It's a recession baby! yea!

[iSDK]

Yet, much like every other year people are starting to get their "early" tax returns from places like H&R Block and what not... Now this is all fine and good, a little extra money to help get yah by to cover your credit card payments, loans, food... yah know general living expenses...


But I've got to hand it to the folks who take this "bonus" or whatever you wanna call it and go out and buy a brand new home entertainment solution. You know the 42"+ LCD HDTV, surround sound, Blu-ray etc etc...

Now before you cry out "but thats my plan for my tax return also" or some other grandiose excuse. Let me be very very frank.

When the following conditions are going about, you start to wonder if this is at all sane.

- Most American consumers have quite a bit of CC debt (supposedly between 10 and 20K is considered low)
- When these people come to the register to pay I see a wallet full (5+) of credit cards, never mind bank cards, ID and other needed stuff.
- Locally (county wide) our unemployment rate is almost 15% .. hovering around 14.4% or 14.6% ... needles to say we got lots o people w/o jobs
- Our economy is in the shitter


I don't know I guess it just really bothers me that even under our current conditions... anytime we (as a society) get just a few extra dollars we run and spend it as soon as possible.


Sure you got your nice new HDTV and shit but where you gonna fit that in your soon to be cardboard box house?!

[seahorse]

i've pretty much chosen the worst time in history to move out and fend for myself in the real world

[Skull Kid]

I've been laid off since the beginning of December.

I'm using my tax return to survive since I have very little money throughout the week and my unemployment is close to running out.

[iSDK]

Damn that sucks SK :(



i've pretty much chosen the worst time in history to move out and fend for myself in the real world

Could be worse... you could be the daughter of a Czar just about ready to finish packing to move out. But while you and your family were busy moving some stuff of yours to store for later in the basement some douches decide to kill you all for some "revolution" shit.

[Maximus]

I really pride myself with my high credit score. I'm 33 years old - I have never missed a payment of any kind - I possess one credit card that I strictly use for work in which I get reimbursed every month for and pay the entire balance off every month.

I own one of my two cars outright (the second is nearly paid off). I bought my first home when I was 24 years old and didn't over extend myself by maximizing what I qualified for.

Life is great! I would be more than happy to give anyone advise for getting out of debt. If you're interested, read on:

There are two effective methods - and this plan could take a while, but, you'll be debt free. Both are "pie chart" methods - I prefer one over the other personally - I'll explain why:

1st method:

Combine all of your debts. Exclude your mortgage if you have one. Let's say you have a line of credit, 3 credit cards, a school loan, and a car payment.

Let's pretend it's broken down like this:

1. Line of credit: You owe $3500
2. Credit card #1: You owe $1200
3. Credit card #2: You owe $400
4. Credit card #3: You owe $1600
5. School loan: You owe $14000
6. Car payment: You owe $7500

To eliminate debt: Make minimum payments on everything except for your smallest debt. In the case above, put extra money down on your Credit Card #2. Once that is paid off, work on your second lowest debt. Here's where it gets a little more interesting. Remember what you decided to pay on your Card #2? Use that same amount of money and add in your minimum payment that you are required to pay on your second lowest debt (in this case, Credit Card #1).

So, here's how it looks: Credit Card #2 (lowest owed) was $400. The minimum payment was $25 per month. You decided that you can afford $100 per month to get it paid down quicker. You pay it off in four months.

Your second lowest is Credit Card #1 at the amount of $1200. Use the money you would have paid normally on Credit Card #2 (which was $100). Now, use that money you're used to paying and add that to the minimum payment. Let's say the minimum payment for Credit Card #1 is $50 per month. So, you pay $150 per month to get Credit Card #1 paid off.

Do this all the way through until you're debt free. Just take what you would normally spend on your other bills and add that to the payment of your next lowest bills. I prefer this method because it is psychologically rewarding because you're eliminating bills.

2nd method:

Much like the first method, but, instead of paying the lowest debt amount as the basis for determining what gets paid off first, pay off your highest interest loans first. You'll save more money doing it this way, but, psychologically, it may not be as rewarding because the lowest interest rate may be one of the higher amounts. This method takes extreme discipline, in my opinion.

Anyway - I hope this helps anyone that may be in such a situation. The key is to always pay your bills on time and don't miss one. If you do by accident, you're still okay - there is a cushion, but, don't get used to the cushion at all.

I'm completely debt free except for my truck payment (nearly paid off) and my mortgage (which doesn't count in my eyes - that's very long term). If you are one to focus on your mortgage, try and make one extra house payment per year and apply it to the principle - this will shave off around 8 years of a typical 30-year fixed loan.

[frosty]

I owe nobody anything. No credit cards. no debt. I buy everything in cash.

