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Not to mention helping your kids go to college. There is no way an average middle-class family is going to have a lot left over if they have kids in college.
The Average Joes did not even consider such a thing, 50 years ago.
Parents have a choice to help fund college or not. Every financial advisor worth their salt will tell you that your own safety net and retirement come first.
My neighbor- divorced, twins going to college in the next few years, home in forclosure, Drives a convertible Bmer.
Give me a break.
I have a similar neighbor. Instead of paying the mortgage and property taxes, the money pays for the kid's out of state tuition and room and board- $75K a year. Attorney figures she will need to move just about the time kiddo finishes school. They could not deny their kid the opportunity to attend a top school.
I sometimes wonder if the kid realizes he will likely have to support his parents in 15 years.
Well if you live in an affluent area, you are not likely to see the people who are living paycheck-to-paycheck. Since affluent would mean at least in the top 10 %.
There is a tendency for many people to spend more than they earn, regardless of how much or little they earn.
I wonder how many of that 76% did to themselves with their spending habits.
oooo ahhhhh I need that wide screen TV
Ohhhh I need that new dodge charger.
Ahhhhh we need a swimming pool.
Keeping up with the Jones's is expensive.
I am more inclined to think Starbucks, $65 dinners for 4 at Red Robin, cable, phones and pads and nooks and crannies. The so called nickel and dime stuff adds up.
Again, you are oversimplifying it. Buying a TV and buying a home are not on equal footing....especially the subprime shakedown.
How do you know who was buying what house and what size house they were buying?
I know a few people who personally were foreclosed on and not one of them tried to go into anything too extravagant. People I know very well personally and would never think that they bit off more than they could chew. Not saying these people don't exist...but it's not fair to make umbrella statements like that.
it's also not even about people who couldn't make the payments...what about the person who bought the house for 300,000 and woke up the next day and their house market value was 1/2 of that and they are stuck in an upside down mortgage?
Would you want a mortgage, being slammed with 4-5 points, if it's value took a nosedive like that? Maybe you would eat it but for the person who CAN make those payments but by the skin of their teeth....it's a bitter pill to swallow.
I am not oversimplifying anything. It isn't hard at all to read the terms of a loan. Do you know what 'subprime' means? That means people with low quality credit (who had no business buying a home) went out and actually bought a house. The housing market corrected itself to to true value. That means if a person bought a house for $300,000 and it lost half its value, the true value of that house was only $150,000. That person should have actually done their homework and bought a cheaper house in the first place. Personally? I bought a house that was less than half of the amount I qualified to borrow and I didn't lose any value in the crash. You know why? Because I did my homework before signing the mortgage.
I am not oversimplifying anything. It isn't hard at all to read the terms of a loan. Do you know what 'subprime' means? That means people with low quality credit (who had no business buying a home) went out and actually bought a house. The housing market corrected itself to to true value. That means if a person bought a house for $300,000 and it lost half its value, the true value of that house was only $150,000. That person should have actually done their homework and bought a cheaper house in the first place. Personally? I bought a house that was less than half of the amount I qualified to borrow and I didn't lose any value in the crash. You know why? Because I did my homework before signing the mortgage.
Yes, I am totally aware of what subprime means...
Why would you champion one phenomenon (banks making bets on peoples lives with odds stacked in their favor)
as opposed to a peasant making a gamble with the odds stacked against them when all they want is their little niche in life...
The bank just wants to drain the last bit of blood out of WHOEVER.
It's really puzzling the double standard here. Yes, I understand this wouldn't be an issue if people simply refused the apple....but isn't this a fundamental lesson on the human condition?
I guess the thread title means that 22% of the American people are not making it from paycheck to paycheck and are just running up more debt. The remaining 2% are making all the loans and reaping all the profits.
The Average Joes did not even consider such a thing, 50 years ago.
Parents have a choice to help fund college or not. Every financial advisor worth their salt will tell you that your own safety net and retirement come first.
Totally agree. But the propaganda about student loans is pretty thick and heavy.
"Everyone can go to college and Uncle Sam will pay your way."
You know what ? Stay at home and go to the CC. Take only classes you can afford to pay for.
Get a p/t job and apply for scholarships and/or pell grant.
So it takes longer than 4 years. Not like there's lots of jobs out there that you need to be rushed.
Totally agree. But the propaganda about student loans is pretty thick and heavy.
"Everyone can go to college and Uncle Sam will pay your way."
You know what ? Stay at home and go to the CC. Take only classes you can afford to pay for.
Get a p/t job and apply for scholarships and/or pell grant.
So it takes longer than 4 years. Not like there's lots of jobs out there that you need to be rushed.
That's a tough line to tow to a generation whose desire for instant gratification has increased exponentially over the last 50 years.
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