A person's first priority in life should be financial security.

A person's first priority in life should be financial security.

9:30- 10:05

Human beings have developed an innate system of needs and wants. Needs can be categorized as biological needs such as food, water and shelter. Whereas wants are items that people desire to have but can survive without. Since the start of human civilizations, there has been a concept of wealth and the more wealth one had was indicative of their social status. Nowadays, financial security and wealth has been measured as having good credit, a decent salary, and paying bills on time. Despite the pinnacle importance of financial security there are times which it may or may not matter.

Firstly, consider when financial security should be first priority. In the aftermath of the 2008 recession in the United States, consumers still believe that they are still stuck in a recession. The main cause of the recession according to experts was the frivolous spending by consumers and relying excessively on their credit. This resulted in accomplishing daily tasks on money that consumers did not have and as a result, many banks and other financial lending institutions slammed the doors on consumers by severely limiting their lending services. This created widespread panic throughout the US and soon the majority of people were panicking to keep their financial security as a top priority. The Obama administration responded to the crisis by issuing bailout plans to help relieve stress on major financial institutions and banks in hopes to improve national financial security. As a result, in the years following the recession up to the present consumers are struggling to satisfy their basic needs first rather than going on flashy family vacations or eating out often. Many homeowners are struggling to hold onto their homes without ending up in foreclosure by the IRS. Although, the government has been encouraging more adults to go back to college in hopes to get better jobs the trend is slowly diminishing because to attend many undergraduate institutions results in debt from school tuition. As a result, it is evident that the 2008 recession was truly an eye opener for many consumers in the US to be more financial vigilant thus resulting in awareness of the importance of having financial security.

On the other hand, there are situations when financial security should not be of first priority. Everyday, throughout the world people suffer with many health problems such as obesity and various forms of cancer. With booming economies over seas such as in China and India, financial security is not an issue rather health issues are becoming the problem. With the major influx of new jobs in the IT sector from outsourcing in the US, the income bracket for many families has gone through the roof. As a result, many families consider eating out as a family prestige and tend to do it frequently. However, many don’t realize the health affects of eating out frequently. With the expansion of multi-national franchises such as McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, KFC and Burger King, to name a few, the pounds and inches are piling in people’s waistlines. It is estimated now that children in the  infants to 10 year old category, have developing chances of diabetes, heart attack, high blood pressure and a multitude of health complications as a result. Likewise, adults face the same predicament where the average life expectancy of an adult in Asia has declined from 100+ to 70 due to these affects of financial security and growing health problems. Another situation, is where patients are struggling to survive from cancer. Many cities worldwide hold fundraisers to help alleviate their pain and fund for a potential treatment or cure to their ailment. Health is wealth, is a slogan that man people know of. Suppose a wealthy person developed a case of cancer, then having the wealth is useless unless they use it to enhance their health. After gaining health can one experience financial security and wealth. As a result, these examples show that financial security should not be the first priority.

All in all, financial security should be given top priority only in specific circumstances. When the economy is suffering, people will automatically put financial security on top of everything else because without nothing can be accomplished. On the other hand, when someone is suffering from a health problem then it is no use to be financially secure when you can’t enjoy the wealth.