Interesting artcle on credit card debt

[jocktheglide]

The wife sat there rolling her eyes at the thought of selling it all off and basically starting over.

reminds me of my place in all honesty....

 

[Stein]

We were there, minus the home theatre, pool, about half the house and a few other things, but we spent more than we made. For most of us, it isn't like we run a budget and say "wow, we spent 110% of what we made, oh well!" We didn't budget and didn't realize, or look, to see what went out or what came in. The important thing is to wake up and realize the American dream is actually the American nightmare.

The good thing is that it is simple to fix, just not easy. Living on a budget doesn't mean you can't go to DW, it just means you save up for it. So many people justify a vacation because they may be hit by lightning tomorrow, when all you have to do is save money.

 

[IDoDis]

Well-said.

We all need down time, we all need rest, we all need time to bond with our families . . . we don't need to travel to do these things. That's a luxury -- something that's nice if you can afford it.

I grew up pretty poor. We never took expensive vacations, and even then,the trips were still budget-minded. Our vactions were usually family camping trips where we slept in tents. I have WONDERFUL childhood memories of our family trips and woudn't trade them for anything. I did get to go to Disney World when I was 11, but we camped out all the way there, and stayed in cheap motels. It was an awesome trip!

I agree that this family will be back in debt in a short time. They are not very smart with their finances, and don't seem to think it's important to live within their means.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

ah I see no one who posted watched this show.

I didn't see it on tv but I saw the web version they have on the 20/20 internet site.

I think the no debt family might have been the Economide's or whatever their name is -- that family that has been hawking their book all over the place lately as "America's Cheapest Family?"

I agree, they are also very extreme and hard for average people to relate to.

 

[jocktheglide]

I think the no debt family might have been the Economide's or whatever their name is -- that family that has been hawking their book all over the place lately as "America's Cheapest Family?"
.

figures I do have some slight doubt over how they live its like the homeless person who ask for spare change on the street corner only at the end of the day he walks to his 500 mercedez benzh into his 2000sq ft home fully furnished. YOu see that a lot in New Mexico there is a group a couple rather that do that they ask for spare change in the medians where the lights are. They do this year round then walk away into their nice cars to drive to wherever foklks know about them now though and very few give them money.

 

[scorp111]

Wow situations like this are so far from my realm that I have a hard time even imagining that people get into them. Geez a monthly income of $8750, I can't imagine having that much money coming in a month and it not being ENOUGH!! I would be sooo rich!!

Remember, money doesn't fix money problems. People have to fix money problems.

When you give some people additional income, you are just adding fuel to the fire.

 

[CarolA]

you know what though in the end its all money and money is nothing compared to the memories of their child. IM imagine if the mom died right now the kids memories of disneyworld will be there. Granted its wrong to put yourself in debt but you know what having the disneyworld vacation was only a small debt vs what they did with the other money which was probably less memorable. To be honest im putting some of my DW on credit cards I applied for the disney card to get some discounts among other things the card will get used on at disneyworld would be memorable....hopefullya I can pay it back in a year LOL....

I somehow managed to "bond" with my Dad without him ever going to Disney with me.

I love my mother dearly with all my heart. She took me to Disney ONCE and it was a budget trip (we didn't have much money) and I know it wasn't on credit.

My BEST memories of growing up with my parents are camping, yes CAMPING, on FREE campgrounds on the TVA lakes. Money does not equal memories and love and if you think it does I feel sorry for you and your kids. The Disney trip was nice, but I don't consider it the highlight of my childhood!