a question for the older crowd

my stubborness will definately get the best of me one day. until then, i'm betting big right now. currently im in a little over my head in debt, bills and money are tight and i haven't stopped spending money yet nor have i started knocking out that debt like i know i should be doing. anyhow, this brings me to the point of my thread: how do you live your life?

i know i need to pay my debts and get rid of my credit cards but that wouldn't leave me much fun. the way i see it, you got to balance it all out. pay some off, enjoy some things you cant afford, and it will work itself out in the end. however, that's dangerous. if i lost my job right now i'd be in a world of hurt. maybe im an idiot, maybe im not, but i hate feeling like i have to pay my bills off first and saving saving saving. shit, i could be shot after a couple years of playing it safe and saving and then what? all that hard work and savings down the drain.

what are you people's thoughts about this? do you tend to get in over your head, play it safe? let's hear some thoughts please.

the thin line between success and failure

Let me paint a hypothetical situation for you One day you wake up and discover your car is stolen. you miss work, your ass hole boss is unsympathetic, the bills start piling up. You start missing your payments. Paying the minimum on your credit cards. Rent is late. Stop paying the phone bill all together. and lose your home . This is what happened to me. HERES THE ADVICE. GET A CLUB FOR YOUR CAR> RENTERS INSURANCE, AND PUT TOGETHER AN EMERGENCY 2500 Dollars in case shit falls apart. Pay the CREDIT CARDS off but Keep them around for emergencies. You never know how vulnerable you are until the shit hits the fan. Be prepared. YOu have only yourself to rely on. Your girlfriend will be out as soon as your broke. BELIEVE ME. If you are lucky you have good parents. I wasnt that lucky. i was living in a week to week apartment in a grimy part of Detroit for 4 months before i could find work and a cheap ride. It was more of a brother than anything.

spend a little, save a little...as long as YOU know your limit, and your ability to pay it back.

i like to indulge on stuff here and there too; as long as i know i can pay it off right away...shouldn't be a problem.

Originally posted by slave_one@Apr 16 2005, 05:58 AM

spend a little, save a little...as long as YOU know your limit, and your ability to pay it back.

 

i like to indulge on stuff here and there too; as long as i know i can pay it off right away...shouldn't be a problem.

Quoted post

i definitely feel ya on this one slave

Postmodernism knows, I had something similar happen due to alcoholism and losing a job of 3 years because of related problems suddenly and without much warning. Set aside $$$ if you can and be ready for the worst, you can still have fun, just skip out on buying the expensive shit.

I could have bought that dual processor opteron I've wanted this week but opted for the el-cheapo overclocking machine instead just so I'd have some backup funds.

Pretty much you have to budget your money, dont spend it as much on things that arent worthwhile, stop eating out, buy ramen. do the simple shit in life. Just like willy wonka said, it is the thin line between failure and success.

Pay off your credit cards, try to send as much as possible, when you send the minimum payment, its not helping much. for example.

minimum is 60 bucks, 35 goes towards interest that leaves 25 for the total amount due. now, if the next time it's 60 also, and 35 goes to interest that means thatout of 120, you only paid 50 towards the initial amount. get it.

just budget yoru shit and youll do fine, everyone has debt, but it's the people that are smart with it that dont worry about it.

HAIRDRESSER HAIR

go for broke move back in with your mom lose yrou job and dotn have a license for another couple months(goin on 3 years) do that and then tell me how you enjoyed living... shit is wack....

Ive been saving and not really spending Large sums of money for almost 5 years, and its BORING. Luckily i had those savings when i lost my job and had to rely on them for the next few months, but saving when youre young isnt really necessary i dont think. I think its worth it to just spend it while you have it , and you have the time and shit to do so. Because definately the older you get the more Expensive life is and the less time you have to enjoy the money you can save .

My .02

hard to come up when you have barriers such as debt.

