Okay I was listening to the Tom Lykes show on 97.1 today and they were talking about generation debt and how most 18-34 year olds are in debt. One 31 year old woman called in and said she had 60,000 in school loans, and 20,000 in credit card loans because she bought stupid things like clothes and make up that she didn't need and she only paid the minimum on her credit card. Wha? Why would you only pay the minimum? Isn't that only like $50 a month or something? She also said she only knows one person who is not in debt and who actually has money in savings, and everyone else she knows is in debt and/or filed for bankruptcy. What is wrong with people? Why do we buy things we don't need? Why are we fooling ourselves?
If you buy something on sale, you're not really saving any money because of the 20% finance charge on your card. I used to shop a lot, but realized recently that I should start saving money each month for a down payment for a home. So anyway, after I turned off my shopping switch and stopped shopping, I found it was really easy to tell myself I didn't need this pair of shoes or this purse. And my wallet has thanked me. I'm fortunate to have money in savings, a 401K, and not too much on my credit card. But it just makes me wonder and worry about friends who owe tons in school loans and have escalating credit card debt. (And some of these friends don't even have rent to worry about!)
For those of you who still read this blog page, I'd appreciate your thoughts on this whole generation debt thing.
1 comment:
first off ... why in all that is holy would you listen to tom lykes. that man is evil and a chauvinist pig.
as for the generation debt ... it is not surprising. forget even calling it a generation debt ... just call it US debt. look at our whole fricking country. why do you think shows like suze orman on cnbc (who is a frequent guest on the oprah show) do so well. why do you think books like rich dad, poor dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki sell millions of copies. the basic concept in all these things is have less liablities and more assets. easier said then done. i use to have this one coworker who would buy like mad yet she was living in an apartment, had one kid and another one coming. it didn't make sense to someone to me but i guess it was perfectly normal for someone like her.
good to hear you putting money away dorkus ... becuase seriously who needs another pair of shoes. isn't one pair of converse with holes in it good enough ???
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