Re: The whole credit system is out of whack !!!

Posted by LadynRed (199.91.33.254) on August 27, 2002 at 16:50:15:

In Reply to: Re: The whole credit system is out of whack !!! posted by Why Chat on August 27, 2002 at 13:35:52:

WhyChat,
I think its possible that my parents and yourself are contemporaries. My mother is 84 and in ok health. My father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in the early 80's, he passed away in 1989. If it hadn't been for my mother learning a LOT about how to keep from losing her home, she would most certainly have suffered from that catastrophic illnes by losing her home and everything they worked for in 48 years of marriage. Yes, I guess in a way they were lucky on a lot of counts. They did well enough in business to raise 5 kids w/o going hungry, but you couldn't say we had luxuries either. I also think a lot had to do with the fact that they bothlived thru the Depression, I and my siblings, and most of the folks of my generation never had to live thru that, and yes... it seems we baby-boomers have all spent too much, some more than others.

My parents, did, in fact, pass on their caution with money and frugal ways to my brothers and sisters and I. Up until 3 years ago, I ALWAYS paid my bills, as that was how I was raised. However, I never could have forseen the horror I'm in now and its NOT because I'm some sort of credit-crazy spendthrift either. The litany of events that puts me in this situation is not a nice tale, but 99% was beyond my control.I USED to have savings.. that's all gone. I USED to have retirement money in an IRA.. there's only $700 left of that. I've used all of that money just to make sure bills WERE paid while I struggled through 2 layoffs, a 40% pay cut in changing jobs that took me almost 5 years to recover from, and a forced location change. Had I not moved, I'd be flipping burgers in my old location making minimum wage and I would have already been in BK !

My mother was a business school graduate, my father self-employed most of their married life. I KNOW how to make and stick to a budget. From your generation's standpoint, MY generation is a bunch of spendthrifts, and for many, I can't disagree with you. While we baby-boomers have not had to live through the trials and tribulations of The Great Depression of the 30's, we have had to live thru extreme changes in the working world, where virtually NO ONE gets to keep a job for 30 or 40 years as they did in my parents' day. If you're lucky, MY generation, and those that followed, are lucky if we get to stay 5 years at one job !

From my perspective, I can see merits in turning back the clock to the way some things were done in YOUR day. A lot of us wouldn't be in this mess if it were. We have a shamelessly disposable society .. NOTHING is made to last, everything is made with obsolesence built in. I myself have very little that's new of anything (except some clothes) because I can't see replacing furniture every 3-5 years or constantly funding the banking and auto industry by paying thru the nose for a car that won't even last 100K miles every 2-3 years. My philosphy on that type is thing is built on my parent's attitudes. You're right.. no one these days know how to 'make do' with what you have. Unfortunately, what we have to 'make do' with isn't made to go the distance either.

I still think things need to be reformed so that this runaway credit industry, and the people that end up being crushed under it, can be brought under some kind of control, for clearly it is way OUT of control now.

My 2 cents.

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