I Don't Wanna Grow Up

(Tom Waits/K. Brennan)

When I'm lyin' in my bed at night

I don't wanna grow up

Nothin' ever seems to turn out right

I don't wanna grow up

How do you move in a world of fog

That's always changing things

Makes me wish that I could be a dog

When I see the price that you pay

I don't wanna grow up

I don't ever wanna be that way

I don't wanna grow up

Seems like folks turn into things

That they'd never want

The only thing to live for

Is today...

I'm gonna put a hole in my TV set

I don't wanna grow up

Open up the medicine chest

And I don't wanna grow up

I don't wanna have to shout it out

I don't want my hair to fall out

I don't wanna be filled with doubt

I don't wanna be a good boy scout

I don't wanna have to learn to count

I don't wanna have the biggest amount

I don't wanna grow up

Well when I see my parents fight

I don't wanna grow up

They all go out and drinking all night

And I don't wanna grow up

I'd rather stay here in my room

Nothin' out there but sad and gloom

I don't wanna live in a big old Tomb

On Grand Street

When I see the 5 o'clock news

I don't wanna grow up

Comb their hair and shine their shoes

I don't wanna grow up

Stay around in my old hometown

I don't wanna put no money down

I don't wanna get me a big old loan

Work them fingers to the bone

I don't wanna float a broom

Fall in love and get married then boom

How the hell did I get here so soon

I don't wanna grow up

RESPONSIBILITY, WHAT'S THAT!

RESPONSIBILITY, NOT QUITE YET!

I don't remember who sang the song, but I think it sucked.

spend like hell, you only live once, its the american way

I'm going to school right now, so I'm living paycheck to paycheck getting food and other necessities. And that's where I'm at right now.

wheni first started college i applied for so many credit cards. i just kept spending without thinking about the consequences. i would "ignore" the bills as they kept coming nonstop and arguing with the collectors. i have fucked up credit but slowly rebuilding it. a few things helped me get back on the right track like buying a house, owning my own business, paid back a student loan, paid off some credit cards, and hopefully buying a car this year and financing just a small portion of it. i wish i was smarter about this shit when i was younger.

try to drop half or 1/4 of your future paychecks in a savings account. or buy bonds.

easy peasy japaneezy

Well......I lost my job awhile back and then have been dealing with credit card debt and court fines......DWI's are the fucking worst.....most of my cash I make from doing free-lance artwork has been spent on my alcohol classes and fines.....and on top of that..I had a "nest-egg" put away for times like this....but that has dwindled down to nothing.....but oh well......I plan on selling one of my old cars in hopes to putting some of that money for moving again....but with the gas prices how they are.....that might not work out the way I want it too.....we'll see....

i always keep an "emergency money" stash of about $1000 just in case. i don't have a credit cards or any other debts, so i live at my means and that's it. i could be saving alot of money right now, but i'm not. just living the high life at the moment cos it's so damn fun!

try and never get a credit card, very hard i no, but it's just debt debt debt!

i whole-heartedly agree with heroin dart. don't get a credit card, do like ol' dirty ABC and get a visa debit card. you have the convenence of a visa, except you're spending your own money

i might not be one of the older cats,but i agree with abc to the fullest,my mom doesnt really beleive in credit cards,ive never had a bank to goto and pull money out of it,im sure ill get a debit card eventually,but for now im good with a money clip.

I made some bad money decisions about 8 years ago and fell into some hardcore debt action, up until the last year I was still feeling aftershocks. But now I'm forever done with that bullshit, and I will never do it again. (living on credit)

Avoid credit cards and banks AS MUCH AS YOU CAN.

Even if you think it's a pain in the ass to get money orders for bills and shit, do it anyway. The less number of times YOUR money gets touched by a bank, the better off you are. Once you start keeping your expendable money in the bank, they have all kinds of dark intricate 'policies' that are designed to plink you for a few extra bucks here and there and it happenes to everyone.

