“”because if you’re in debt up to your eyeballs some govt program will be made available to pay their way or introduce them to student debt””
You got that right.
I am 47, when I was 20 a high FICO score was an asset, you could do what less responsible people could not do. Eventually FICO scores meant nothing and anyone could buy a house, artificially inflating the prices. And when you trash your credit, you are given credit in less than a year. A high FICO score is not the asset it once was.
When I was 20, having a great deal of cash savings meant you could get ANY HOUSE you wanted. Eventually, housing became so expensive that was tossed out the window.
When I was 20, having a great deal of cash meant that after accounting for the inflation rate and taxes on earnings, you could still make a REAL rate of return on your money. Eventually, holding cash in savings means a constant erosion of purchasing power, a hidden tax. That too is now gone.
I am seriously thinking about buying a house with as little down as possible and should housing values go the wrong way, simply stop paying and live “rent free” for a year or two. Of course, if housing goes the right direction, it is happy days once again.
My Government wants me to take stupid financial risks. If I am prudent, I will be punished, if I am a spendthrift, I will be rewarded.
On CNBC they constantly talk about the “moral hazard” of all the bail outs. It is too late, when you have no finanicial morals to lose, how can you lose them?
