Anybody underwater on their mortage (insurance, refinance, credit card)

[Noc]

I agree atlantagreg30127 the spend, spend, spend on credit mentality has to stop. And like the video stated savings are on the rise.

[MisterNY]

Originally Posted by Noc

I agree atlantagreg30127 the spend, spend, spend on credit mentality has to stop. And like the video stated savings are on the rise.

I saw that video yesterday. I agree with what the economist said. It has to stop. Our greed and lust for vanities need to be put in check. As well as waste. What the economist said makes a lot of sense, and it's a good thing people are saving more now. I hope people dont forget, and dont do the same things over when things 'may' get better. People tend to have a short memory. I'm also hoping the youth learns something from their parents' mistakes. (More than likely not )

[kaday]

Originally Posted by Noc

I agree atlantagreg30127 the spend, spend, spend on credit mentality has to stop. And like the video stated savings are on the rise.

It is really hard not to be bitter about the whole bum deal. We have always been cost conscious and never lived above our means but now we will and our kids will and perhaps our grandkids will be paying for the foolish greed and stupidity of others. But I guess the silver lining if there is such a thing is that the whole country is on reset. It is suddenly the "in" thing to be frugal. It is about time. The sense of entitlement of some people never ceases to amaze me.

[Georgia]

Take a couple items for starters.

The Ninja's and the Jones' all who are involved with home issues prior to March 12, 2009.

Ninja - The No Income, No Job, Application. These folks should have never been approved in the first place. But, thanks to the Ownership of America Act of 2005 (Dodd, Frank, signed by Bush) these folks (GA as exampled) can go into a development, purchase a home to a maximum sales cost of $365,000.00 get 100% funded, plus an addtional $15k for misc. All on a teaser 3 year fixed to ARM programs. Most never make the first payment, take the extra and buy cars, SUV's, and such then vamoose. What you end up with is a neighborhood with massive declining values and auction blocks. Now, under this plan since 80% will be to re-prop up Fannie and Freddie (again Dodd, Frank, signed by Obama) the same folks still in the homes that have not vamoosed, will get the current rate dropped by whatever, the home mortgage written down to whatever, and the taxpayer playing by the rules gets to pay for it. Now, according to Obama this will stop the downward trend of home values Sure! No, this is a band-aid to slow the reality and repeat the above at a later date. Sorry folks, there are good people and bad people, that is just the way it is. Bad will not turn good just because they live in certain areas. One surely cannot expect improvement by nobody when they are rewarded for failure.

Jones's - Now the Jones' are, well, you see them around. They come in all shapes and sizes, all cultures and creeds. The husband and wife who make a combined income of six figures and been at the job for maybe a year, but things are looooookin' good. So why save? Nah! Money is a flowin' Let's buy the 6 bedroom, 5 bath with the butt sprayer home. Buy us a nice Escalade and fine, fancy nancy clothes. We have to "look" the part. Oh yes, we must place our development license plate on the front of our vehicle and the wife? Well, nails done on Monday, hair on Tuesday, Tanning 3 times per week, and of course top fashion. For the hubby, well I can't Golf with WalMart clubs. Must be the Ping's with that new graphite auto shaft thingy. I also need my RayBan's since I cannot see the green in the Georgia sun, and time? Well, let me check my new Omega watch, ha,ha, sniff. By the way, we have a line credit that goes to 125% loan to value! Let's not forget Visa!
All the sudden, Jones' loses his job. He did not save, a 401k was the amount of gold on his watch, and a CD was the one's in the holder of their Escalade. Not to fret! Here comes Big Daddy Government backed by all the poor slobs who played by the rules, saved, and clipped coupons. Since you lost your job you can keep everything you have above. Uncle Puddin' will re-write your home loan for you. Oh! your not making 100K+ per year now? Don't worry, be happy. Uncle Puddin' will now only make you pay 35% of what you make. Your making 20K now, ok Jonesy, just pay 7K on your house per year, while the slobs listed above can subsidize the rest
Now, will this work? No! What about the rest of the debt. Do folks like this change their stripes. For the most part no. And why do folks who live in their means have to subsidize this?

Folks, this whole thing is one big joke! A bad one that we all will pay dearly for. Forget the politic "mortgaging our childrens future" it's here now, today, and shame on Obama for not standing up to the criminal zealots of Pelosi, Reid, Dodd, and Frank.

I hope everyone is ready for the days of hyper-inflation, you cannot keep flooding the system with printed money and rewarding wreckless behaviour. granted there are some poor folks who were blindsided, but I doubt you will see these type of folks in the handout line.

Sorry, this whole thing has my anger to a boil. You play by the rules, work hard, and ride the rough spots by living with in your means it is you in 2009 that are the evil one. Like last night on the news, had this guy looking for his new mortgage agreement and bailout. This guy was crying the blues about "rough times" how he did not know how he was "going to make it" without help from the slob subsidizing the bill. Dammit! they were interviewing the guy in his kitchen and I guarantee you the darn kitchen was larger than mine along with my dining room, eating area, and living room combined! All granite, and the lovely commercial fridge and freezer, built in of course Thanks Mr. Jones I will gladly sacrifice my future so you can have your 1500 sqaure foot kitchen!

