Oprah show on Friday about getting out of debt.

[dvcgirl]

Situations like that scare me a lot!! Even if we are "taking care of business at home", the people who are "minding the store" are giving everything away. Bush just asked for how many more million dollars to continue the War in Iraq? I wonder how much of that will ultimately be borrowed from China?



Beca

I think your point highlights the need for us all to be even more vigilant about having our own "house" in order. The government (both sides of the aisle) is not doing it's job. The Social Security and Medicare problems have been forseen for years and years. And yet, nothing has been done to slow or remedy the impending disaster. You bring up the health of the nation, well Medicare's own health is as sick as the folks who rely upon it. I shudder to think how people will be able to afford healthcare down the road.

 

[LauraR]

I'm glad you guys brought up the issue of our National Debt. My husband has been concerned about the fact that so much of it is owned by foreign countries, and as others have said, largely China. What worries me is that our National Debt is going up so quickly. I felt so much better in the 90's when we were paying down the debt. Now I think I heard we've doubled the debt in the last 6 or so years and it is at $8 TRILLION!! Maybe I heard wrong numbers, but the point is, we are heading in the wrong direction. And I feel like this is something that is going to burden our children's generation even more that ours.

I'd also like to mention the two areas that cause me the greatest anxiety, health care costs and college education costs. In most areas of our financial life I feel in control, but those two areas cause me a lot of anxiety because they are rising so rapidly. I try and save aggressively but I know college tuition is rising much faster than the rate of inflation as are health care costs. We do have insurance, but even then I feel vulnerable because if you aren't covered for something you could be wiped out financially. My mother is an artist and can't even afford health insurance. I feel like a lot of Americans are finding health care and higher education more and more unaffordable and unattainable.

 

[Beca]

I'm glad you guys brought up the issue of our National Debt. My husband has been concerned about the fact that so much of it is owned by foreign countries, and as others have said, largely China. What worries me is that our National Debt is going up so quickly. I felt so much better in the 90's when we were paying down the debt. Now I think I heard we've doubled the debt in the last 6 or so years and it is at $8 TRILLION!! Maybe I heard wrong numbers, but the point is, we are heading in the wrong direction. And I feel like this is something that is going to burden our children's generation even more that ours.

I'd also like to mention the two areas that cause me the greatest anxiety, health care costs and college education costs. In most areas of our financial life I feel in control, but those two areas cause me a lot of anxiety because they are rising so rapidly. I try and save aggressively but I know college tuition is rising much faster than the rate of inflation as are health care costs. We do have insurance, but even then I feel vulnerable because if you aren't covered for something you could be wiped out financially. My mother is an artist and can't even afford health insurance. I feel like a lot of Americans are finding health care and higher education more and more unaffordable and unattainable.

Does your state have plans where you can pre-pay college tuition. This is an area where we are TOTALLY lacking...but, my sister has already paid for her son's tuition (he is 3). It's great because you get in at today's prices. It is a nice plan....not sure exactly how it is going to work....but, it will be nice if it actually does.



Beca

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

OMG, this is SO true! At this moment, my DH is at the "special store" (Wild Oats) buying groceries for the week. He will still have to read labels even at this store, because hf corn syrup sometimes even finds it's way into organic foods We are very careful to buy "clean" food, and it is not easy. If we went to the regular grocery store, everything we'd buy would have hf corn syrup, hydrogenated fats, etc. in it. That's nuts! Ingesting those things is beyond dangerous to our health IMHO. We spend a LOT of money on groceries, and a lot of our friends think we're crazy. However, in the long run, I think that we'll end up spending less overall because we won't have to deal with health problems related to obesity, diabetes, and who knows what else.

Hey chrissy--how are you doing!!!

I'm trying to get back to the healthy ways. We tried to "save" money--HAH!!!

I ordered girl scout cookies and consumed 1 box in 1 night and last night almost missed another. I was going to put them in the trash and the garbage man happened to be there--so I gave them to him.

