Interesting statistics on bankruptcy

[Riprorin]

According an editiorial by Mortimer Zuckerman, more people this year will end up bankrupt than will suffer a heart attack or be diagnosed with cancer or graduate from college or file for divorce.

Scary.

Why is it so hard to spend within your means and put a little money away for a rainy day?

 

[krunchykrome]

Originally posted by: Riprorin
According an editiorial by Mortimer Zuckerman, more people this year will end up bankrupt than will suffer a heart attack or be diagnosed with cancer or graduate from college or file for divorce.

Scary.

Why is it so hard to spend within your means and put a little money away for a rainy day?

Because we live in America.

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

CREDIT CARDS!!!!
They hand these out to graduating high school kids nowadays. When people have 4 credit cards with a $10K limit on each and only make $30K a year it's obvious to see why they are bankrupting left and right.

 

[Ronstang]

Originally posted by: krunchykrome

Originally posted by: Riprorin
According an editiorial by Mortimer Zuckerman, more people this year will end up bankrupt than will suffer a heart attack or be diagnosed with cancer or graduate from college or file for divorce.

Scary.

Why is it so hard to spend within your means and put a little money away for a rainy day?

Because we live in America.

Well, I live in America, have all the toys I could imagine within reason, and have and always have had ZERO debt except a house mortgaqe......so your point is? It all comes down to discipline which most people lack these days, especially the younger generations.

 

[BD2003]

Ill be honest in saying that I have no idea how bankruptcy actually works...but from what I can gleam:

I can use my credit card with a generous limit of 40,000, buy every and anything I want, and then after a while I claim I cant afford it, file for bankruptcy, and all thats going to happen to me is that I wont be able to have any credit for 10 years?

 

[Spamela]

Originally posted by: JeffreyLebowski
CREDIT CARDS!!!!
They hand these out to graduating high school kids nowadays. When people have 4 credit cards with a $10K limit on each and only make $30K a year it's obvious to see why they are bankrupting left and right.

no doubt in my mind that they're the work of the debbil.

 

[krunchykrome]

Originally posted by: Ronstang

Originally posted by: krunchykrome

Originally posted by: Riprorin
According an editiorial by Mortimer Zuckerman, more people this year will end up bankrupt than will suffer a heart attack or be diagnosed with cancer or graduate from college or file for divorce.

Scary.

Why is it so hard to spend within your means and put a little money away for a rainy day?

Because we live in America.

Well, I live in America, have all the toys I could imagine within reason, and have and always have had ZERO debt except a house mortgaqe......so your point is? It all comes down to discipline which most people lack these days, especially the younger generations.

My point is that America is a consumer society. Your an example of that. You have "all the toy" however you were disciplined and you didnt fall into debt.
And your right, without discipline or someone to teach you about credit and a little bit about money, it is very easy to fall into debt.

 

[TallBill]

And then theres little old me who CANT get any credit whatsoever!

 

[krunchykrome]

Originally posted by: TallBill
And then theres little old me who CANT get any credit whatsoever!

Theres a reason for that.

 

[ctcsoft]

Originally posted by: BD2003
Ill be honest in saying that I have no idea how bankruptcy actually works...but from what I can gleam:

I can use my credit card with a generous limit of 40,000, buy every and anything I want, and then after a while I claim I cant afford it, file for bankruptcy, and all thats going to happen to me is that I wont be able to have any credit for 10 years?

basically yes. 10yrs is a long time though and you will not be able to buy house, car, etc without getting raped for high interest. its not worth it.

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: jmoe782

Originally posted by: BD2003
Ill be honest in saying that I have no idea how bankruptcy actually works...but from what I can gleam:

I can use my credit card with a generous limit of 40,000, buy every and anything I want, and then after a while I claim I cant afford it, file for bankruptcy, and all thats going to happen to me is that I wont be able to have any credit for 10 years?

basically yes. 10yrs is a long time though and you will not be able to buy house, car, etc without getting raped for high interest. its not worth it.

But what happens to everything you bought? You get to keep it all?

 

[ctcsoft]

Originally posted by: Riprorin
According an editiorial by Mortimer Zuckerman, more people this year will end up bankrupt than will suffer a heart attack or be diagnosed with cancer or graduate from college or file for divorce.

Scary.

Why is it so hard to spend within your means and put a little money away for a rainy day?

Some people rack up credit card debt, others have business's that fail and others simply lose their "Good" job and can't find another.

Not everyone who files bankruptcy is bad. It just happens.

 

[ctcsoft]

Originally posted by: BD2003

Originally posted by: jmoe782

Originally posted by: BD2003
Ill be honest in saying that I have no idea how bankruptcy actually works...but from what I can gleam:

I can use my credit card with a generous limit of 40,000, buy every and anything I want, and then after a while I claim I cant afford it, file for bankruptcy, and all thats going to happen to me is that I wont be able to have any credit for 10 years?

basically yes. 10yrs is a long time though and you will not be able to buy house, car, etc without getting raped for high interest. its not worth it.

