[meadandale]

“Or maybe it was because someone taught you about finances? People aren’t born knowing this stuff, so someone must have along the way”

Nope. Dad was a fuck up and somehow my mom managed to raise 6 kids on what he didn’t piss away on get rich quick schemes. Our family never used credit cards and I never really had a savings account growing up (I did but there wasn’t more than a few hundred in it).

I guess wearing hand me downs and toughskins with the knees patched teaches you that having the “in” clothes isn’t all that important. I never had a polo shirt until I graduated college, I never had penny loafers when they were all the rage.

I grew up lower middle class and was never really taught much about money, mostly because we never really had any.

[meadandale]

“Or maybe it was because someone taught you about finances? People aren’t born knowing this stuff, so someone must have along the way”

Nope. Dad was a fuck up and somehow my mom managed to raise 6 kids on what he didn’t piss away on get rich quick schemes. Our family never used credit cards and I never really had a savings account growing up (I did but there wasn’t more than a few hundred in it).

I guess wearing hand me downs and toughskins with the knees patched teaches you that having the “in” clothes isn’t all that important. I never had a polo shirt until I graduated college, I never had penny loafers when they were all the rage.

I grew up lower middle class and was never really taught much about money, mostly because we never really had any.

[meadandale]

“Or maybe it was because someone taught you about finances? People aren’t born knowing this stuff, so someone must have along the way”

Nope. Dad was a fuck up and somehow my mom managed to raise 6 kids on what he didn’t piss away on get rich quick schemes. Our family never used credit cards and I never really had a savings account growing up (I did but there wasn’t more than a few hundred in it).

I guess wearing hand me downs and toughskins with the knees patched teaches you that having the “in” clothes isn’t all that important. I never had a polo shirt until I graduated college, I never had penny loafers when they were all the rage.

I grew up lower middle class and was never really taught much about money, mostly because we never really had any.

[meadandale]

“Or maybe it was because someone taught you about finances? People aren’t born knowing this stuff, so someone must have along the way”

Nope. Dad was a fuck up and somehow my mom managed to raise 6 kids on what he didn’t piss away on get rich quick schemes. Our family never used credit cards and I never really had a savings account growing up (I did but there wasn’t more than a few hundred in it).

I guess wearing hand me downs and toughskins with the knees patched teaches you that having the “in” clothes isn’t all that important. I never had a polo shirt until I graduated college, I never had penny loafers when they were all the rage.

I grew up lower middle class and was never really taught much about money, mostly because we never really had any.

[meadandale]

@jennyo,dharmagirl

I had the same citibank card with a $500 limit in the 80’s in college. I think that I had ONE other credit card–an MBNA visa.

However, I NEVER got myself in the kind of shithole you both appear to have. Maybe it was because I paid my way through college? Maybe it was because I worked from the time I was 15? Maybe it’s because my dad died when I was 18 and I knew that no support whatsoever was forthcoming from my mom if I screwed up?

Who knows…however, sticking your bills in a drawer and hoping they’ll just ‘go away’…I’m speechless.

After graduating, I did charge up some cards. I think at my zenith I was about $8k in debt on credit card debt 10 years ago. However, even during several bouts of unemployment, I’ve never been ‘delinquent’ or had ANY credit account go into collections. If I couldn’t pay a bill for a few months, I did what any reasonable adult would presumably do, I called the company and told them my situation (“Hi, I’m unemployed, can I just send you a token $50/month until I have a job again?”).

I can’t fathom the thought process of people these days that get themselves $20k, $40k or $100k in the hole with revolving debt or the balls it takes to just WALK AWAY after they charged all that debt up and just shrug their shoulders and decide they can’t pay.

I’m not talking about people who end up having to pay tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills or who have the primary earner become unemployed for a family. I’m talking about the people who just spend, spend, spend who a) have no idea how much they actually owe and b) have no plan on how they will ever pay it back.

Maybe it IS time for some financial education in high school.

[meadandale]

@jennyo,dharmagirl

I had the same citibank card with a $500 limit in the 80’s in college. I think that I had ONE other credit card–an MBNA visa.

