well:

•  The online forums - I feel I got the best response and I found them very useful and engaging
•  People's willingness to share personal experiences
• Their were some very strong opinions regarding lack of financial education

The things that didn't go so well:

• I needed to use engaging questions
• I found on Yahoo Answer you only really have one chance to ask a particular question
• On the questionnaire some of the answers were slighlty contradictory and I didn't get as many responses as I would have ideally liked

Reflection:

• Given more time I think I would have got more responses and I would have liked to posted on more financial forums

Success

Malcolm Gladwell believes that you have to put in 10,000 hours in order to be successful

(author of the Tipping Point).

I thought that this was an interesting quote from the author of The Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell, as I believe it is very relevant today even though the quote was made in 2000. Basically it is saying you 'can't have it all now' you have to put the time and effort in first and will then reap the rewards.

My Results Summary

Here are the main results that I found after ungoing my research:

• The lack of education around personal finace- I didn't know that so many people actually felt the same way in that they had little or no real knowledge of how to deal with their own finaces, and that everyone agreed that fiance should be taught at school
• That financial companies take advantage of little or no knowledge people have on fiance
• People feel pressured to have the latest gadgets and trends
• People also feel pressured to live beyond their means  

Overall Question Responses

' Do you think teenagers are educated enough on personal finance?' was the most answered question and the least answered question was ' What does the 'Buy it Now' culture mean to you? I personally believe the reason why teen finance was the most answered question was because everyone can relate to it in one way or another with either personal experience or knowing somebody i.e  a friend or family member. I also believe that possibly some people may not have completely understood what I meant by ' Buy It Now' culture or simply never thought about it and therefore hadn't really formed an opinion on it.

 

Questionnaire feedback

Here are my results from my online survey that I posted on the UEL facebook page and on the online forums I joined. From my results I found it interesting that more than half of the people that answered my survey didn't have a store or credit card but they did have an overdraft which in turn is more or less like have a card as your borrowing money that you do not have. Even though store cards obviously come with a high interest rate with them.
The overall responses:

What drives you to have a store/credit card? : Was ease of purchase and to get the discount when first opening an account for a store card

What lengths would you go to keep up with the latest trends? : To be honest the general response was that they wouldn't go to any length to keep up with the latest trends

What does the buy it now culture mean to you?: The main responses I recieve were that people want what they like now regardless of the cost, someone even described it as mindless spending , immediate purchase without considering your budget, another person said that people are very materialistic and not putting any thought into your purchase or considering it you actually need it or even want it

Do you think of the consequences of the debt when you purchase something on your card ?: More than half the respondents said they do think about the consequences of debt when purchasing goods on a card

Do your credit and store cards have an impact on your life? Basically all of the respondents apart from one said that credit and store cards have absolutely no impact on their life

The final question I asked was what is your opinion on societies morals regarding savings?
The general response was that there isn't much disposable income to save in the first place at the moment, another person said that there is always pressures to keep up with the latest trend and one person even replied that you only live once !!!!

'Want It Now' culture among students

I found another online article on the Times Higher Education but this angle was on students in reguards to students wanting the answers there and then. An instead of research properly and in depth relying on the internet for quick answers. The former vice-chancellor of the University of Kent Sir David Melville expressed his concern saying  "The use of these technologies does seem to lead to a tendency for very shallow searching for information and increases the desire for instant information."

Don't get me wrong the internet is a very useful tool that should be embraced ,but it seems to me that we are all so desperate to get what we want as quickly as we can, we have almost forgotten what hard work feels like.

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=406429

'Want it now' culture condemned

I recently found an online article on the York Press website that really stood out to me and helped me define my topic. The article was about a recent attack on Britain's celebrity dominated society by education minister Nick Gibb. In the article Gibb criticised consumerist culture, in which he believes has led children to have unrealistic expectations.

He made some very valued points. For example he says  "Young people are growing up in a materialistic world for which they are often not fully prepared. The 'got to have it now' culture means young people have high aspirations for branded or designer goods, often without the means to pay for them.

