Posted on 06/01/2011 6:57:16 PM PDT by Libloather
“If you don’t have the cash, you should not use your card.”
That’s the rule i’ve always lived by.
Lost my job in April 2010 (a little over a year) but thankfully I have a husband with a good job. Dentists rock. lol However, I don’t shop like I did before (hardly at all now) and we eat at home every night. We have no kids so no school supplies or student loans. We have 1 credit card that gets paid in full every month. We buy only necessities, no “goodies”. I use coupons when I can. We have 1 car payment & 2 mortgage payments (1 equity line). Definately no concerts, newspaper, music, eating out. A/C is a must-have in the South but we’re on Budget Billing w/power company so it’s the same every month.
It’s tough on everyone, except people like Trump, Gates, etc. Hang in there! Hopefully the next Pres. will have a clue and NOT be a socialist/communist.
Hang in there! I’m the opposite, I wouldn’t ask family for help.
its scary....I worry more for our kids though....
“How much living expense can you have at 8?”
Since I had a 200 paper route, I had to maintain the bicycle that I bought myself and gas and oil for it since i bought a Whizzer motor and put on the bike that made it easier to do the route plus I was the only kid in grammer school with a motorbike!
I didn’t ask. It was offered. I would have eaten dirt before ‘asking’
I understand.
That seems to be the biggie.
After many months, I took ANY job offer which popped up. Little did I know that I would be fingerprinted so the FBI could process my global criminal check. Many folks didn't make the cut.
It pays to live somewhat clean.
Don’t judge if you haven’t been there. Utilities & groceries are necessities. How else could someone out of work pay those bills?
You know whats scary?
We are seeing boarding houses pop up in affluent neighborhoods.
Its getting rough out there.
So you were like that little girl who borrows her dad’s PDA and creates a massive corporation from her lemonade stand?
And, at least when I was young, you had to be 12 to even have a paper route (I think it is 14 now). Maybe you predate those laws...?
Yes it is. I’ve been watching this for the past 18 months (I’m a realtor) and upper middle class homes are folding like a house of cards. Very disturbing.
>>Only if you have a good emergency fund left (3-6 months) after paying off the card. My 2 cents<<
PAY OFF THE CARD FIRST! It is the most expensive debt you have — having cash that gains no interest while you toss tons of money into what is, for you, useless interest makes no sense.
You can build up later — you are starting a hole and need to get out of that hole before you can build a hill.
ZERO might be in the White House but that was/is my credit card balance—including store cards—before the great imposter’s arrival and after.
Mortgage and one vehicle loan, that’s it. What I used to pay on the other vehicle loan goes into savings every month on the old due date.
I was raised that you “saved up” for big purchases.
Thanks, Mom & Dad. RIP.
is the monthly credit payment a significant amount? If you paid the card off, could you replenish savings quickly with monthly deposits equal to the old credit card payment? do you have the discipline to make those payments to yourself (your savings account)? is everyone employed securely? is your food storage program well underway?
A compromise would be to pay half the card off, then still pay at the higher old payment rate instead of the newer lower payment rate until it's paid completely. This frees up a good portion of your credit line in case of a real emergency. Once the credit card is paid off completely continue to make the same dollar amount payments to your savings account until it is replenished. 50% of any windfalls (cash birthday gifts, store cashback rebate checks, refund checks) also should go into the savings account. Good luck!
Folks that walk on their mortgages and bills wont get the same consideration on job offers.
The Gov love mules like us.
I hate the damn rat race, but it’s the best system we have.
Everyone that defaults just adds to the national debt and burdens the working schlub with more public debt via taxes
My suggestion is to draw down your savings to pay off a credit card, but only if you have at least 4-6 months worth of expenses saved set aside already. That money should not be touched. If the stuff hits the fan and you have to decide between eating and paying off the credit card, you may have no choice but to default on the credit card loan and use every penny to pay your living expenses.
Bookmark for later
What we are seeing is a social tend caused by market pressures.
People WILL survive, and they will try to live as best they can while doing it.
No debt, no credit cards, sold the condo, moved to a tiny rental, converted most savings and cash to gold, silver, ammo, and food. Have 6 months food on hand. Don’t spend a dime on Hollywood. Don’t spend a dime anywhere I don’t absolutely have to. Cook all my own meals. Cut my own hair.
For 25 years I made up to and over 6 figures and paid all the taxes that came with it. Now, I make absolutely as little as I have to to not eat into what I have saved and invested. This government, and this gimme gimme society it has created can kiss my ass forever.
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