Hubby may be in DC through October and if he is--we are going up for the summer and they have a WHOLE FOODS right across the street from the apartment we got. Man--I'd am almost more excited to be across the street from real food than with hubby for the summer. OKAY--not really. Just wish we had better here. I'd like to clean up our household--but naughty mommy has let the teddy grahams invade.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Does your state have plans where you can pre-pay college tuition. This is an area where we are TOTALLY lacking...but, my sister has already paid for her son's tuition (he is 3). It's great because you get in at today's prices. It is a nice plan....not sure exactly how it is going to work....but, it will be nice if it actually does.



Beca

We have this--and they do something with it so that it gains interest or whatever--they plan on it eventually being worth the amount to cover college expenses.

Someone made a good point on another thread that has me . That of college being just a business--do they REALLY need all that money for tuition? Or are they just padding the vault for MORE MORE MORE as they get .

 

[MyGoofy26]

We have this--and they do something with it so that it gains interest or whatever--they plan on it eventually being worth the amount to cover college expenses.

Someone made a good point on another thread that has me . That of college being just a business--do they REALLY need all that money for tuition? Or are they just padding the vault for MORE MORE MORE as they get .

I'm SO glad I'm at the tail end of college with all this talk of cutting aid. No way could I have afforded college on my own and I know that many other kids start out in that boat.

I know at my University, they're spending millions and millions on all these "upgrades" that in reality don't do much for the students. Essentially they're there to attract new students and (sadly most importantly to my school) to attract big name athletes to the football team, "Hey! Look at this new huge state of the art rec center! Look at this new library (even though there was nothing wrong with the old library)!" They just bought an entire residential area next to campus to add "apartment-like" housing with a shopping district, and everything. Meanwhile, they're cutting faculty and having more and more grad students teaching class, raising tuition and fees, and cramming as many incoming freshmen as they can into the dorms. Then add to all of that not enough openings in classes making it virtually impossible to graduate with a 4 year degree in 4 years (too common these days)

 

[jennilouwho]

I'm guessing this was directed at my post since I'm the one who mentioned practical information. The way the show was promoted, the teasers all implied that the show would have useful information to help "America" get out of debt. . . not just 3 families. Did I expect ALL the answers? No. But I expected more than "Give up 2 out of 5 cars!" I expected more than Mr. Latte Factor repeating his tag line over and over. Maybe my expectations were a little too high (and keep in mind I did go in with pretty low expectations because it IS a talk show), but again . . the teasers were a little misleading. I think we can all agree that financial security takes a LOT more than the "4 easy steps" they discussed in the final minutes.

I would have liked it better if they would have focused on some different scenarios between the families. All 3 were making over $100,000 a year. What about one income families/single parent families? Things like that? My husband and I make things work on less than $50,000 a year. We have a mortgage, a car loan, and student loans and we manage to pay those off every month and still pay a 10 percent tithe to our church and pay ourselves 10 percent. We feel like we have everything we need to live and can still splurge every now and then. We don't have any credit card debt, but I have noticed other people in our situation having lots of problems and I think it would have been nice to focus on different family "types." Maybe they will do something like that in the future.

 

[jennilouwho]

Oops, reading a different thread maybe that last family was a one income family. It was snowing here and our Satellite kept going in and out on that story.

 

[disneysteve]

maybe that last family was a one income family.

No, they were also 2 income earning a combined 75K.

 

[MyGoofy26]

Oops, reading a different thread maybe that last family was a one income family. It was snowing here and our Satellite kept going in and out on that story.

One of the families was a one income family briefly in the past while the husband went back to school. For the most part though, they were a 2 income family.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I would have liked it better if they would have focused on some different scenarios between the families. All 3 were making over $100,000 a year. What about one income families/single parent families?