It is to the point folks that this is not Left or Right, Republican or Democrat, this is now responsibility. Mortgage our childrens future? BS! It's teaching your kids how to be government dependent and live wreckless without consequence.

[RoslynHolcomb]

I was blessed to have grown up in a household that lived by the mantra of 'Use it up, wear it out, make do, do without.' Of course, we did so because we were too poor to do otherwise, but because I continued to live that way, we're weathering the current crisis better than others, though not as well as we'd like, of course. My husband laughs and says he was lucky to have married a woman who knows how to make a dollar out of fifteen cents and have fun doing it. I feel badly for people who have lost their homes. Yes, even for the ones who were foolish enough to buy more than they can afford. I remember when my husband and I were shopping for our first home. Our realtor kept trying to direct us to buy as much home as we could afford, but we knew it was far wiser to purchase a home that we could pay for on one income if need be. But we're human, we were certainly tempted by 10-foot ceilings, steam showers and granite. I still remember those 5k square foot homes, some of them were magnificent, and for someone like me who loves to cook, a gourmet kitchen was so tempting. Who wouldn't be? It was very hard, and I remember being really irritated by more than one realtor before we shucked them altogether and found the home of our dreams on our own. So no, I can't look down on the folks who got sucked into the game, we were older and had some definite goals. I would imagine younger people especially found it impossible to resist.

[kaday]

Originally Posted by RoslynHolcomb

I was blessed to have grown up in a household that lived by the mantra of 'Use it up, wear it out, make do, do without.' Of course, we did so because we were too poor to do otherwise, but because I continued to live that way, we're weathering the current crisis better than others, though not as well as we'd like, of course. My husband laughs and says he was lucky to have married a woman who knows how to make a dollar out of fifteen cents and have fun doing it. I feel badly for people who have lost their homes. Yes, even for the ones who were foolish enough to buy more than they can afford. I remember when my husband and I were shopping for our first home. Our realtor kept trying to direct us to buy as much home as we could afford, but we knew it was far wiser to purchase a home that we could pay for on one income if need be. But we're human, we were certainly tempted by 10-foot ceilings, steam showers and granite. I still remember those 5k square foot homes, some of them were magnificent, and for someone like me who loves to cook, a gourmet kitchen was so tempting. Who wouldn't be? It was very hard, and I remember being really irritated by more than one realtor before we shucked them altogether and found the home of our dreams on our own. So no, I can't look down on the folks who got sucked into the game, we were older and had some definite goals. I would imagine younger people especially found it impossible to resist.

My sisters think it is hilarious that my husband buys me flowers the day after Valentines Day. Half price or less and the rest goes in the bank. Nothing could be more romantic than that. Frugal and thoughtful! Just wanted to lighten things up a bit.

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by RoslynHolcomb

I was blessed to have grown up in a household that lived by the mantra of 'Use it up, wear it out, make do, do without.' Of course, we did so because we were too poor to do otherwise,

That can work two ways. I've seen poor families with several kids, where half the kids will turn out with the "save it, wear it out first" mentality that you describe, but the other half of the kids will wind up being consumer shopping monsters, who want to "make up" for all the things they never had as kids - so they try to buy it all as adults. Would make for a good psychology discussion as all the kids had the same parents, yet turn out completely differently.

I grew up in West Virginia. We weren't dirt poor, but by no means were well-off. I have sisters that are paternal twins. One saves what little extra money they do have, sells old unused items on Ebay for savings, and has yard sales regularly to earn more to stick in savings. The other sibling will pretty much bid on a purple pig statue on Ebay simply because she doesn't yet have a purple pig statue, has 250 pairs of shoes, lives in a house 3X the size she needs (and may well go into foreclosure before this is all over), yet, both were raised in the same household. Go figure.

Yep - lots of mentality changes ahead for Americans. More foreclosures on the way. More higher-end stores will shut their doors. I think for some it really will be like weening them from smoking or drugs - VERY hard for them to deal with. Others, not so much.

[kaday]

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

That can work two ways. I've seen poor families with several kids, where half the kids will turn out with the "save it, wear it out first" mentality that you describe, but the other half of the kids will wind up being consumer shopping monsters, who want to "make up" for all the things they never had as kids - so they try to buy it all as adults. Would make for a good psychology discussion as all the kids had the same parents, yet turn out completely differently.

I grew up in West Virginia. We weren't dirt poor, but by no means were well-off. I have sisters that are paternal twins. One saves what little extra money they do have, sells old unused items on Ebay for savings, and has yard sales regularly to earn more to stick in savings. The other sibling will pretty much bid on a purple pig statue on Ebay simply because she doesn't yet have a purple pig statue, has 250 pairs of shoes, lives in a house 3X the size she needs (and may well go into foreclosure before this is all over), yet, both were raised in the same household. Go figure.