As for credit cards, what kind of sucker wants to pay interest on a candybar, beer, or a bill? Spending only the money you actually have helps you learn how to adjust your lifestyle to suit different budgets, because sometimes you have to buckle down and live in buddha mode. I always feel secure because I realize I can live with a lot less when needed.

Don't even think about getting any loans.

Don't even think about getting any credit cards.

If you can live without those two things, it feels fucking awesome.

Get one of them isa's that dont allow you to have the money for at least say.....5 years... the thing about a lot of isa's is if you dont keep up the repayments, you lose your money.... so you know you have to save

i made plenty of bad financial decisions as a kid, but none of them were catastrophic.

i never got above 6k on the credit card, and even that was spending on an investment: college.

i've never spent more than 2k on anything that wasn't an investment

i followed my parents, who never took out a loan on a car (they've always paid for them in cash by saving up first then buying it)

get debt free.

figure out what you really really enjoy, spend money on that, and sacrifice on most other things.

avoid loans and big credit card debt.

try to buy a home or get into a secure investment like an IRA early.

i love to travel and paint.

that's pretty much where all my money goes.

i'm about to buy a house

but i don't have a cell phone, a car, gadgets, reams of new clothes, or vast expenditure on frivolity

Originally posted by casekonly@Apr 16 2005, 10:45 PM

hard to come up when you have barriers such as debt.

Quoted post

truth.

with just credit cards, im 6k in debt. with car, student loans, and credit, about 45k in debt. i make 11 dollars an hour in the shit city. I had a fancy for expensive shoes, louis vuitton belts and eating out alot. now i eat oatmeal, rock cheap gear i cop on ebay, and am selling a car to cut debt down and lower insurance.

it was fun, and i don't MISS the bills, i'm slowly whittling away at it, but now i'm trying to get my business out of concept and into physical motion, and it's next-to-impossible to have the 5-10k capital to start up, let alone get a loan for the rest...

seriously, slow down the spending. sure you can splurge, but be aware when you do it. like last night, got some 189 dollar seven for all mankind jeans for 50 bucks, but now i gotta hold the rest of my cash till friday when i get paid and get my 40-60 dollar allowance again.

be careful with that shit, it doesn't seem like much now, but when you want to do something, be it start a business, own a new car, or buy a house, you're fucked.

here's a simple fact, EVERYONE NEEDS CREDIT.

Well maybe the hippies dont need it, but if you

ever plan on buying property, owning a nice car

or any big ticket purchases, you need credit.

You can owe lots of money and still have a good

credit rating. I owe 7K to a line of credit and zip

to the credit cards, but I'f I wanted to I could pull

something like 30k out. If I needed a loan for a house

I could probably get one, but not without the credit I've

already established. Yeah..... monday morning.

The house thing is something I've thought about and I'm prepared to rent for the rest of my life. The single deciding factor was the way they rape you with interest. Now I didn't even know this until a few years ago, but they make you pay the interest on the amount of the loan EVERY YEAR. So if you take out a loan for 100k with a 5% interest rate, you'll be paying 5k in interest every year. I always figured you would just pay the interest once, but I never did much research on it, so maybe it's common knowledge and I've been sleepin. And propery tax on top of that is the nail in the coffin.

I can understand how buying a house would be a good financial decision for some people, and I've heard some good arguments. But there is no way I'll have that because from now on I only buy things that I have the money for. Plus I like having the freedom to skip out and move whenever I wish, without debts holding me back. Because until a mortgage is paid off, it's just a huge fucking debt. And if you own a house you'll need credit to buy appliances, it's a vicious cycle. No thanks, I’ll leave that shit to the landlords when my refrigerator breaks or my basement is flooded.

^ the thing is that some houses go up in value,

so the difference there is enough to cover the intrese you've paid.

A house bought in the 70's for 150k in a good area is probably going

to sell for 300K+ now. Some houses will sell for more.

it kinda sucks how society has programmed us to grow up > get a job > buy a house, etc etc..

there is nothing wrong with being a renter.