[Xer0]

- Locally (county wide) our unemployment rate is almost 15% .. hovering around 14.4% or 14.6% ... needles to say we got lots o people w/o jobs
- Our economy is in the shitter


O.o, IIRC our unemplyment is ~7%. Which, yeah it sucks, isnt double digits.

Anyway, Maximus brings up a pretty good point, pay our shit people its not that hard.

[jaxmkii]

I owe nobody anything. No credit cards. no debt. I buy everything in cash.

bull shit you owe sombody something a landlord a bank or land taxes.

[Laughs]

The only thing I owe right now is my student loans... Currently in at about 23k... Not too bad in my opinion. I should owe about 40k on that once I'm finished... Is that bad? Should I off myself?

[Soda Jones]

I have $4,000 in student loans so far and I'm almost done with my AA. Hopefully, I won't need to take any more loans to get my BA, I try to avoid it.

But I did get laid off my part time job, and it's hard finding anything right now. Glad I saved a "rainy day" fund in the bank.

[Laughs]

I have $4,000 in student loans so far and I'm almost done with my AA. Hopefully, I won't need to take any more loans to get my BA, I try to avoid it.

But I did get laid off my part time job, and it's hard finding anything right now. Glad I saved a "rainy day" fund in the bank.

$4000? What is that? Like half a semester? lol

[bobo_ess]

I am getting a tax return, but i am getting section added to both of my T4s, I wanna pay off my visa ($1500) and stretch the rest out for my car and insurance

[Soda Jones]

$4000? What is that? Like half a semester? lol

No, college is cheaper in the states.

Washington State University

Full-time Fees
(per semester) Undergraduate Graduate
Resident (10-18 hours)* $3,360.00 $4,034.00

[Laughs]

No, college is cheaper in the states.

Washington State University

Full-time Fees
(per semester) Undergraduate Graduate
Resident (10-18 hours)* $3,360.00 $4,034.00

Cool cool... Go America! :thumbl:

[Garfunkel]

I owe nobody anything. No credit cards. no debt. I buy everything in cash.

Same. I have all of my cash in one of the worlds safest banks, which doesn't charge me anything, I pay for everything with my pocket money, and the money I get from work goes into my savings account, which is currently being invested at 8% interest (yes, as soon as I saw what was happening in the US, I invested my cash for a long time and got a good deal), the interest rate in Australia is now 4.25% so I was lucky. I have nothing to pay off and no bills. I also don't pay tax, even though at my current income and what I know of taxation I should be ;). Living with your parents also tends to be rather efficient. The government also pays for most of my University fees, and the parents pay the rest.

I also (up until very recently) not getting any superannuation, so there was nothing to lose there.

Life goes on more or less exactly as it was before this crisis, I am actually better off now because I am getting more work at higher pay, and getting super now.

I have always wanted to get though life without ever having to borrow money other than perhaps a mortgage.

[Black Dragon37]

http://punditkitchen.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/political-pictures-governement-bail-out.jpg

[Travis]

The only thing I owe right now is my student loans... Currently in at about 23k... Not too bad in my opinion. I should owe about 40k on that once I'm finished... Is that bad? Should I off myself?

Nah man, you're fine. Just minimize other debts once you graduate. Avoid credit cards (e.g. I have one that I only use for gas) and be frugal for a few years. It's easy to live cheap when you're young so just get the balance down while living on the cheap for a couple of years and then you can forget about it. You'll make far more in your life with a degree so it might seem daunting at first, but it's the best investment you can make and has an incredibly high return.

[Laughs]

Nah man, you're fine. Just minimize other debts once you graduate. Avoid credit cards (e.g. I have one that I only use for gas) and be frugal for a few years. It's easy to live cheap when you're young so just get the balance down while living on the cheap for a couple of years and then you can forget about it. You'll make far more in your life with a degree so it might seem daunting at first, but it's the best investment you can make and has an incredibly high return.

Thanks for the reply, brufa :cheers: Yeah, over a lifetime 40k is nothing... The friggin interest is the thing that bugs me... Like you said, I'm going to be cheap for a couple of years and try to pay it off asap. If I make 40k a year, I'll live like I'm making 20 :thumbl:

P.S. I hate credit cards.

P.P.S. Student loans should be interest free. I think it's silly that they're not.

[Travis]

Yeah man, the interest is a bitch :cry2:

[Soda Jones]

I agree that it is beneficial to society to ensure that student loan interest rates stay low. By enabling more citizens to pursue higher education a country is insuring that the general populace improves as a whole.

[Garfunkel]

University should be free to all.