Yep - lots of mentality changes ahead for Americans. More foreclosures on the way. More higher-end stores will shut their doors. I think for some it really will be like weening them from smoking or drugs - VERY hard for them to deal with. Others, not so much.

I am one of seven kids. I never had new clothes or new toys. But that wasn't unusual. Times and people have changed. Hey why have your kids wear hand me downs when you can just charge away?

[Georgia]

Originally Posted by RoslynHolcomb

I was blessed to have grown up in a household that lived by the mantra of 'Use it up, wear it out, make do, do without.' Of course, we did so because we were too poor to do otherwise, but because I continued to live that way, we're weathering the current crisis better than others, though not as well as we'd like, of course. My husband laughs and says he was lucky to have married a woman who knows how to make a dollar out of fifteen cents and have fun doing it. I feel badly for people who have lost their homes. Yes, even for the ones who were foolish enough to buy more than they can afford. I remember when my husband and I were shopping for our first home. Our realtor kept trying to direct us to buy as much home as we could afford, but we knew it was far wiser to purchase a home that we could pay for on one income if need be. But we're human, we were certainly tempted by 10-foot ceilings, steam showers and granite. I still remember those 5k square foot homes, some of them were magnificent, and for someone like me who loves to cook, a gourmet kitchen was so tempting. Who wouldn't be? It was very hard, and I remember being really irritated by more than one realtor before we shucked them altogether and found the home of our dreams on our own. So no, I can't look down on the folks who got sucked into the game, we were older and had some definite goals. I would imagine younger people especially found it impossible to resist.

Roslyn,
Nice post in regard of how you were disciplined and today your worries are less, same here. I did bold out the section about not looking down on those who got sucked into the game. I also do not look down upon them, but for those who expect you, others, and I who remained disciplined to pay for thier misdeeds is very disheartening.
This is such an issue with the baby boom to the echo generation, no accountability. I was sucked in, it is the fault of society, the dog ate my homework, whatever the excuse, long and short because I don't want to accept consequence and the world owes me it is up to Roslyn, Greg, and millions of others to pay for my sins. So with this mindset where will change take place.
We are in for a long bumpy road ahead. This mindset began under Johnson and now 45 years later the chickens are coming home to roost.
This fake stimulus bill is about as proposterous as when GWB began his Iraq campaign and the civilian American sacrifice? Go Shopping!
Maybe my dad was right, he always said my generation (Baby Boomer) was the beginning of the end due to the Me'ism and overall self absorbed mindset.

On a closing note of not learning lessons is gas prices. They are now down to less than $2.00 per gallon or levels of 8 years ago give or take. Driving around Atlanta, what little new cars I see on the road with purchase tag seem to be majority gas guzzlers, F-150 Triton' V-8's, Escalades, Expeditions, and those massive Yukon Tahoe's. So, will the Jone's mindset change? Nope. So why should we run with a cry towel and federal candy bar to make them feel special again.

What was it yesterday when the new Atty General ranted about America being cowards when it comes to talking about race (he must not visit city data) I think maybe we are more in lines of being cowards when it comes to facing reality and dealing with it on a logical nature.

Who knows?

[RoslynHolcomb]

@Georgia, I was thinking the same thing about gas prices. I learned to hyper-mile last year during the gas crunch and I'm still doing it. It really does save a ton of gas. I can't believe people have already forgotten, it was only last summer. I saw an interview with a Saudi oil minister and he said blatantly that they're doing their best to keep Americans ham-strung on foreign oil. That alone should've been enough to make us get a grip. I know it made me absolutely furious.

I'm not thrilled about the stimulus package either. I'm really not sure at this juncture what will help, but I just hate to see people losing their homes. Less than a year ago we were in a position whereas if my husband hadn't found a job when he did we would definitely have been in jeopardy. I remember how scary that was. The sleepless nights and trying desperately to keep up a cheerful façade. I still get queasy just thinking about it. Yes, I know people have to own their own mistakes, but I guess I'm too softhearted for my own good.

@Kaday, I've never understood spending tons on kids clothes. Most of my son's things come from Wal-Mart, and they hold up better and are far less likely to shrink than the ones people give us that come from expensive department stores. The boy is just as liable to do a low-crawl through a mud puddle in $10 jeans as he is in $50 jeans. I typically buy him one dressy outfit for Christmas and another at Easter, and that's it. Sometimes I'm lucky enough to find those at consignment/thrift stores.

Oh, and for Valentine's my husband buys me those conversation hearts. Silly I know, but I love those things. I buy him a lot of what we used to call 'penny candy,' though now we have to hide it from our little guy. Don't want him eating that junk.

@AtlantaGreg, we're the same in my family as well. I'm one of six, half of us are thrifty and frugal. The other half, not so much. It really is bizarre how that works out. I guess it's like those old Irish families where one son becomes a priest and the other a mobster.