Letters to the Editor
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@Strawberry
I loved your post to Mr/Ms Perfect! We live in a world in which to take responsibility for our life, with its flaws and magnificent obsessions, is avoided. We have the "prefect" example in the POTUS, who manages to deflect all responsibility to others: that is why we have him. I, too, have made many mistakes and some I have denied, but when it all comes to the bottom line, I will have to accept myself, as I am. I love the Four Agreements by don Miguel Ruiz: Be impeccable with your Word; Don't take anything personally; Do not assume anything; and, Always do your Best. We are all imperfect, for that is the nature of humankind; our purpose is to re-member ourselves and discover Who We Are--Spiritual Beings having a human experience. If you are not willing to make a mistake, you will not grow. Unlike the economy, we are meant to grow forever.
peace(in your imperfection),
st john
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Savings -- anyone heard of that?
For example, the person who whines that the credit card company fucked her over by increasing her interest from 9 percent to 29% when she was a few days late paying the monthly minimum on the bill for her honeymoon THREE YEARS AGO. She says “these credit card companies create a system where it's just impossible to do the right thing.” No, they didn't force you to spend THEIR money on the honeymoon that YOU couldn't afford. If you didn't have the money for it, you should have gone on the trip. Period.
Someone else points out that "if you need surgery or xrays or medication -- none of that is an optional "consumer choice" like buying an ipod or going to Disney World. So how the hell can we as a society think its okay to bankrupt people simply because they didn't want to die? How can people have their entire credit score ruined just because they couldn't pay their hospital bill?"
What about saving to pay for possible medical expenses? Until you have at least six months of living expenses in your bank account, you shouldn't own an iPod, have cable TV, fifty pairs of designer shoes or take a trip to DisneyWorld. SOMEONE has to pay for your medical care. The "free" healthcare you want will be paid for by SOMEONE. You seem to think that because YOU paid for the iPod and the DisneyWorld, someone else should pay for your healthcare. Who exactly? Me? OK, but I get to buy my iPod first and take my trip to DisneyWorld, then I'll get back to ya.
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Interesting article
I personally wish we would educate younger consumers on the risks of credit cards. I got mine when I started college and I'm still paying it off and still have quite a ways to go. True, most of it was used for books and supplies, but a good amount was frivolous. It feels like free money when you're younger and you're sure that you'll get an awesome job right away and pay it off in one crack.
The CD analogy is apt. If I knew in college that the CD I kind of wanted would end up equaling $200 or the couple of drinks before finals would end up being $50 after interest and fees, I probably would have been more prudent in my spending.
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Strawberry
I made a lot more mistakes than you, but that was 30 years ago. Since then I've become perfact. (Almost)
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@Strawberry
Look, Strawberry, there is no point in seeing people who haven't made mistakes with credit as the enemy.
The enemy is THE BANKS, with their smarmy enticements, manipulations and outrageous cost structures.
It is up to each one of us to resist all this, to whatever extent we are able to -- it is critical to a life lived well. (Ha, I just remembered a credit card ad slogan that I believe used those very words: "Live well." Yeah, right!!!)
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smug and perfect ?
How does it make me perfect that I have not run up credit card debt? Why am I smug because I disagreed someone who claims that debt-free people are boring? I never said I haven't made mistakes or had problems. I've been lucky not to lose a job unexpectedly, and actually I have a child with serious medical issues which are luckily mostly paid for by insurance. I'm grateful for that luck, which I recognize not everyone has.
But I'm not going to be bullied into denying I'm proud of keeping my spending within my means. I've made plenty of mistakes, too (hey--do you like me now?) but I've worked my way out of them, and that doesn't mean I don't have "human interest". I don't find people interesting or not based on their financial status.
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okay
St John, i bestow upon you the blessing of imperfection and humility. Spread it like jam on everyone you meet.
Jared, pfffffft, I saw the pictures and they were pretty recent. That totally wasn't "perfect"
As for me, I forgot to pick out something for dinner and now that I think about it...maybe it's a burrito night! Oh, but won't that be a mistake at midnight with the rumblings start and the bed shakes!
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It's a lot easier to condemn the "irresponsible"
than face the scary, scary truth that not everything in this world is under your control.
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Can't say I have much sympathy
I had my own problems with mounting debt several years ago -- I thought I could make it as a freelancer, and it didn't take me long to discover that it wasn't the life for me, either financially or practically. I ran up some modest credit card debt paying for bare essentials -- food, some clothes to wear to interviews, an unexpected car repair -- but I then spent a couple of years with virtually no luxury expenses and plowed every penny back into my debt until my salary increased (the interview clothes paid off) and my debt became manageable (through my hard work and austere lifestyle).
I have now had excellent credit and no debt (aside from a 30-year fixed mortgage) for the past several years. I didn't borrow money from anyone, I did it all myself. But most importantly, I never felt the need to "keep up with the Joneses." This is the real problem for most of the people I know who have significant debt -- they decided they had to have the huge McMansion, and had to have the gas-guzzling SUV, and had to have the designer wardrobe, etc., etc., without ever stopping to think about whether their expenditures were exceeding their their ability to pay.
It wasn't that long ago that credit cards didn't even exist. If you wanted a new couch, you saved money until you could afford to buy a new couch. With credit comes responsibility. If you can't handle that responsibility, you shouldn't have credit.
I can't say I have much sympathy for the author of this piece. As she admits, she knew what she was getting into, but she was too in thrall to the lifestyle and lacked the common sense to head off her debt before it spiralled out of control. I know her story is common, but that's why it's so sad: so many people either aren't smart enough to realize the consequences of their actions, or they just don't care.
How typically American.