The Go Fund Me Generation

If you've ever heard of Kickstarter or Go Fund Me, you know that these are sites where people can donate money for mainly small projects.  It could be some local fundraising for a Girl Scout Troop, to start-up capital for a new business venture.

Some of these on Go Fund Me are more serious - donations for funeral expenses, particularly when an unexpected death occurs in the family.

I was notified by a friend not too long ago about one, though, that had me wondering if people are forsaking personal responsibility for the bills and are expecting everyone else to pay?

This one is for a friend who is in debt, the boyfriend is in debt.  They started a Go Fund Me account for people to contribute to help them pay their bills.  The boyfriend is wanting to go to college for a business degree.

Nowhere on this posting is any indication of what this couple have already done to reduce their household expenses to do their fair share of the work.  After all, this is their debt.

There is no mention of taking any classes on financial and debt management to find ways of improving their situation.

They have obviously never read The Millionaire Next Door, particularly the chapter on EOC (economic outpatient care) to understand how flawed the logic is if people just expect others to pay their bills.

I do feel bad and would want to help them, if I thought that they were willing to do whatever it took to change their financial situation.  At my Church is a class on Family Finances that also meets on Thursday evenings and is taught by a well trained and qualified CPA.

The point of my post, though, is the crowd funding mentality that, at least with this example, seems to me to be heading in the wrong direction.