greetings from the weird state(portland, oregon)

[Donedirtcheap]

the bankruptcy laws are from the bible, where it says a man should be forgiven of his debts once every three years.

Now that was from a time when (aparently god) wasnt expecting people to get into debt for generations (as we do now with the debts of the parrents falling to their children) or that people would live much longer than 40, or that the debt that you could generate could be the equivilant of several thousands of lifetimes of work (what just a few of the 1% have generated in like a weekend) or that currency itself would not be tied to a standard and could be capable cascading deflation by over printing and devaluation on the world market.... humm...

I respect integrity, but I dont know... I'm starting to have a completely different view about long term debt, and generally about how much one individual's contributions to society are greatly undervalued. meh I say file the BK and get rid of as much debt as you can including student loans or anything else.

Could I please ask you a few things that may help me to understand this better?
What debts are passed from parent to child?

What if everyone didn't pay for things that they took possession of. Wouldn't they just quit loaning and the ones who are responsible and use credit to enjoy what they want while not having the pile cash now be left out?

So then are you saying to save up the money and then buy the item as the only way to do purchase things? If it was normal for everyone to NOT pay back what they have borrowed why would others lend to them?

Isn't credit actually a very good thing? Lets say a person needs a car to do everything they want to do. So this person goes out and buys a Prius. That person now goes to work and is able to drive further to an even more lucrative job position, go on vacation, help tote groceries for an older friend who cant get out, take that friend to the doctor, and while doing it helping the earth because of excellent mileage. The old person didn't have to buy a car of her own, get insurance, plate, fuel AND possibly not kill any of us because of having a difficult time driving. I guess you could say that credit is actually life saving.

 

[Simran]

I had a business go south on me about 20 years ago. I had a lawyer tell me to go bankrupt. I thought about all the people that I had done business with in good faith and bankruptcy wasn't an option for me anymore. I paid it all off. It took 10 years to pay it off. That said, I also understand there are situations where bankruptcy is the only route to take. In my situation I had a job that paid well enough to pay off my former colleague's and business associates; not everyone does.

I can pay it off, just slower than my limited patience allows. And I did make good use of my education, just not good use of my finances; I accept that I owe my debts. I just have to pay them asap.

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blue. thanks but I like being me!

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[dronny]

this has become a great discussion, I think I'm going to like it here!

I respect integrity, but I dont know... I'm starting to have a completely different view about long term debt, and generally about how much one individual's contributions to society are greatly undervalued. meh I say file the BK and get rid of as much debt as you can including student loans or anything else.

lol, I'm not so sure I can call it integrity so much as the most reasonable path for my future plans and no small amount of obsessive attitude! That and I don't particularly like the companies I owe money; the faster I pay, the less those leeching suits take from me in interest..

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely would go banko if it was a reasonable option, and encourage those who are crippled by debt to follow that path asap.

this has been something I've been working on for 2 years, already cutting my lifestyle to the minimum my sanity would allow; now all I owe is a bank and my student loans. the bank will be paid by next winter and then all that's left is getting the Department of Ed off my back, but If I can focus the cost of my rent, and utilities onto my bills as well, I have the chance to pay it off years sooner, make my money work for me, and -dare I say- have a life again!

barely in my 30's and no debt overshadowing me... that just feels good to think about !

 

[Simran]

The fact that the suits you speak of are leaches is evident in the fact that:
1) their paperwork is extremely hard to understand
2) they maximize interest at every turn
3) if you want to pay extra on the pricipal every month to get out of debt sooner; they make it nearly impossible. You can't just send them extra; they don't take it off the principle unless you contact them and jump though special hoops. This according to one of my daughters that is trying to get out from under her debt with Them ASAP.

 

[Patrick46]

Here's an idea my neighbor told me about, and may be worth checking out...

he's kind of a kook, but he's good with money...to the point that he's paid off his duplex in 1/3 of the original loan's timeframe.

here's what he told me he does...
he sends in HALF a payment at the begining of the month, and the other half midway through the month. Somehow, this makes a huge dent in the principal, and thus, the interest which is calculated at the begining of the month is clobbered...or something like that. but it's definately 1/2 on the first, and the other half on the 15th.
It takes real dicipline to do it this way, but it seriously works for him.

I've heard the old "make 1 extra house payment a year will knock 10 years off a 30 year loan," but his approach was new to me...but like I said, it seems to work well for him.

 

[Donedirtcheap]

Here's an idea my neighbor told me about, and may be worth checking out...

he's kind of a kook, but he's good with money...to the point that he's paid off his duplex in 1/3 of the original loan's timeframe.

here's what he told me he does...
he sends in HALF a payment at the begining of the month, and the other half midway through the month. Somehow, this makes a huge dent in the principal, and thus, the interest which is calculated at the begining of the month is clobbered...or something like that. but it's definately 1/2 on the first, and the other half on the 15th.
It takes real dicipline to do it this way, but it seriously works for him.

I've heard the old "make 1 extra house payment a year will knock 10 years off a 30 year loan," but his approach was new to me...but like I said, it seems to work well for him.

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/mtg/20010920a.asp

 

[Patrick46]

Thanx for the link DDC!

very interesting.