[TigerLikesRooster]

Ping!

[Ghost of Philip Marlowe]

Sounds like the young man in the article was making a pretty good salary, either that or he over-extended himself to look like he was.

It's a shame he wasn't raised (or didn't learn) to put something aside for a rainy day. The escalade and movado could have carried his mortgage note for several months if he'd put that money aside and decided on a Timex and Corolla.

[ETL]

Been that way for as long as I can remember. You also see them at the supermarket checkout handing the cashier their Food Stamps benefit cards.

[Carley]

Did any of these young winners ever think of saving for a rainy day.

Lesson learned, hopefully.

[ETL]

"The visitor was a 29-year-old engineer who was laid off earlier this year from one of the local chemical companies."

Oops! Replied too quickly. I read only the part about pulling up to the pawnshop in a Caddy or BMW.

[OCCASparky]

And the watch in question retails for nearly $5K...



IOW, he's wearing FOUR of my house payments on his wrist. Not smart dude, and frankly, I find it a bit difficult to feel sorry for someone who didn't set their priorities straight and just **HAD** to have the "bling-bling" before satisfying basic necessities.

[Larry Lucido]

“Save for a rainy day.” It was wise then, and it’s wise now.

[Roccus]

Time to dip into my MM acct. and stand outside a pawn shop. It worked very well for me at auto dealerships in NYC in the 60s and 70s. Out bidding the dealership on trade-ins and subsequently re-selling them was quite profitable.

[wolfcreek]

Go to *welfare* neighborhoods and see the same. Caddies and Beamers in front of deteriorating shacks.

[Pablo64]

Here's a thought for him: ditch the $60K vehicle, get something nice and reliable but paid for (or at least a much lower monthly payment and insurance) and maybe have a little more cash to throw at the mortgage.

Sadly, he probably didn't own the watch outright either (maybe still paying it off on his credit card). So many are leveraged to the hilt and leave themselves absolutely no room to absorb one of life's "bumps in the road".

[metmom]

Sell the car and buy something cheaper.

[prophetic]

a relatve of mine shared a bit of wisdom with me a while back:

Its not how much you earn, but how much you can save!!

I remember I was running a business back then and I had stopped by her office to have lunch in their lunchroom. I stopped by her office and asked her to make this deposit at the bank in the building since she would be passing it on her way to lunch. She took one look at the bunch of checks totalling over $250k and asked how much she can take for her salary as a co-director, to which I said no more than 1/4 of the amount.

I muse at that incident every now and again since for all the big buck$$ I had earned I had saved only a small percentage whereas for her job and the peanuts she was being paid she ammased a tidy sum in savings.

Its a real dumb deal you're in if you are earning a MILLION per year but you are spending 110% of it.

[SouthDixie]

A jewelry store will pay a far higher premium that which is at par with the market at the date of selling.

[Taichi]

There were stories like this the last time we had a downturn, They’re those evergreen stories that just keep coming up.

[bmwcyle]

Too much Bling, and who calls it that?

[dennisw]

This economy has a few bright spots such as pawn shops and bankruptcy lawyers

[WOBBLY BOB]

Princess on the steeple and all the pretty people
They’re drinkin’, thinkin’ that they got it made
Exchanging all kinds of precious gifts and things
But you’d better lift your diamond ring, you’d better pawn it babe
You used to be so amused
At Napoleon in rags and the language that he used
Go to him now, he calls you, you can’t refuse
When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose
You’re invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal.

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

[blam]

Most engineers I know don’t like fancy watches, they like basics...maybe a ‘fancy watch attitude’ is why he’s laid off.

[Vaduz]

People Pulling Up to 99 cent stores Today Are Driving Cadillacs and BMWs