What I find interesting--and explains it....for ratings and for practical purposes of sending a message...

how much impact woudl it have made for a family making only $30K who was up to their eyeballs in debt? Probably not much--and the reason--b/c the first thing people would think is--well they just don't make enough money.


Perhaps aside from shock value and ratings--the reason they showed these 2 high income families is--that even with all that money..they blew it and blew it BIG time.

If it can happen to a family making $100K---it can happen to any family who isn't watching their p's and q's making less money. KWIM.


Edited b/c of those stinkin' homonyms--always messing with my brain when I try to type a message too quickly.

 

[mytwotinks]

I'm guessing this was directed at my post since I'm the one who mentioned practical information. The way the show was promoted, the teasers all implied that the show would have useful information to help "America" get out of debt. . . not just 3 families. Did I expect ALL the answers? No. But I expected more than "Give up 2 out of 5 cars!" I expected more than Mr. Latte Factor repeating his tag line over and over. Maybe my expectations were a little too high (and keep in mind I did go in with pretty low expectations because it IS a talk show), but again . . the teasers were a little misleading. I think we can all agree that financial security takes a LOT more than the "4 easy steps" they discussed in the final minutes.

You are right. It was advertised as something that could help "everyone" who is living in debt. At the end of the show we were all encouraged to log onto her website and "sign the debt diet contract" and join in.

 

[disneysteve]

how much impact woudl it have made for a family making only $30K who was up to their eyeballs in debt? Probably not much--and the reason--b/c the first thing people would think is--well they just don't make enough money.


Perhaps aside from shock value and ratings--the reason they showed these 2 high income families is--that even with all that money..they blew it and blew it BIG time.

If it can happen to a family making $100K---it can happen to any family who isn't watching their p's and q's making less money. KWIM.

You are exactly right. So many people blame their situation on the fact that they don't earn enough. "If I made 100K everything would be different." Well guess what? If you keep the same bad habits, you could make 500K and nothing would be different.

 

[MiaSRN62]

kydisneyfans states: I read a survey today that Americans are in the best financial condition between the ages of 42 and 60--children are grown and moving out-career income is maxing out-savings have grown, etc
I am willing to bet that many totally debt free people on this board are in that 42 to 60 age bracket.

Boy, I'm 43 and I only WISH this were true ! We have never had so little extra luxury/spending money as we do now since our oldest started college. Tuition bills are eating every little extra dollar every month. Also, I hardly (being in this specified age bracket) have kids that are grown and moving out ? I have 2 more kids at home (7th and 10th grade) and have their college tuitions to be paying soon as well. They're not packing their bags at ages 12 and 14 any time soon.
We only have 2 cc's---both with less than $400 balances on them and a used car loan with maybe 6 months left payments on it. Our only splurge is WDW trips. We don't have new fancy electronic equipment (our newest TV was purchased in 1999). Our stereo system is from circa 1994. But when our kids were younger, we actually seemed able to save more. The older they become, the more expensive the bills for them seems to become. Our oldest is now driving and the cost of his portion of the car insurance is outragious ! Practically doubled our insurance premiums. Life was alot less expensive when they "drove" the Little Tykes cars in the backyard

College tuition was the biggest shock though---and yes, we did start savings plans for their education when they were young---- so we did have something to start with. But the cost of gasoline, oil/energy bills, college etc, seem to be going up & up, but our raises don't seem to want to keep up. When the kids were small, we were able to contribute alot extra to our 401K. This year, not much "extra" is going into it because of my ds's college costs.

So if age is a factor in being debt-free, then I won't see being able to be totally debt free until at least our early to mid 50's (when all 3 are finished with college). I think early 40's is not a reasonable expectation unless one had children when they were teenagers (and not saying there is anything wrong with that). I just don't see dh and I (early 40's) fitting into those survey results that kydisneyfans mentioned ? Our neighbors, who we are fairly close to, commented similarily. They just decided to sell their home and have a new one built. Both are in their mid 50's and they said this is the first time in their lives when they've had a decent amount of extra money to work with. They told us they feel for us with the college tuition and warned us that things like home improvements will go downhill until college is done with. Their youngest son just graduated from college and moved out a year ago. For myself, at age 43, I'm at least a decade away from being in this position.