However, I NEVER got myself in the kind of shithole you both appear to have. Maybe it was because I paid my way through college? Maybe it was because I worked from the time I was 15? Maybe it’s because my dad died when I was 18 and I knew that no support whatsoever was forthcoming from my mom if I screwed up?

Who knows…however, sticking your bills in a drawer and hoping they’ll just ‘go away’…I’m speechless.

After graduating, I did charge up some cards. I think at my zenith I was about $8k in debt on credit card debt 10 years ago. However, even during several bouts of unemployment, I’ve never been ‘delinquent’ or had ANY credit account go into collections. If I couldn’t pay a bill for a few months, I did what any reasonable adult would presumably do, I called the company and told them my situation (“Hi, I’m unemployed, can I just send you a token $50/month until I have a job again?”).

I can’t fathom the thought process of people these days that get themselves $20k, $40k or $100k in the hole with revolving debt or the balls it takes to just WALK AWAY after they charged all that debt up and just shrug their shoulders and decide they can’t pay.

I’m not talking about people who end up having to pay tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills or who have the primary earner become unemployed for a family. I’m talking about the people who just spend, spend, spend who a) have no idea how much they actually owe and b) have no plan on how they will ever pay it back.

Maybe it IS time for some financial education in high school.

[meadandale]

@jennyo,dharmagirl

I had the same citibank card with a $500 limit in the 80’s in college. I think that I had ONE other credit card–an MBNA visa.

However, I NEVER got myself in the kind of shithole you both appear to have. Maybe it was because I paid my way through college? Maybe it was because I worked from the time I was 15? Maybe it’s because my dad died when I was 18 and I knew that no support whatsoever was forthcoming from my mom if I screwed up?

Who knows…however, sticking your bills in a drawer and hoping they’ll just ‘go away’…I’m speechless.

After graduating, I did charge up some cards. I think at my zenith I was about $8k in debt on credit card debt 10 years ago. However, even during several bouts of unemployment, I’ve never been ‘delinquent’ or had ANY credit account go into collections. If I couldn’t pay a bill for a few months, I did what any reasonable adult would presumably do, I called the company and told them my situation (“Hi, I’m unemployed, can I just send you a token $50/month until I have a job again?”).

I can’t fathom the thought process of people these days that get themselves $20k, $40k or $100k in the hole with revolving debt or the balls it takes to just WALK AWAY after they charged all that debt up and just shrug their shoulders and decide they can’t pay.

I’m not talking about people who end up having to pay tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills or who have the primary earner become unemployed for a family. I’m talking about the people who just spend, spend, spend who a) have no idea how much they actually owe and b) have no plan on how they will ever pay it back.

Maybe it IS time for some financial education in high school.

[meadandale]

@jennyo,dharmagirl

I had the same citibank card with a $500 limit in the 80’s in college. I think that I had ONE other credit card–an MBNA visa.

However, I NEVER got myself in the kind of shithole you both appear to have. Maybe it was because I paid my way through college? Maybe it was because I worked from the time I was 15? Maybe it’s because my dad died when I was 18 and I knew that no support whatsoever was forthcoming from my mom if I screwed up?

Who knows…however, sticking your bills in a drawer and hoping they’ll just ‘go away’…I’m speechless.

After graduating, I did charge up some cards. I think at my zenith I was about $8k in debt on credit card debt 10 years ago. However, even during several bouts of unemployment, I’ve never been ‘delinquent’ or had ANY credit account go into collections. If I couldn’t pay a bill for a few months, I did what any reasonable adult would presumably do, I called the company and told them my situation (“Hi, I’m unemployed, can I just send you a token $50/month until I have a job again?”).

I can’t fathom the thought process of people these days that get themselves $20k, $40k or $100k in the hole with revolving debt or the balls it takes to just WALK AWAY after they charged all that debt up and just shrug their shoulders and decide they can’t pay.

