Posted on 02/27/2012 6:49:58 AM PST by upchuck
Edited on 02/27/2012 6:51:05 AM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]
More American households are falling back into the debt hole, this time without the safety net of home values to help bail them out, the New York Post reported Sunday.
Last year, total US consumer debt reached its highest point in a decade, according to a credit card industry observer.
(Excerpt) Read more at myfoxdc.com ...
Don’t tell that to CNBC. They are reporting that the economy is taking off and that Wall St. is doing great. If the Republicans should happen to win the election, then they’ll be singing the blues and everything will be rotten again.
Loading up the cards before they file bankruptcy.
>>Live a debt-free life. Nothing finer. Learn patience and restraint.
Then this article isn’t about you. Its about the people who believe the leftist media hype about the “recovery” and start thinking that they should start spending again, even though they only make a fraction of what they used to make. It was just depressing to hear people who have taken lesser jobs talking about “giving the kids a great Christmas” when you know its all going on the plastic and there’s probably a bankruptcy in their future this year.
We live in a sick, depraved nation where fuel and food don’t count towards inflation, people who give up looking for jobs aren’t unemployed, and it’s a “recovery Christmas” when its all bought on credit. Is anything about our country honest anymore? Anything?
ping
You're right. And I thank the Good Lord on a daily basis for my blessings, financial and otherwise.
People just following the government’s example.
Ain't that the truth.
The MSM buttboys are also the butboys.
I remember as far back as Reagan the good NEWS would be reported as..
'The US exports rose to its highest levels last month, BUT..(add bad news here).
Only happens during repub administrations.
Excellent point. Thanks. Of course the gvt has a big head start: they can print money at will.
About 5 yrs. ago I finally got in the position of having paid off the few credit cards I have. Nice.
I still use them. There are certain advantages to using them, ie. warranties, disputes.
But I pay them off at the end of the month.
After awhile you get into the mindset of whether you have the money to buy something or not. You forget about installments.
Good for you! Feels great, doesn't it?
+1
30 years of hard work and happy (if not fancy) living means that the wife and I now have two houses fully paid off and enough invested in a very diverse portfolio to be stress free. A lot of people think that F.U. money involves millions of dollars. It doesn’t. Happiness is a choice that many people seem unwilling to make.
I'm enjoying following that advice. We have no mortgage, no credit card debt, no car payments, no debt at all. If I want it, I can buy it, but that means there is no thrill in buying the trash that commercials are trying to sell us. "Man does not live by bread alone". We are not denying ourselves anything we desperately need or want, but neither are we defining our lives by the stuff and toys we accumulate. My life is centered on my wife, my kids, and my friends - and, as you say, that is as it should be.
>>Live a debt-free life. Nothing finer. Learn patience and restraint.
It’s a shame we can’t get most of the country to live by that simple rule. But they believe in the media’s version of “the American Dream” which is to “own all the stuff”.
You just can’t explain to them that sitting in an empty house but being free of government, banks, and most of all debt, is the real dream.
You even see it in church when some guy is saying that he can’t afford to tithe because there just isn’t enough money and his 8 year old has a $100/month iPhone 4S (because the 4 just didn’t have enough features, of course!).
I’ve got my basic supplies stored up, so this year I am focusing on my debt. I’m not putting any more in my retirement account until I get the credit card (which I haven’t used in forever, but which still carries a balance too large for comfort) paid off. I’d rather pay it now and not save for retirement than have to pay it in retirement with what little I’ve saved. (That is... assuming I’ll ever get to retire.) Besides, who wants to add more money into a rigged market and 401K system that they’ll end up stealing anyway?
Damn right. Desperate.
Yep! Zero debt other than a mortgage that is well above water. More than anything it gives a good peace of mind.
MAKE MONEY FROM YOUR CREDIT CARDS
A few generations ago many businesses, even gas stations, offered discounts for making purchases with cash. But the credit card companies put a stop to that by not authorizing use of their cards by businesses that offered cash discounts.
Now it has come full circle and many credit card companies themselves have some kind of rebate or cash back program for using their cards.
Since we cannot commonly get discounts for buying with cash we use credit cards that give us a rebate or cash back. We charge everything possible unless there is a fee attached - like local taxes, etc. And we pay the full balance at the end of every month. RELIGIOUSLY. We never pay interest or any kind of membership fee.
So we use the credit card company to float our purchases interest free and to give us a small amount back in lieu of a cash discount.
This is a good startegy for anyone with the self control to avoid carrying a balance over into the next billing period. It is not for those too far in debt or too weak willed to avoid running up large balances they cannot pay off immediately.
The growing debt is less a matter of people spending beyond their means, but rather, a consequence of the rising costs of fuel and food and declining wages. Many people are living at the margin and from pay check to pay check.
You make entirely too much sense. But as long as there are food stamps, bread lines and welfare, fewer people will take the responsibility of life seriously.
“Live a debt-free life.”
###
Why?