 

[Free4Life11]

You know I don't think the college tuition is killer -- it's the housing! To do 30 credits a year at my school (University of Nebraska) is $2400 per semester, or $4800. That's really not all that bad in my book. And the thing is, if you are a decent student and start out here you can get quite a bit of financial aid -- if you transfer in (which is what I did) you get much less, but still it's far cheaper than a private school. The housing though is expensive! I've paid roughly $5600 for the past two years. It's amazing that housing is more expensive than the actual tution.

ETA - wanted to clarify, $5600 per year for the past two years

 

[westjones]

You know I don't think the college tuition is killer -- it's the housing! To do 30 credits a year at my school (University of Nebraska) is $2400 per semester, or $4800. That's really not all that bad in my book. And the thing is, if you are a decent student and start out here you can get quite a bit of financial aid -- if you transfer in (which is what I did) you get much less, but still it's far cheaper than a private school. The housing though is expensive! I've paid roughly $5600 for the past two years. It's amazing that housing is more expensive than the actual tution.

Yes, that was the case when I was in college back in the late 70s early 80s. If I could have lived at home, I would have, but there were not college near the small rural town that I grew up in.
DJ

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

You know I don't think the college tuition is killer -- it's the housing! To do 30 credits a year at my school (University of Nebraska) is $2400 per semester, or $4800. That's really not all that bad in my book. And the thing is, if you are a decent student and start out here you can get quite a bit of financial aid -- if you transfer in (which is what I did) you get much less, but still it's far cheaper than a private school. The housing though is expensive! I've paid roughly $5600 for the past two years. It's amazing that housing is more expensive than the actual tution.

While you have a point--in a 12 month budget--that is still $400 per month per tuition if parents were paying out of pocket with no savings plan.

It is nearly $20000 for 4 years before anything else.

ETA never--I am a dope--was looking something up and gave the wrong figure.

My school today is $103.12 per credit hour and on par with what I paid when I went to school.

They do estimate that for the current school year students who live on campus can estimate it will cost about $13K to be educated in 1 year. It does look like the residence is eating a big chunk of that. This assumes a 15 credit load. That is over $1000 per month.

 

[MyGoofy26]

They do estimate that for the current school year students who live on campus can estimate it will cost about $13K to be educated in 1 year. It does look like the residence is eating a big chunk of that. This assumes a 15 credit load. That is over $1000 per month.

You know it's sad when it was significantly cheaper for me to buy an almost new car (less than a year old) and commute 80 miles to campus than it is to live on or near campus.

 

[dcfromva]

I'd also like to mention the two areas that cause me the greatest anxiety, health care costs and college education costs. In most areas of our financial life I feel in control, but those two areas cause me a lot of anxiety because they are rising so rapidly. I try and save aggressively but I know college tuition is rising much faster than the rate of inflation as are health care costs. ... I feel like a lot of Americans are finding health care and higher education more and more unaffordable and unattainable.

LauraR,
I am making an assumption that you are a MD resident:
link to Maryland Prepaid College Trust
"Lock in today’s prices
Over the last decade, we’ve seen tuition costs double or even triple at public and private colleges. Even though these costs may continue to change dramatically by the time your child is ready for college, your account will pay for the number of years purchased as follows:
At a Maryland public college
* Full in-state tuition and mandatory fees, as defined in the Disclosure Statement
At an eligible private or out-of-state college or graduate school
* Up to that year’s weighted average tuition of the Maryland public colleges toward the tuition and mandatory fees at the selected college

And don’t worry, if your child receives a scholarship or grant, you can use your account toward other eligible college expenses such as room and board, books, course-specific fees, etc."

