The theme for this month’s group writing project is Rich People Gone Broke.  We’re supposed to write about a rich person going broke.  So check out other bloggers by pressing on the link above.  Also if you wish to participate in this group writing project, please feel free to submit your post. 

I struggled with this because there are so many to choose from, but settled on the Jackson Family.  Why? 

Well I find it interesting that multiple Jackson family members have gone broke.  It started with the parents Joe and Katherine Jackson going bankrupt first.  I wonder if this isn’t somewhat at the root of the problem?  Joe and Katherine set a poor financial example for their children.  They excessively spent what they earned, and never bothered to set aside money for a rainy day.  They always assumed they could outearn their spending.

Then their children Tito, Jermaine, Randy, and Rebbie all followed suit and also declared bankruptcies.  Of course the most famous Micheal Jackson is in serious financial trouble, though he hasn’t declared bankruptcy yet.  However, it should occur sometime soon in the future.

This leads to the question, does your parents spending habits affect your own?  I’d say yes.  But is it necessarily always negative or can it be positive?  I think that it can go either way.  Either you learn to be a spender and follow in their footsteps.  Or perhaps you become stingier than normal because you fear going broke. So I guess the Jacksons fall into the category of becoming overspenders.

Has your parents spending habits affected your own?