But what happens to everything you bought? You get to keep it all?

Generally yes you keep it.

 

[ctcsoft]

Originally posted by: BD2003

Originally posted by: jmoe782

Originally posted by: BD2003
Ill be honest in saying that I have no idea how bankruptcy actually works...but from what I can gleam:

I can use my credit card with a generous limit of 40,000, buy every and anything I want, and then after a while I claim I cant afford it, file for bankruptcy, and all thats going to happen to me is that I wont be able to have any credit for 10 years?

basically yes. 10yrs is a long time though and you will not be able to buy house, car, etc without getting raped for high interest. its not worth it.

But what happens to everything you bought? You get to keep it all?

Generally yes you keep it.

 

[dafatha00]

Originally posted by: jmoe782

Originally posted by: BD2003
Ill be honest in saying that I have no idea how bankruptcy actually works...but from what I can gleam:

I can use my credit card with a generous limit of 40,000, buy every and anything I want, and then after a while I claim I cant afford it, file for bankruptcy, and all thats going to happen to me is that I wont be able to have any credit for 10 years?

basically yes. 10yrs is a long time though and you will not be able to buy house, car, etc without getting raped for high interest. its not worth it.

I think it's 7 years

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: jmoe782

Originally posted by: BD2003

Originally posted by: jmoe782

Originally posted by: BD2003
Ill be honest in saying that I have no idea how bankruptcy actually works...but from what I can gleam:

I can use my credit card with a generous limit of 40,000, buy every and anything I want, and then after a while I claim I cant afford it, file for bankruptcy, and all thats going to happen to me is that I wont be able to have any credit for 10 years?

basically yes. 10yrs is a long time though and you will not be able to buy house, car, etc without getting raped for high interest. its not worth it.

But what happens to everything you bought? You get to keep it all?

Generally yes you keep it.

And what about the 40,000 of debt that got racked up? Clean slate, some of it has to get paid back, or youre still responsible for it all?

 

[DougK62]

Originally posted by: JeffreyLebowski
CREDIT CARDS!!!!
They hand these out to graduating high school kids nowadays. When people have 4 credit cards with a $10K limit on each and only make $30K a year it's obvious to see why they are bankrupting left and right.

Credit Cards are NOT the problem! I have several cards with very high limits and I am nowhere near bankrupt.

The problem is the mindset that you deserve to have fancy stuff even if you can't afford it. I mean it would be absolutely HORRIBLE if you weren't the first person on the block with a plasma TV.

 

[Hector13]

Originally posted by: jmoe782

Originally posted by: BD2003

Originally posted by: jmoe782

Originally posted by: BD2003
Ill be honest in saying that I have no idea how bankruptcy actually works...but from what I can gleam:

I can use my credit card with a generous limit of 40,000, buy every and anything I want, and then after a while I claim I cant afford it, file for bankruptcy, and all thats going to happen to me is that I wont be able to have any credit for 10 years?

basically yes. 10yrs is a long time though and you will not be able to buy house, car, etc without getting raped for high interest. its not worth it.

But what happens to everything you bought? You get to keep it all?

Generally yes you keep it.

are you sure about that?? I would imagine the repo man would have something to say abou that (assuming you bought big ticket items like TVs or a car).

 

[ShotgunSteven]

That's a pretty frightening statistic. I racked up some credit card and other debt, but instead of declaring bankruptcy, I've simply started spending less on non-essentials, and more on paying it off. The first think I do now with my paycheques is set aside how much will be going for my bills, then budgeting the rest.

For credit card minimum payments, I'm focusing on one of my two cards right now. The one with the biggest amount on it I'm currently paying five times the minimum monthly payment each month. I just rebudgeted this month, I had been paying about 3.5 times the monthly minimum.

I never really seriously considered bankruptcy. I mean, I used the cards. No one held a gun to my head. I owe the money, and I'm going to pay it back. I also suspect that if I were to go the easy route, and declare bankruptcy, I might be more prone to get into debt again. After clawing my way out of it the hard way, I will be more careful to avoid such situations in the future.

 

[Hector13]

Originally posted by: ShotgunSteve
For credit card minimum payments, I'm focusing on one of my two cards right now. The one with the biggest amount on it I'm currently paying five times the minimum monthly payment each month. I just rebudgeted this month, I had been paying about 3.5 times the monthly minimum.

It's good that you are getting on the right track. I assume you are paying off the card with the higher interest first?

Keep a look out for any offers for cards that will go you a low (or 0%) balance transfer option, even if it is for a limited time. Transferring your balance at 0% (or 2-3%) even for only a few months could save you a lot of interest.

 

[JackBurton]

Originally posted by: jmoe782

Originally posted by: BD2003

Originally posted by: jmoe782

Originally posted by: BD2003
Ill be honest in saying that I have no idea how bankruptcy actually works...but from what I can gleam:

I can use my credit card with a generous limit of 40,000, buy every and anything I want, and then after a while I claim I cant afford it, file for bankruptcy, and all thats going to happen to me is that I wont be able to have any credit for 10 years?

basically yes. 10yrs is a long time though and you will not be able to buy house, car, etc without getting raped for high interest. its not worth it.

