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Termyn8or -> RE: keeping the poor in the poorhouse (4/15/2008 10:15:00 AM)
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Not agreeing or disagreeing here, but Merc might have a point. People have a tendency not to tell the full story. Like my buddy who is always bellyaching about his ex not letting him see his kids, one day he calls me from jail. It was for an old domestic viiolence charge he had skipped on.
People are responsible for 90% of their problems, but that's not to imply she is lazy or stupid or anything of the sort. People make wrong decisions all the time. Many are totally unaware of it at the time, and it bites them in the ass. Of course there is that other 10%, and sometimes that has some pretty big teeth.
Just one thing happens and it all comes crashing down, why ? Brcause people are overextended and do not realize it.
I have a mixed opinion on hiring based on a credit report. I think if you are going to be in a position to handle the company's money, don't you think it would be reasonable for them to expect that the applicant is capable of handling money responsibly ? I suspect that's how my Mom got her last job as a purchasing agent. I could see it now "Lesse here, you were divorced when and had two kids X and X age ? And they let you have a credit card ? Hell, when can you start?". I remember too well the days when the three of us lived on $75 a week, and $25 of that went for afterschool sitting and that was only a couple of hours a day. No wonder the company did well !
She waited until in her 50s to buy her first new car.(and paid it off in record time, she was getting ready to retire and I asked her how much longer will she have a car payment, she replied "It's been paid off over a year now, where you been ?")
Which brings us to the car. Always get the car paid off early. You can never get your money out of it and you need it anyway. And keep the extended warranty for as long as they offer it. One transmission job can literally put you in the poorhouse.
Your friend's problem is that she did not hedge herself well enough. As much as I know money is one of the worst things to have, you should still have 4-6 months worth of bills put away. An exception can be made when you can use the money to eliminate a bill, such as paying off a car or a CC.
Perhaps she did have some backup money, perhaps she was the best employee at the company but the boss was fucking someone else. Perhaps her record is clean and her credit used to be 790. In that case her mistake was not being pessimistic enough.
Someone mentioned bankrupcy. That is an option but it is not for everybody for a couple of reasons. For one understand that when you get that elusive chapter seven, a discharge, you still owe that money. All the discharge does is put an estoppment on collection efforts. And that's if you can get it. Under the new law it will be a thirteen, which is a reorganization and it is a different animal. In a thirteen it goes more like they got your creditors in court, or via correspondence and it is understood "You gave these people too much money, now do you want to play nice or do you want to get nothing ?".
Once it is all hammered out you do pay, and at the end you really do not owe the money. If an employer won't hire you with bad credit, I'd bet dollars to donuts that most of them will frown on a recent bankrupcy as well.
I do see what you mean though, dammed if you do damnned if you don't. And that is not a typo or a misspelling if you noticed the spelling. Of course it may be the other way around :-)
Whether bankrupcy is a good move depends on her situation entirely. Warn her to go to a credit counsellor first, if she asks for advice from a bankrupcy lawyer, of course he wants to make some money. He has a vested interest in advising her to go ahead with such action, even if it is not her best move.
There are credit couselling agencies all over the country. That should be her first stop. These agencies do what the court does with the creditors, figures out what the person can pay and plays let's make a deal. While a court can coerse the creditors to accept a deal and the agency cannot, if they can get you suitable terms the creditors might just lift some of the negative reports. If they agree to new terms, you are no longer in default. If you file bankrupcy you are still in default. Tell her this, because it is one of those things people do not realize about this whole issue.
And to add to the original post, I hope she doesn't live in Utah. Because in Utah when you lose your car insurance your license is automatically suspended. Imagine them apples !
Now this is more general and am not implying it applies to your friend. So many people are in trouble because of have to have the biggest and best, and right now. Many have a hard time waiting until they can afford that palacial estate, or on a smaller scale let's say a plasma TV. So there's four grand gone.
Consumers fuel these prices. If people could wait, the price comes down and the bugs are worked out. Instead everyone has to have it now, and they still cost the same to build. Thing is right now all the fat cats are getting rich. If we rufused to pay the price, their markup would go down, down, down. What is four thou would come down to less than two. They would still be making money, but think of what they're making now at twice the price.
The main problem is that people go shopping. I go to the store get what I need and that is it. I do not look around much. Food shopping is different, even real Men have to do that, mainly at the meat counter and beer cooler, well a few other aisles, but that is a necessary evil.
If she can manage to live a while and be uncollectable, which means check cashing places, using money orders all that, she could buy some time. The first place to go is to the creditors themselves. If she has a good way about herself and can think on her feet she can probably take care of this herself. Whether by phone or whatever means, she has to know what she is doing. Need facts and figures, "If this keeps adding up this way I'd never be able to pay it even if I made twice what I made when you gave me the loan". Things like that. If she is not confident or competent to swin with the sharks, use an agency.
Many of these agencies are free to the consumer. As much as I hate to say it, governments run some and they are ironically probably the best choice. Their best interest is to see the fewest foreclosures and repossesions in the region. No matter how far I like to stay away from the governmant, that is not the best choice for all.
If she ,,, well let's be optimistic here and say WHEN she pulls herself out of this quagmire, she needs to be more careful next time around. We ALL need to realize that it could happen to any of us at any time. If it does, are you ready ? Am I ? If not we only have ourselves to blame.
T
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