"People have unrealistic expectations about the lifestyle they can afford, fuelled by the glittering trappings of celebrities."

Speaking as MPs debate calls for children to be taught personal finace in lesson in school across England. I personally am all for children being taught the basics of personal finance in school because I do not believe the responsibility should solely be on parents. As just because your a parent doesn't always mean your an expert or have any knowledge on finance.

The article also highlights that the 'Want It Now' culture doesn't just stop at the financal aspect. It's a whole other issue with the rise of  reality television shows shooting people to instant fame and fortune. It even has an effect on academic success as people want a degree but are not willing to put in hard work to get it. I believe at the end of the day that you have to work hard in order to see results and nothing comes to you without hard work.

http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/national/news/9423226._Want_it_now__culture_condemned/

My Networks

In networks, we find self-reinforcing virtuous circles. Each individual increases the network’s value, which in turn attracts more members, initiating a spiral of benefits – Kevin Kelly, The Trend Forecaster’s Handbook
I used a collaborative network in order to establish other people’s experiences and opinions. I have posted questions on my personal network e.g Facebook & Twitter. I have joined forums to expand my network. I have used Yahoo Answer to encourage people to answer my questions. I have also created an online questionnaire in which I have posted on UEL facebook page.

The downside to my networks is that they have a shelf life based on an individuals personal experiences about a specific topic, so it doesn't have longevity.

 

 

My Questionnaire

I have created a survey using online software called Survey Monkey. I have posted the survey onto both internet forums I have been using and on UEL Fashion Futures Facebook wall. Hopefully I will get a good responds with lots of different opinions and thought's on my subject matter.


http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JLXH87T

Money Saving Expert Forum

I posted a thread yesterday afternoon and then I left it over night and I have woken up this morning with quite a few responses that I thought were interesting.

One man told me about his personal experience with debt, which was that he wasn't well enough educated with his personal finance and as a result, as a teenager he fell into the trap of opening store cards. An at the age of 21 he found himself declaring bankruptcy due to the amount of debt he got himself into.

He also went on to say that he believed the teaching of finances should not be left up to parents. As in his experience a lot of parents were financially immature themselves. I found this response really interesting as this gentlemen is actual living proof as a result of being aloud credit without very much knowledge and using it inappropriately.

On the other hand another man actually made a fair point that personal finance is something you just learn as you go along, a bit like bringing up children and you just muddle your way through it.

Another person shared their personal experience with me. Which was yet again that they had never really been taught to look after their own finances. An at the age of 18, they decided to opened a current account and were given a £500 overdraft. Five months later they decided to open a credit card aswell and then nine months later they defaulted on the payment on both of them and learnt their lesson the hard way and are now trying to rebuild there credit history.

The final important response was from a women who told me about her own personal experience of how her debt as a student completely spiralled out of her control.

The Old Days

I recently spoke to my great grandmother who told me in the old days people were looked down upon for having debt's and not being able to afford things .You would have been considered to be less well off. If you wanted something you had to save for it. The sensible people saved and only spent the money that they had. Whereas knowerdays people are encouraged to live far beyond their means.

Forums

I have posted a few threads on a money saving forum moneysavingexpert.com and I'm now just waiting for a response.

Financially Vulnerable

I personally believe we are not educated enough in regards to personal finance and when you turn 18 your suddenly expected to be able to understand APR and debt. I think the real issue is the fact that you are bombarded with insentive's to open storecards when your trying to shop and at the time the discount seems good. But when you hand over your details you don't really think about the consequences. Your only told the positives that your saving money and that it's interest free credit and that you can just simple pay it straight off at the end of the month, but sometimes that's not so easy and it can spiral out of control.

We are also not really educated about what it actually means to have a good credit rating and what the actual consequences are in later life if you get black listed for having a poor credit rating.

