Interesting story in today's LAT concerning the mechanics of evicting upper-end homeowners. Lots of Americans today, even those making good salaries, are only one serious illness or one outsourced job away from serious financial trouble.
And, of course, there's a large group of folks who've listened to too many commericals and have lived "above their means" for too long. "Above their means" is a short-hand way for saying that they spent more than they made. You can't do that. A single person can't do that. A family can't do that. A nation can't do that. And, yet, that's what many of us have been doing and it's what America has been doing. "Above your means" means that you ran up credit card debts, that you took the equity out of your home and used it to buy stuff or to go on vacation or to eat out. Or that you financed tax cuts for the rich and a vanity war by borrowing money from China.
We -- all of us -- need to stop this.
The cost of living exceeds average income.
ReplyDelete-Mr.M
A friend just told me that a co-worker and her husband (who lost his job two years ago, has a bad heart, and has been unable to find a new job) have filed for bankruptcy.
ReplyDeleteThey were talked into one of these new type mortgages when they refinanced, which I'm gathering was interest only with a large bump up possible. A worst case scenario, they were told, or at least that's how they remember it.
I think mortgage interest was still pretty low for fixed rates at that time, but they were told of all the "advantages" of this different kind of mortgage.
Oops.
Well, worst case has arrived; the house payment is taking half the wife's income; and they can't afford that with his medical expenses.
So they have their house up for sale--in a bad market. And they're trying to find a rental they can afford--in an expensive Northern NJ housing market.
Sad story.
jawbone
Many, many South Africans live like this-we've got Western Affluence Disease eating at our hearts.
ReplyDeleteThere are folks who live in a shack (really!) and drive a brand-new BMW.
There are folks who live in a small-to-medium size house or apartment, who own two of these monstrous 4X4 s (I think you call them SUVs), for no other reason than to impress the neighbours, apparently.
People here are largely living well into credit territory, and as regularly as they are falling off the map, others arise to fill their economic space.
I can't stand it.
I earn a reasonably good salary, have a small house and a big garden- and a five-year-old, tiny little car.
There's only two of us, for heaven's sake-why would we need so much metal, so much petrol, so many rooms?
Love,
Terri in Joburg