Post here REAL horror stories of your neighbors/friends/relatives/coworkers/etc. who once boasted of their new toys purchased (rented) on credit, once trying to humilliate and belittle you. And are now drowned in debt.
I don't think it is all about people lacking self control in their finances as much it is the pressure to conform with the rest of society. Who wants to tell their children they must buy their school clothes at Target, or use hand-me-downs, when their peers wear only name brand? Or drive that beat up old car as their first car? Or no, they can't have a cell phone? Or they must share a bedroom with their sibling? I don't really know of anybody who got themselves into debt to show off, but there are plenty who got into debt just to keep up with what they perceived as "normal". Who eats meals as a family every night except for that once a month trip to a restaurant? Hardly anybody. Now its to a restaurant 3 or 4 times a week for dinner, out to eat at lunch at the workplace every day instead of packing a sack lunch. All these trends kill a budget.
I told my wife to, for just one month, keep a detailed account of where every penny goes... starting thirty years ago... she never has done that.. so I told her don't talk to me about money until you do that...she tried to stick me with her debt and I went along for awhile then I quit working and having a credit rating altogether... with a partner like that Work is Nonprofit.... that's what WIN stands for.. now she's miserable because she had a major operation and had to pay for it out of pocket.. and she's too stupid to negotiate too, they offered her 10% off for cash customers and she cut them a check... I just don't care that much... till death do us part, fine Honey, just don't expect me to stress out and go first... Trade well or die folks, trade well or....
It's both. Americans, in general, have an enormous sense of entitlement when it comes to consumer crap. Europeans with social programs. And yes pressure to conform is an issue in any society. Another major factor is most Americans have been brought up that it is normal to carry debt that would scare many other societies. I am thrifty and have been for the last 10 + years. I am silently laughing at some of the Schmucks I know that loaded up during the boom, talked trash to me, and are now getting wiped out. Reminds me of Eliott Gould in Ocean 12, ' I saw the signs you didn't'. People waiting in the middle of the night in Vegas to bid on a track home!
Pretty interesting hearing the stories about the folks who make it big in trading and of course fail. I am actually quite proud to say that I have absolutely no credit rating or debt, there are people my age who have gone to university and are already racking up their debt to £20,000+. I seriously laughed at the university suits who claimed on the BBC that if you got a job with a university degree you'd be earning £100,000 a year. Utter crap, I feel sorry for all of my friends because I know while I'm going to have a harder time clawing my way up the capitalism ladder I won't be sucked into the debt system like they are. My friends didn't necessarily boast, but I remember all the parents who did, it's amazing how blindly people believe in an education system that teaches nothing but academics and not real skills, one of the guys I knew in my diploma course had noticed it as well.
Absolutely no. Post so we all can learn something from this crisis. (at least to learn until a new bubble arrives).
People are hurting & a lot of it was due to the "traditional" idea that real estate ALWAYS appreciates. I know plenty of people who used their homes as a personal ATM machine with plans to ride the equity up to a better lifestyle. They didn't "brag" but they sure did enjoy their toys. Some did wonder why I bought a tiny home in the country. I paid 50,000 dollars for a 700 sq ft house on 15 acres in a rural part of Tennessee. Homes closer to Nashville in the next county over where I worked averaged 180,000 for a 3/2 on a quarter acre lot. I saw no need for a large home, I just needed a place to sleep & keep my crap. I'm glad I did it though. I lost my job three months ago and am doing fine now with no job income. Many of my former co-workers are in the process of losing everything they "owned". Debt is acceptable for investment but not for consumer goods.