wrote in message
...
On Wed, 13 Oct 2010 20:36:04 -0700, "nom=de=plume"
wrote:


wrote in message
. ..
On Wed, 13 Oct 2010 17:14:22 -0700 (PDT), Jack
wrote:

I agree... unfortunately, that's the problem in this country... those
items
are concentrated in the top percentages.

Really? Middle-class people in the US have several cars, nice houses,
big-screen HD TVs, send their kids to private schools, and own boats.
You were saying?


Plume doesn't even think I am middle class ($70-80k) and we have all
of that stuff ... paid for ... no debt.

I'm sure you are. Some people do fine and pay off their debt. That's not
typical, unfortunately.


That is a cultural problem promoted in the 70s when we were told it
was better to "use other people's money and pay them back with
inflated dollars".
I never bought into it but there are lots of people who fell for the
debt trap.
I was saved by a stock broker named John Flick from AG Edwards who sat
me down in 1971 or so and ran the numbers of that "live on credit"
lifestyle. Then he showed what happens when you save up money to buy
things. It didn't take long for me to understand I was too poor to
borrow money.
I will say it again. If you are too poor to pay your bills, how can
you afford to pay your bills plus paying a banker 20% (now 29.999%)
You can be broke at zero or you can live large a little longer and be
broke at your credit limit, hoping the bankruptcy court will make your
neighbors pay your bills.

I will say it again. When you have a relatively low monthly payment, even
though the interest rate is very high, you can typically make the payments
for some period of time. As a short-term solution, it works. Of course, for
long-term, the principal balance needs to be paid off.

Do you not understand this basic concept?