[Xer0]

School is one of the few areas that I think should be completely public and am more then happy to see government extend to it. But at the same time, I look at the Chicago public school system and cringe a little.

[Garfunkel]

Not all public systems are like that though.

[Soda Jones]

College should not be free to all. If it were completely funded by the government then it would completely change the nature of college. Colleges would have to abide by curriculum approved by the government or face loss of funding. No longer would colleges be free to teach on their own terms in a medium of their choosing.

Many student would not take college seriously due to the fact that college would not cost them money, and therefore they would not have anything to lose by wasting taxpayer's time and money and not pass the classes (see signature below).

College is considered higher learning because it is not a requirement or a prerequisite for many civilian and government related jobs.

Oh, and as if our government is doing a bad enough job managing the money we give them now, imagine what shinanigans they would conceive if they could justify taxing us even more to cover college tuition.

If they can't do a good job with the money they have now, there is no way in hell I want the government to have more. That won't solve anything.

[slowride]

I don't have enough money to pay rent this month :( and I don't get paid again until the 13th!!!!!

By the Grace of God however I did my taxes at the exact time so that my refund is scheduled to hit my account tomorrow (the last day to pay rent). One day late is a $65 fee. Then I think 15/day after that. If I had to wait until the 13th I'd clearly be fucked.

One odd thing is they said on the site that if the money isn't there on the 3rd to not contact them.....for at least a week. bah. I needs mah money!

[Xer0]

College should not be free to all. If it were completely funded by the government then it would completely change the nature of college. Colleges would have to abide by curriculum approved by the government or face loss of funding. No longer would colleges be free to teach on their own terms in a medium of their choosing.

Many student would not take college seriously due to the fact that college would not cost them money, and therefore they would not have anything to lose by wasting taxpayer's time and money and not pass the classes (see signature below).

College is considered higher learning because it is not a requirement or a prerequisite for many civilian and government related jobs.

Oh, and as if our government is doing a bad enough job managing the money we give them now, imagine what shinanigans they would conceive if they could justify taxing us even more to cover college tuition.

If they can't do a good job with the money they have now, there is no way in hell I want the government to have more. That won't solve anything.

I can uderstand your fears and they are definetly justified, I'm no fan of big government either. But education is one of the areas that I think everyone should have a right to and, currently going to a private school and paying 25k a year sucks =/

[Soda Jones]

I can uderstand your fears and they are definetly justified, I'm no fan of big government either. But education is one of the areas that I think everyone should have a right to and, currently going to a private school and paying 25k a year sucks =/

Which is why you can go to a state university for much cheaper.



This is something unfortunate that I see occurring a lot.

The phrase "have a right to" has been thrown out a lot in the last 15 years.

What gives you "the right" to a free college education? What gives you "the right" to free health care?

While politicians are glad to remind you or encourage your demand for is "the right to." But no one wants to remind everyone that what accompanies all these "rights" is responsibility. Everyone bitches and complains about their rights but little to no emphasis is placed on responsibility.

If you put the government in a position where it can give it to you, government can take it away.

[Xer0]

Which is why you can go to a state university for much cheaper.



This is something unfortunate that I see occurring a lot.

The phrase "have a right to" has been thrown out a lot in the last 15 years.

What gives you "the right" to a free college education? What gives you "the right" to free health care?

While politicians are glad to remind you or encourage your demand for is "the right to." But no one wants to remind everyone that what accompanies all these "rights" is responsibility. Everyone bitches and complains about their rights but little to no emphasis is placed on responsibility.

If you put the government in a position where it can give it to you, government can take it away.

The reason that I think they should have a right to it is simply because education is one of the things that I strongly believe in. Are people born with all of these rights? No, of course they aren't. But I think government should provide its people with a proper education. So then I guess i should augment what I said, its not so much a right of the people to be educated as it is the duty of the government to provide them a means for it should they want to. But as it stands now, I can see our government completely fucking it up and wasting even more taxpayer's money yet that doesnt mean that its something I don't think can be a good thing.

[Travis]

I don't think college should be free to all but I do think it should be free to more. Certainly if it's free to all then every Intro to Macroeconomics course will have its very own Joe the Plumber who dicks around and wastes everyone's time (and money). But I think students who show promise should have more access to government money for school. I also think that volunteer programs would be nice, say, you donate your time to a certain cause and then you get to go to school for free, much the way the military pays for school.

Of course it'd be nice for more people to go to university, and if it's paid for by the government then I'd argue that the positive externalities of an educated workforce outweigh the cost of tuition. But there are people who aren't meant to to go school (I'm not just saying dumb people, but lazy smart people) who will just dick around for a year and then fail out, wasting all of our moniezz.