But what happens to everything you bought? You get to keep it all?

Generally yes you keep it.

Oh yes, you get to keep it. If you get yourself in a position that you rack up $45,000+ dollars in debt (Credit Card) and are only making like $60,000, I HIGHLY suggest filing Chapter 7. You'll get to keep just about everything, but you're credit is shot for about 7 years. But if you want to be the nice guy and pay your massive debt down, you'll be paying that $45,000 debt until you get in the nursing home. It is a business decision, nothing else. You made poor decisions getting yourself into that position in the first place, but you'll make an even worse decision by trying to pay it off over the next 30yrs. Anyone in that situation should take the bankruptcy shot, and drastically change their spending habits.

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: dafatha00

Originally posted by: jmoe782

Originally posted by: BD2003
Ill be honest in saying that I have no idea how bankruptcy actually works...but from what I can gleam:

I can use my credit card with a generous limit of 40,000, buy every and anything I want, and then after a while I claim I cant afford it, file for bankruptcy, and all thats going to happen to me is that I wont be able to have any credit for 10 years?

basically yes. 10yrs is a long time though and you will not be able to buy house, car, etc without getting raped for high interest. its not worth it.

I think it's 7 years

2-4 years tops, provided they can "re-establish" themselves (or acquire new debts and not miss any payments during that time).

And they can still easily buy a house during that 2-4 year time period -- the interest is not even high enough to be considered "rape" after you remember that the borrower is a freakin' deadbeat.

edit: and yes, generally they get to keep everything. I work in consumer finance, and let me tell you, the biggest myth about people with bad credit is that they are poor. Nothing could be further from the truth. The reality is that people with bad credit are legal criminals. They come in all income brackets, and their favorite game is finding out how they can borrow more without having to pay it back.

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: JackBurton

Originally posted by: jmoe782

Originally posted by: BD2003

Originally posted by: jmoe782

Originally posted by: BD2003
Ill be honest in saying that I have no idea how bankruptcy actually works...but from what I can gleam:

I can use my credit card with a generous limit of 40,000, buy every and anything I want, and then after a while I claim I cant afford it, file for bankruptcy, and all thats going to happen to me is that I wont be able to have any credit for 10 years?

basically yes. 10yrs is a long time though and you will not be able to buy house, car, etc without getting raped for high interest. its not worth it.

But what happens to everything you bought? You get to keep it all?

Generally yes you keep it.

Oh yes, you get to keep it. If you get yourself in a position that you rack up $45,000+ dollars in debt (Credit Card) and are only making like $60,000, I HIGHLY suggest filing Chapter 7. You'll get to keep just about everything, but you're credit is shot for about 7 years. But if you want to be the nice guy and pay your massive debt down, you'll be paying that $45,000 debt until you get in the nursing home. It is a business decision, nothing else. You made poor decisions getting yourself into that position in the first place, but you'll make an even worse decision by trying to pay it off over the next 30yrs. Anyone in that situation should take the bankruptcy shot, and drastically change their spending habits.

I dont know how to say this nicely, but anyone who does that should do jail time as far as Im concerned. People cant pretend they dont know the consequences when they shoot someone and get sent to jail, so I dont see why people should get off so easily like this. Because if youre keeping the stuff, the people who are getting screwed are the retailers and the CC company (I can assume that they push the debt onto the retailer), and it is in effect, stealing.

Business decision maybe, but its absurd to me that people are allowed to do this in the first place and pay so little a penalty.

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: BD2003

I dont know how to say this nicely, but anyone who does that should do jail time as far as Im concerned. People cant pretend they dont know the consequences when they shoot someone and get sent to jail, so I dont see why people should get off so easily like this. Because if youre keeping the stuff, the people who are getting screwed are the retailers and the CC company (I can assume that they push the debt onto the retailer), and it is in effect, stealing.

Business decision maybe, but its absurd to me that people are allowed to do this in the first place and pay so little a penalty.

The people who are getting screwed are you and me, the good consumers who pay our bills on time and in good faith. Retailers and banks write-off the costs of bad debt, passing it onto the regular good consumers in the form of higher prices and interest rates.

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: BD2003

I dont know how to say this nicely, but anyone who does that should do jail time as far as Im concerned. People cant pretend they dont know the consequences when they shoot someone and get sent to jail, so I dont see why people should get off so easily like this. Because if youre keeping the stuff, the people who are getting screwed are the retailers and the CC company (I can assume that they push the debt onto the retailer), and it is in effect, stealing.

Business decision maybe, but its absurd to me that people are allowed to do this in the first place and pay so little a penalty.

The people who are getting screwed are you and me, the good consumers who pay our bills on time and in good faith. Retailers and banks write-off the costs of bad debt, passing into on the regular good consumers in the form of higher prices and interest rates.

God bless america.