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Interestingly, in German the word for debt - “schuld” - is the same as the word for guilt. Having lived in Germany for 7+ years, I noticed there’s a strong sen
by amzans 6y ago
Interestingly, in German the word for debt - “schuld” - is the same as the word for guilt.
Having lived in Germany for 7+ years, I noticed there’s a strong sentiment against owing money in general. Odd, considering the crazy high real-state prices these days.
People also seem to save a lot, and consume much less than in other western nations I’ve lived at, or visited.
This may be causing broad economic issues as the money is there, it’s just not moving around as much [1].
[1] https://www.bbc.com/news/business-50213411 https://www.bbc.com/news/business-50213411
- Krasnol 6y agoTrue but there is a difference between "jemandem etwas schulden" and a actual credit for a house or something: Owing someone you know money is probably the worst. You want to get rid of that "Schuld" asap. Even if it's an Euro you borrowed for an Einkaufswagen. Than there is the "credit" for things you should actually pay from money you have or otherwise not buy at all. Like a fridge or a TV or something like that. You usually don't go around and tell other people that you did that. You pretend that you actually paid for it and that it's yours. This is also where US debt-culture comes into Europe though. You can see for years now that shops encourage going into debt for those kind of products. They try to normalize it because it's easy to hide and pretend. Third are really big investments like a house or a business. Taking a credit there and discussing those with your friends and relatives is nothing that is frowned upon. Nobody expects you to have that kind of money (and if you had, you'd probably not admit to it).