The losers and parasites are forgiven REPEATELY, dragging conscientious, fiscally honest citizens down with them.
That is the message being sent by the Tribal Administration.
Your advice USED to be very sage.
I remember in the 80’s that every night CBS news would end the broadcast with the story about the rebounding economy and then follow up with a story about some family living in their car.
Keep living like no one else and you can avoid being bitten by these snakes!
Dave Ramsey Fan Ping List.
If you would like to be added to the “Live like no one else, so that you can LIVE like no one else” list, feel free to Freepmail me.
Nice feeling, isn’t it? Serenity.
Keep living like no one else and you can avoid being bitten by these snakes!
Dave Ramsey Fan Ping List.
If you would like to be added to the “Live like no one else, so that you can LIVE like no one else” list, feel free to Freepmail me.
To Max out your credit card seems to be a badge of honor in today’s society. Only nerds pay their cards in total at the end of the month. I’m a nerd, thank you, but a nerd without debt. Let’s teach the kids that Heather has two mommies but let’s not teach them anything useful like debt management.
So that’s the secret, “stop spending” how simple.
The big key is restraint. My lenten sacrifice has to do with spending money. I eliminated “choices”(although I still have better choices than half the world’s population).
Although it’s only been a few days, it’s gotten me to stop and think about how much is going to stuff I really don’t need and how often I make thoughtless small purchases.
I also noticed in the comments on the original article that some one is blaming the banks and the loans. For the bulk, had they figured out what they could REALLY pay before going into the banks, mortgage companies, etc. and stuck to it, the banks would have a harder time being predators.
And then there is congressional pork......
Thanks for pinging the list.
Where you been?
Knowing the simple difference between, need and want would serve many people well. But too many people see everything as a need and that attitude is followed by debt.
What that report shows for December 2011 is that in 2008 debt grew 6.0%, in 2009 debt grew only 3.0%, and in 2010 debt grew 4.1%, and 2011 is looking at about 3.5%.
So, this article seems to be an alarmist type article that is typical of the liberal media.
You make too much sense.
Not so long ago the government encouraged people to be prudent, purchase wisely and save their money.
But over the last 30 years or so the government has changed course, encouraging overspending, purchasing what you don't need, borrowing beyond your means, getting into debt and not saving.
I knew for certain we were heading for another disaster when I heard (supposed conservative) Pres. George Bush's post 9/11 exhortation to get out there and spend (If we stop spending and buying the muzzies win!).
Now Obama has carried that insanity to its natural conclusion by punishing the responsible, the prudent and the saver while rewarding the irresponsible, the spendthrift and the debt ridden.
I agree with you that our educational system is basically failed when people don’t learn about basic finances. However, if schools actually taught this their students might think for themselves and realize that their education is over priced and drop out.
I’ve been working hard lately, but now I have a smart phone so I access FR at night. I’ve not yet figured out how to store and use a ping list from the smart phone....I guess it hasn’t made me smarter after all!
Thanks for your patience FRiends....
Same here. I have not had one of those damn ‘credit’ cards for many, many, many years.
No choice now. With the average job lasting two years. Either live debt free or go bust - that is the choice now.
As the woman said to Obama "Beans and Franks" is that my "new reality"?
My needs include food, clothing, and shelter. That does not include an excessive number of expensive restaurant dinners, clothes and ornaments that are "in" but serve no purpose, or luxury hotel rooms merely for the sake of conspicuous consumption. Once I saw that simple fact, my wants contracted to match my needs. What I really want in life: to help keep America free, and to spend more time with my wife and children. What else could compare? Certainly the trinkets marketed on television pale next to that alternative.
In 2007 someone told me that if we all did that strategy, the US and world financial markets would implode.
Studying the situation, I found he was right. The economy runs on debt, and has for almost 70 years.
Looking back into history, similar things have been done, but never on this scale. The crash is going to be nasty.
Or to put it a bit more cynically, the economy runs on stupid people.....it's just a big exposition of "The Greater Fool Theory."
Oh, thats right, the Banks know that the Gov't will just bail them out.
It's easy to say this when you have no debt in the first place. Say it again after a family member needs major medical care for months on end. Should I learn patience and restraint then?
Well, people are only following the example of our government ......
I am so close. If nothing catastrophic happens in the next 9 months, I’ll be free!
Same here. We will be debt free but the house before Christmas. Actually, I ran some projections and it could be done as early as October if Murphy doesn’t come knocking. The fully funded emergency fund a couple of months after that and the house should be done about 5 years after that. Financial Peace.
I don’t know about you, but I waver back and forth between two options: If I throw all of my savings at the debt, I could be done in 3 months. But then I’ll have absolutely nothing in case of emergency. Part of me says, “You lived paycheck to paycheck for years and there was never any emergency you couldn’t handle.” The other part says, “Yeah, it only comes when you can’t handle it. Don’t do it.” I don’t know. I so much want to be done, done, done with it all...
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