Posted on 06/01/2011 6:57:16 PM PDT by Libloather
I can’t imagine 40k in credit card debt, but there was a time when I was 40k underwater with my home and had insane law school tuition bills for my wife all while I was unemployed when the oil field had crashed.
To get out of that, I worked 18 hours a day drivIng a cab and then worked as a bartender.
Eat a whole lot of Ramen and peanutbutter. I was spending more money on food for my dog than food for me.
Rented out rooms in my house.
Oh, he knows and I know. I had to work 80-100 hour weeks for 3 years and survive on red beans and rice to get from under that credit beast.
I was lucky to have the opportunity to work it off. I would have been screwed if I didn't have the opportunity to work.
I haven't carried a balance in 15 years, and never will again.
I, also am scared spitless that I could lose all I skimped for.
Paid off the house right after the election, just before Hussein hit. (When I say I saw it comin’, I wasn’t kidding.) One lump sum. Done.
wish i could have.
Yeah, me too.
Not rocket science and it works, if you have the guts to stick it out.
The government is a criminal enterprise, so have no compunction about playing outside their rules. Their rules weren't written for you any way, so do what you have to do.
“Anyone that uses a credit card and doesn’t pay it off in full every month deserves to lose big.”
Credit cards should only be used as a form of cash. If you don’t have the cash, you should not use your card.
From a strictly financial viewpoint if the interest rate on your credit cards are higher than the interest on your savings account then you should pay down that debt. And since interest on savings is bascially zero and credit card companies are now pretty much worse than loan sharks I'd pay down the debt and start saving again.
As I have argued with one of my friends,
it’s like two guys sitting in a row boat, and one of them saying, “ha ha, your end is going to sink.” When a row boat starts sinking, EVERYBODY is going to get wet.
Yes, depending on the situation, some may get wetter than others - but nobody will escape cleanly. I grew up listening to my Dad and his brother talk about the great depression. The people from the slums and the people from the big house on the hill were all standing around the street corner wondering what would happen next.
I really hope to never see those stores played out in real life.
>>I’ve had at least 6 months expenses, most of my life at lest a year or more in the bank, starting when I opened my first bank account at 8.<<
How much living expense can you have at 8?
Seriously, people get their back to a wall and look for the easiest lifeline. It is a bad idea, but they do deserve some sympathy.
There, but for the gifts from God, go I (us).
The emphasis here should be to USE CREDIT properly, as a support, not a crutch.
And I have been paying my credit cards down to zero for 20 years.
Get out of debt. Buy a really cheap place in the middle of nowhere in a county with low taxes and without building regulation offices. Situate yourself to avoid driving, and hypermile, when you must (tuneup, driving technique, air pressure in tires,...). Build the lowest cost heating systems possible. Garden. Raise livestock. Preserve food. Avoid buying anything that you don’t need for survival.
Terms on cards are insane now that Zippy has passed the credit protection act LoL
Worse than ever.
Pulled my money out of the stock market at the end of 2006 when it was about 15,000 and converted it to CDS at miserable long term 5 - 6% interest. Recently redeemed some CDs to pay off the house. Note, I did keep some AT&T, Verizon, & communication stocks. Why, because people will die of starvation, live in the streets, etc. before they give up their cell phones. Good old communications companies are paying dividends even in the worst of the depression (yes, depression). Don’t owe anything ... no chance that they will own me!
My savings is gone. House paid for. Nothing coming in (been self employed in.....real estate!). Hanging by a hair. Family helping out enormously. No gov assistance (I’ll kill small animals before I beg the Feds for food.)
ridiculous....
Great planning! I’m not quite there yet, but close.
Instead of paying off these 4 and 5 percent debts, I'm investing my money in options on gold and silver and stock indexes and make more every month doing that than the combined card payments are worth.
Until you know an individual's unique circumstances, it would behoove you not to shoot off your mouth so freely.
I’m with you ,, party like it’s 1999 ,,, use up every ounce of credit you have but use it to buy essentials... whether we have deflation of hyperinflation the result is the same , financial devastation ,, and you’ll want that pallet of quaker oats , the cast net and the .22 rifle with scads of ammunition... having a bad credit score just won’t matter. I posted a similar Zimbabwe photo a few hours ago with a man carrying an armful of notes to the market...
Same deal with credit cards on top of it?
Student debt just surpassed the country’s credit-card debt for the first time
I can't even begin to imagine...
Well. you had better be prepared to save what you have, if the **** hits the fan.
And it would be wise to have tools, so you can eak out a living.
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