Letters to the Editor
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RE: anonymous
I agree, which is why I said I take some responsibility. My point though was had I never added anything to my card post surgery, I would still be about 9500 in debt when I graduated. The fact that I was stupid and added to that number does not take that away. I'm not denying reckless spending and I'm glad I got a job where I could pay off my debt fairly rapidly without starving myself, I'm just saying not all debt is because of irresponsible behaviour.
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@Anonymous
Which anonymous, you ask? The one who wrote this:
"33-Year-Old Calls Borrowing from Dad "Being an Adult"
It's almost an Onion headline."
In the late 90's, I was in the Bay Area, and read a story in the newspaper about all the young programmers who were getting laid off. These folks were paid enormous sums, because at the peak of the dot-com boom, no one was available and money was falling off the trees.
When told about the $1500 or so monthly unemployment check he'd be getting, one young programmer was quote in the story as saying:
"That won't even cover the payment on my Porsche!"
Can't you just feel the sympathy welling up inside you?
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Bingo!!!
Everytime I read a personal essay that deal with the foibles of the writer, I play a little game with myself. It's called how many letters will it take before we get the mandatory "shut up you little sniveling over-privileged whiny self-indulgent POS! Why don't you just crawl under a rock somewhere and stop afflicting us with your pathetic prose stylings. I can't believe Salon publishes this crap!"
This time around I only had to wait for the second letter (which I reproduce below).
For God's sake, give it a rest people.
$10,710???
That's it? Quit your whining. You couldn't manage to pay your minimum due on that? That's sad. And pathetic. And this article is completely useless. Try living with 30K in debt. I still manage to make my minimum payments. And I didn't have to see a credit counselor to do it. Nor am I 33. I can't believe Salon paid you to write this sham of an article. Oh, woe is me, I paid for too many lattes at Starbucks. Ridiculous.
--Anonymous
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I could not agree more with the writer whose letter was accepted by the editors.
Borrowing $2000 from Dad does NOT constitute being "grown up." $10K in debt can be paid back in a year, if the borrower isn't pampered and spoiled.
Amazing. Just AMAZING.
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No, nothing fishy about this "success story"
It just sounds a little odd that people are claiming to be able to pay off tens of thousands of dollars in debt -- yet they earn no extra money, still owe the exact same amount on their mortgage, etc.
In my case, what made the difference was selling my expensive condo, moving into a cheap apartment, and trading my expensive car for a cheap one. Yes, it was hard to abandon my beautiful hardwood floors (I did them myself...) and the nice new compact car - but I had to do that in order to survive. What the debt-management gurus do NOT tell you is that the largest expense most of us have is housing and cars. Reduce those, and you're golden. Forget about the piddly little expenses like Starbucks (for some reason, beloved by the debt-management gurus...) - concentrate on the big stuff.
I also drastically stepped up my advertising for my business. More advertising -> more income -> more debt reduction. I took on all sorts of other gigs.
So yes - more income, much fewer expenses, and I got my debt paid off. I didn't even tell my parents I had any debt. I told them years later; they were horrified when they found out. But I wanted to climb out of that hole by myself - and I did.
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I'm not so sure about that
@red_kira:
"$10K in debt can be paid back in a year, if the borrower isn't pampered and spoiled."
Oh, I seriously doubt Salon pays that well. It can't be terribly easy to live in NY making a living as a freelance writer.
But one wonders why a person writing primarily for the net would feel the need to live in one of the most expensive cities in the world.
I think it's admirable to pursue a dream. But let's bring back a more realistic vision of the bohemian artist, sculptor, or writer, shall we? Why not join or form a writers colony some place cheap? If you've chosen a path that takes you out of the rat race of office jobs, fine, but it kind of means you can't have that lifestyle, too, doesn't it?
It seems to me any self-respecting bohemian wouldn't want that lifestyle in the first place.
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A bookstore, yeah, that's smart
The author writes:
"There is no shortage of books on the subject of financial recovery. Walking into a bookstore [emphasis mine] and looking for one ..."
Uhhh, I don't suppose the author has ever heard of that strange novelty known as a "public library" ... has she?
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"In a wash-and-fold town like New York, I actually do my own laundry"
omg
33? OMG!!!!
How do you get that old without picking up a few clues along the way?
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Think of Credit Cards as Microcredit..
And treat it that way.
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTSOCIALDEVELOPMENT/0,,contentMDK:21455897%7EpagePK:210058%7EpiPK:210062%7EtheSitePK:244363,00.html
Credit is a luxury. Get a little perspective.
Read the complete paper. Especially you, Sarah.
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTSOCIALDEVELOPMENT/Resources/Sanyal_Microcredit_new.pdf
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Freelancing makes fiscal sense
Interesting point and counterpoint about freelancing. I have been a freelance technical writer for nearly 20 years. I also am a single mom of a four-year-old son. Pretty precarious, right?
Could be. However, when you freelance there's a far more direct connection between your labor and what you get for it. More specifically, your time and what you trade it for. Makes you - me, in this case - a lot more mindful of cash flow.
I have a credit card that I use for any purchase over $10, and have been doing so for 25 years. In that 25 years I have paid exactly $0 in interest and finance charges.
When I see a pretty bauble in the store, I don't think, Hey, it's mine just for swiping this plastic.
I do think, It's mine, for whatever its price comes to in the time I must work for it ... time away from my son.
Makes it very easy to pass up the bauble.