If Private University is what you are aiming for: Here is a link to an
Independent 529 Plan


-DC

 

[NMW]

I think this problem is SOOO much bigger than what people here are mentioning. And, it starts with our government. Our government should set examples for spending and saving. Pres Bush's tax refund after 9/11, and his comment about not saving it, but "go shopping" is ludicrous!!!!

However, it is understandable in an economy whose success is based on the premise that people will buy what they want, rather than what they need. I was appalled to see at the Detroit auto show, that most American car manufacturers are still producing large SUV hybrids, while foreign manufacturers are the only producers of small, energy-efficient hybrids.

In China, the average income is $4 per day. The government spends a great deal of resources to promote "saving". The government (who is the US's biggest lender) actually puts out campaigns to enocourage citizens to save as much as they possibly can. Even on $4 a day....most Chinese save half of their income. The whole idea of "Can I afford a home, a car, etc." comes ONLY if they can do that and still save half their income. Can you IMAGINE what a difference that would make, if every time you turned on the TV there were public service announcements asking Americans to save, not spend?!! Just that one "reminder" alone would encourage people to ask, "Do I really neeed that?".

And yet....if people stopped spending, our economy would crumble. America is like a heroin addict....we just need to spend more and more to keep moving. This addiction is covering the fact that we are basically not competitive in a "needs" market, but rather only in a "luxury" market.

Already, talks are occuring between the leaders of the other countries in the world that the Dollar is not the "currency" to be investing in....we are slowly, but surely losing our status as world leader.....and, for Americans, the changes in lifestyle that result from this shift will be very hard to swallow.
We are trading our "world leader" status for SUVs, gameboys, and 100in. HD Plasma TVs. Keeping up with the Jones's is bankrupting our country.

Our food supply is tainted....it is actually hard to eat healthy in this country. You have to shop as special stores, and pay $$$ to find food that will not make you sick. Hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils, and high fructose corn syrup are making us the fattest and sickest nation on earth. I was looking for a place to invest for the future, and came across an article stating that putting money in limb prosthetics, kidney research, and eye research is the best place to put your money. Because if things do not change, in 20 years Americans will be losing eyes, limbs and kidneys to diabetes in alarming numbers. There is actually a movement (started by a Yale professor) to allow people to "sell" a kidney on the open market. This idea is gaining support from surprising places. But, the fact that you cannot shop in your corner market and buy healthy food, untainted by pesticides, hormones, or antibiotics is terribly frightening to me. People in other countries do not "diet"....it is an American phenomenon, and only since the 1970's....genetics do not change that quickly....it has GOT to be what we are eating. Try to find a gym in Paris....they are hard to find.....we exercise more, and yet we are fat...something is very weird about that.

Some of the most popular shows on TV involve helping people organize and get rid of their "junk"....we are buying bigger and bigger homes, and then renting storage sheds to keep all the stuff that doesn't fit....we, as a country have issues.

I agree that Oprah's show does seem hypocritical....but, personal responsibility is the key. We are grown-ups....we need to take responsibility for our own health and finances....and we need to ask those we elect as stewards of our country and our "best interests" to do the same.

Sorry for ranting....it's just that we are a "sick" country, and we ALL need to find a way out. We limit our children's desires (okay, well some of us do), but we put no such restrictions on ourselves....it has GOT to start with us.
And, just in case you are wondering....we had over $110,000 in credit card and student loan debt. We now only have our house payment (we are hoping to pay off our house early). Financial freedom is a more powerful drug than anything you could buy at the store....especially if you have to finance it.



Beca

Very good points. I've read many times how bad high fructose corn syrup is for you. I went to the grocery store (Giant, to be exact) and looked for snacks for my kids that did NOT have high fructose corn syrup. I came up with NOTHING, except a couple brands of yogurt and regular fruit! It seems like it's in almost everything.