I’m not talking about people who end up having to pay tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills or who have the primary earner become unemployed for a family. I’m talking about the people who just spend, spend, spend who a) have no idea how much they actually owe and b) have no plan on how they will ever pay it back.

Maybe it IS time for some financial education in high school.

[meadandale]

@jennyo,dharmagirl

I had the same citibank card with a $500 limit in the 80’s in college. I think that I had ONE other credit card–an MBNA visa.

However, I NEVER got myself in the kind of shithole you both appear to have. Maybe it was because I paid my way through college? Maybe it was because I worked from the time I was 15? Maybe it’s because my dad died when I was 18 and I knew that no support whatsoever was forthcoming from my mom if I screwed up?

Who knows…however, sticking your bills in a drawer and hoping they’ll just ‘go away’…I’m speechless.

After graduating, I did charge up some cards. I think at my zenith I was about $8k in debt on credit card debt 10 years ago. However, even during several bouts of unemployment, I’ve never been ‘delinquent’ or had ANY credit account go into collections. If I couldn’t pay a bill for a few months, I did what any reasonable adult would presumably do, I called the company and told them my situation (“Hi, I’m unemployed, can I just send you a token $50/month until I have a job again?”).

I can’t fathom the thought process of people these days that get themselves $20k, $40k or $100k in the hole with revolving debt or the balls it takes to just WALK AWAY after they charged all that debt up and just shrug their shoulders and decide they can’t pay.

I’m not talking about people who end up having to pay tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills or who have the primary earner become unemployed for a family. I’m talking about the people who just spend, spend, spend who a) have no idea how much they actually owe and b) have no plan on how they will ever pay it back.

Maybe it IS time for some financial education in high school.

[meadandale]

I see, so people who use credit unwisely are just misunderstood and need a hug?

I can imagine the look of desperation on the faces of those charging all the clothes, dinners and flat screen tv’s on their credit cards.

[meadandale]

I see, so people who use credit unwisely are just misunderstood and need a hug?

I can imagine the look of desperation on the faces of those charging all the clothes, dinners and flat screen tv’s on their credit cards.

[meadandale]

I see, so people who use credit unwisely are just misunderstood and need a hug?

I can imagine the look of desperation on the faces of those charging all the clothes, dinners and flat screen tv’s on their credit cards.

[meadandale]

I see, so people who use credit unwisely are just misunderstood and need a hug?

I can imagine the look of desperation on the faces of those charging all the clothes, dinners and flat screen tv’s on their credit cards.

[meadandale]

I see, so people who use credit unwisely are just misunderstood and need a hug?

I can imagine the look of desperation on the faces of those charging all the clothes, dinners and flat screen tv’s on their credit cards.

[meadandale]

@qwerty007

I’ve read the book that the film is based on (or was written during film production).

While I WAS dumbfounded by some of the behavior of the financial institutions (e.g. sending credit card offers to a woman who was currently being foreclosed on by the same bank) I did repeatedly see the same dumb behavior BY THE BORROWERS.

For instance, while it is stupid for the bank to be sending credit offers to a woman in foreclosure, how stupid is it for the woman to take advantage of those offers?

One of the points of the movie was that consumers increasingly see credit as a ‘badge of honor’. They figure (incorrectly) that the banks wouldn’t offer them credit if they can’t afford to make the payments.

All you have to do is look at people in the news to see that how well the movie captures this sentiment. People pulling money out of HELOC’s and putting it in a CD or Money Market account before the credit dries up. People who are near bankruptcy and foreclosure continuing to spend on vacations, cars, tv’s and maxing out their credit. People who refinanced and pulled out tens of thousands of dollars to pay off staggering credit card bills only to charge them back up.

Yes, companies are taking advantage of people. But many of those people are victims of their own stupidity and laziness as much as the financial institutions that people are villifying.

It’s like the woman I saw interviewed on consumerist.com the other day who was too lazy to walk a few blocks and use a bank to cash a check–she’d rather walk across the street and use a check cashing place and pay the fees. So, who is to blame, the check cashing place for charging the high fee or the stupid person paying the fee WILLINGLY?

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