tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5465015914589377788.post771246749398801983..comments2024-03-20T09:32:16.592-04:00Comments on Michael James on Money: Lines of Credit Undermine Personal FinanceMichael Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10362529610470788243noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5465015914589377788.post-4882552649498439652011-06-13T22:08:57.737-04:002011-06-13T22:08:57.737-04:00Well said.
I can feel this first hand. While w...Well said. <br /><br />I can feel this first hand. While we're saving for our future, slowly making some great gains I think, we needed to take out an LOC for our roof renovation this year and we're trying to aggressively pay it back in the next 12 months. <br /><br />Easy credit is just that, easy. There is nothing easy about paying it all back without some discipline.My Own Advisorhttp://www.myownadvisor.canoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5465015914589377788.post-45511589500974066492011-06-13T11:16:33.173-04:002011-06-13T11:16:33.173-04:00@Steve: I agree with you that people who can'...@Steve: I agree with you that people who can't get good jobs have big troubles. However, on the subject of falling behind, it's not about whether it's possible to calculate whether you've had a good month or not. It's about whether the stark reminder of a dwindling bank account is there to stop you at a weak moment. Taking weight as an analogy, it's not hard to calculate energy usage from daily activites, and it's not hard to calculate energy content of food consumed, and yet people get fat. Their problems have nothing to do with math; they need to find strength at weak moments when they're about to eat unhealthy food or skip exercise.Michael Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10362529610470788243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5465015914589377788.post-31445873459915174252011-06-13T10:59:16.038-04:002011-06-13T10:59:16.038-04:00The Wealthy Barber was a revelation to me in my ea...The Wealthy Barber was a revelation to me in my early 30s and I love Chilton's take on personal finance then and now.<br /><br />I find it hard to believe that folks don't realize they're falling behind in such scenarios - ie they're saving 10% but increasing their line of credit by a greater percentage. <br /><br />It's basic math. And math is not a subject that I'm particularly good at.<br /><br />My compassion really goes out to those who are stuck in dead-end jobs, have medical commitments and/or life problems that have sucked up their capital and they can't make ends meet anywhere without dipping into a line of credit - knowingly increasing their debt load because of stuff life has thrown at them.Stevehttp://www.steveonline.canoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5465015914589377788.post-84842086902761691472011-06-13T09:07:14.648-04:002011-06-13T09:07:14.648-04:00@Mike: I think creeping renovation is an example ...@Mike: I think creeping renovation is an example of people being unable to resist the temptation of easy credit. The ones I have more compassion for are those who actually try to manage their money well (possibly by saving 10% of income) but fail because they don't realize that their line of credit is growing faster than their savings.Michael Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10362529610470788243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5465015914589377788.post-15319468150941666272011-06-13T09:03:44.617-04:002011-06-13T09:03:44.617-04:00I agree both you and David.
Another good commen...I agree both you and David. <br /><br />Another good comment he had was about home renovations and that people get one room done and then the rest of the house looks bad, so they have to keep renovating - all financed by their line of credit. :)Mike Holmanhttp://www.moneysmartsblog.comnoreply@blogger.com