What I find most bafferling is we are taught the in's and out's of algebra in school but we're not taught such a fundermental life skill as personal finance, and if we're being honest who can really say they use algebra on a day to day basic !?!

Lack Of Financial Awareness

http://uk.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/UK-teens-have-low-financial-awareness-survey-says-1378.php

I found an interesting article online on UKcreditcard.com where a recent survey carried out by the Chartered Insurance Institute suggested that British teenagers have a low financial awareness, and many sign up to store cards with high interest rates. Yet the survey revealed that 7/10 young people between the ages of 16 and 18 didn't know the meaning of APR and had a very relaxed attitude towards debt.

Feedback

After asking a question on Yahoo Answer I recieved a few responses to my 'What would be your main driver for opening a store card ?' question.

One of the responses I couldn't actually read because the response was in French I think, but the general gist from the other responses was that the main insentive for opening a storecard was the discount you receive when you initially open the account.

Both the people that answered the question then went on to say that once they received the discount they paided the bill off immediately in full and then never used the card again.

Asking A Simple Question

I have spent the whole morning trailing through money advise forums in a quest just to post a question. But it appears to me they are more interested in getting information out of me rather than the other way round, so I have given up with them. Instead I decided to ask a question on yahoo answers, so fingers crossed I get a reply....

After re-thinking my idea

After today's session I have re-thought my orignal idea as after our discussions as I don't know what my network could really tell me about fast fashion in the respect of the impact it actually has on society.

I then started to think about the attitude that most people have which is a 'I-want-it-now-culture' where instead of saving up we want it there and then. This  is ridiculous particularly when we are in a resession at the moment. I know from first hand experience, as I work in a popular high street chain, where we are encouraged and even rewarded for getting as many people we can signed up for a store cards, in an exchange for 10-15% off their purchases. This discount doesn't really cover it when most people pay back late and end up paying more than they actually paid in the first place. Plus most people are unaware of what they are actually signing themself up for particularly as our main demographic is students and young adults who are hire earners and will continue to 'want it now' so spiral further into debt.

Since I can remember it has always been instilled in me by my parents that if you can't afford it you can't have it. You only have to flick on the tv during the day and you are bombarded with adverts telling you how you can borrow money quickly and easily with not much consideration to how it will be paid back. One advert that springs to mind tells people the credit will be in their account in 15 minutes. Whilst we are also bombarded with tv show eg Sex in the City where characters glamourise credit by saying things like 'just charge it to my Amex'.

I am no angel myself whilst have I don't have cards I do fall into the 'I want it now' culture. Having said that I think most of us are in this culture. I have fought the temptation at work where the incentive to staff is 25% discount when you have a store card on all your purchases which is attractive but debit is debit.

Have you been offered a store card when you are paying for your purchases?

Do you have storecards?

Do you keep up with the payments on your storecard?

Do you keep increasing your store card limit to keep up with what you want?

What would be your main driver for opening a store card?

Blood, Sweat and T-shirts

I was first enlighten about the cruel back street world behind the British High Street in 2008 when I was just 15 years old when BBC 3 first aired the eye opening documentry 'Blood, Sweat and T-shirts' where they took 6 young fashion lovers and they swappped the high street and shopping for working in clothing factories and back street workshops in India. A million miles away from the glitz and glamour of the high street. You really got to see the brual side of fashion where workers worked 18 hour days, 6 days a week in the soaring heat, producing 10,000 garments a day for popular British high street chains. Many of the workers were forced to survive on a measley £2.00 a day. I found this so shocking that this sort of behaviour still existed when we are so advances in some ways and so backwards in others.

My Idea...

Since the introduction to the module I have been thinking about different diretion's I could take my blog.

My concept is the impact Fast Fashion has on society, this topic is something I feel quite strongly about because there is no sincerety behind it. I believe clothes reflect your personality and define who you are which is impossible to be reflected through throw away fashion which is made quickly and cheaply made. It has detrimental effect's on many levels. For example the enviroment, the human cost and the future of fashion.

Household waste sent to landfills