[Soda Jones]

Xero, you and I agree on one thing, education is very important. I just don't think it should be completely subsidized. I believe being forced to pay for it, whether through loans you pay back later or through a part time job during your schooling, is an education in its own right and teaches you time management and personal/financial responsibility. Anything that is free is not worth much.

Also, selfish commentary on my part, the more people that have a bachelors degree, the less value the degree holds. 30 years ago it was still a real accomplishment to get a bachelors. These days it carries a lot less weight than it use to.

[Garfunkel]

I don't think college should be free to all but I do think it should be free to more. Certainly if it's free to all then every Intro to Macroeconomics course will have its very own Joe the Plumber who dicks around and wastes everyone's time (and money). But I think students who show promise should have more access to government money for school. I also think that volunteer programs would be nice, say, you donate your time to a certain cause and then you get to go to school for free, much the way the military pays for school.

Of course it'd be nice for more people to go to university, and if it's paid for by the government then I'd argue that the positive externalities of an educated workforce outweigh the cost of tuition. But there are people who aren't meant to to go school (I'm not just saying dumb people, but lazy smart people) who will just dick around for a year and then fail out, wasting all of our moniezz.

Actually, that is what they do here in Aus. Many university degrees have two separate versions, one which is completely privately funded, and the other which is split between the government, scholarships and private funding. The one split with the government requires a higher degree of academic results during high school. In this state we have the HSC which is like the final exam for high school students (though it's not compulsory), the UAI score you get from the HSC partially determines the course/uni you may enter and the ability for a partially government funded tertiary education. I was lucky enough to get into a comp sci degree that the government funds.

I think it is a fairly good model though, especially in courses/subjects that have a very high failure rate (such as comp sci).

Than there is all the government money being spent on us right now to avoid us slipping into recession like the rest of the world, that always makes things cheaper.

[Dark_Cloud]

Same. I have all of my cash in one of the worlds safest banks, which doesn't charge me anything, I pay for everything with my pocket money, and the money I get from work goes into my savings account, which is currently being invested at 8% interest (yes, as soon as I saw what was happening in the US, I invested my cash for a long time and got a good deal), the interest rate in Australia is now 4.25% so I was lucky. I have nothing to pay off and no bills. I also don't pay tax, even though at my current income and what I know of taxation I should be ;). Living with your parents also tends to be rather efficient. The government also pays for most of my University fees, and the parents pay the rest.

I also (up until very recently) not getting any superannuation, so there was nothing to lose there.

Life goes on more or less exactly as it was before this crisis, I am actually better off now because I am getting more work at higher pay, and getting super now.

I have always wanted to get though life without ever having to borrow money other than perhaps a mortgage.

Ugh. The economy always effects kids living with their parents the worst. :( Oh the humanity!!!

[Bryan]

I owe some money for a student loan, for my truck, and on my credit card.

Total, I think my debt is like $2000. It sucks, but I'm taking care of it.

[seahorse]

i owe like £17,000 to the man

[Travis]

I owe $30,000!

w00t.

[Soda Jones]

People are convinced they have lots and lots of rights in our country, but with no responsibility or accountability for themselves at all for what they do with them.

[Laughs]

I don't believe college/university should be free, but I do believe student loans should be interest free.

I also believe everyone should have "the right" to free health care. When you're talking about someone's health, we're talking a whole new ball game... You can't compare that to something like education.

[blurton]

just got a 37 inch hdtv yesterday :)

... I NEEDED IT SHUT UP!!

[Xer0]

I think education is more important then free health care personally. I'm pretty against a public health system

[TheGreenElf]

I've only got a best buy credit card, basically because it was a good idea. But I used it to buy a few great things I love. I currently owe about $800 on it, but I pay it on time every month and owe no interest until August 2010. So I'm okay.

[Garfunkel]

Ugh. The economy always effects kids living with their parents the worst. :( Oh the humanity!!!

haha

[curryking1]

sve2rOsLeWI

This is an awesome commercial by the company Credit Canada.

The song is Two Scoops by Michelle Harding.

(Btw if anyone figures out how to get this song lemme know!)

[Black Dragon37]

A file sharing software. If available.

[curryking1]

Of course I tried that lol.

[nesman]

How bad could this economy really get?

[Xer0]

Considering how stupid the government has been with its recent bailout ideas (thank god "buy american" was taken out), very.

[Garfunkel]

Well of course that is a bad idea, as if trading partners would let that stand, lol.

[blurton]

just watched some of the movie sicko yesterday

america is fucked up man, im comin to live with alla yoos in europe n shit man

[Garfunkel]

IMO, the whole world is fucked up man.

[Soda Jones]

"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."

Dr. Adrian Rogers, 1931 - 2005