Get Out Of Debt in '08

[annaswan]

This is sort of one of those gloom and doom posts that I’m famous for now and then. LOL But I wanted to talk to everyone about debt. The economy is so very uncertain right now, and the credit card companies are pulling dirty tricks - the banks are ballooning notes and foreclosing - it’s downright scary. I’ve been watching news coverage of this stuff for about 3 months now, and some interesting facts I gathered are - Bankruptcy was up 28% in November from the same time last year. And credit card companies are now raising interest rates based on one’s credit score. If you have $8,000 in credit card debt - it would take you 24 years to pay if off if all you make is the minimum payment. Can you imagine?? 24 years!!

We all know gas is killing us - and expected to go even higher. As gas prices rise - so will food costs - we’ll be told this is due to increasing transportation costs. The price of vehicles, homes, and medical care continues to rise. A few years ago it had already reached the point where the “stay at home Mom” was a novelty instead of the norm. Now two people working seems to not be enough. I personally don’t know a single person - not one - who isn’t living beyond their means, either by financing major purchases or using a credit card. In one form or another - everyone I know is in serious debt.

Stop. It’s just that simple. Your material wealth is not a measure of your personal value. Stop trying to measure up to some ridiculous social status - and going in debt to try and pretend you’ve attained it. Your focus should be on securing what you already have - instead of attaining more on borrowed money. Stop choosing convenience over practicality. Stop upgrading if it means going into more debt - learn to make do, or do without. And for god’s sake, learn how to do a few things for yourself!

If you don’t know how to do something - learn. There is no excuse. Information resources are literally limitless. You should be able to find step by step procedures for everything from changing the oil in your vehicle to installing a garage door - to baking a soufflé. And if you want to be a stay at home Mom - then I suggest you focus on ways to save and stretch the money your partner earns. Times are not going to get easier, this economy is headed for a train wreck. The rate of Bankruptcy was up 28% in November as compared to the same time last year. Credit card companies are allowed to continue to raise interest rates - now they can even issue an increase based on your credit score! Banks are ballooning loans, and foreclosing more right now than they have in over 6 years.

If you make a New Year’s Resolution for ‘08 - it needs to be to secure what you already have, get it paid off - and under no circumstances go any further into debt. And don’t let peer pressure or some ridiculous social status stigma coax you into financing or charging something you know you cannot afford.

[annking]

Dec. 12, 2007 at 2:18 PM

Well, you know, not every one who is in debt is living a frivilous lifestyle.  Some people are creating debt to just live and get by.  Look at your grocery bill and the price of a gallon of milk.  Look at the price of diapers these days, and all the other things a family needs--toiletry items, etc.

A lot of people have to use a credit card for those things because their paycheck is stretched as far as it can go.  And a lot of these people aren't living in fancy houses or driving expensive cars.  They may live in a decent home and have a newer model car--but these days that's about all their paycheck covers.

 In the movie, "It's a Wonderful Life", George asks the committee if it's too much to ask for the people that do the living and dying and working in the town to do it in a decent home...so I couldn't tell someone who lived in a modest house to "trade down" for some slum rental.

I'm not saying I don't agree with your post, but I know that not everyone who uses credit cards is living in a higher lifestyle.  It'd be tough to stop and get out of debt--but it can be done.  It just takes time.