Cannot support the Auto bailout bill
When I was a kid, I had to go to my parents when I needed money. I didn’t have a job but I still wanted stuff. At a certain point, I got a small part-time job and made a few bucks. I couldn’t buy big-ticket items but I could still buy small stuff. If I wanted to buy a big-ticket item, I had to scrimp and save.
With the advent of credit cards, I can now buy big-ticket items without actually having the money! Suddenly, I can buy a car, a big-screen TV, several computers and even buy groceries without actually having the cash to support it. In many ways, this is a great thing!! No more waiting to save up. I can do it over time.
The problem with this cycle is I will continue to buy big-ticket items. I won’t really care about how much I owe because I’m still buying stuff that I want. Soon, the credit card companies want me to pay, except they don’t. They’re perfectly fine if I pay $20 a month for a $4500 bill because they’ll get more money from me through the interest. But the average credit card user doesn’t know this (surprising, isn’t it?)
I left college with a little under $15,000 of credit card debt. That’s right. I was determined to pay that it off within five years. I took a hard look at my budget, pinched everything I could. It took me two years to finally pay it off! I’ve been debt-free since August 2008.
I didn’t pay this off through free money. I saved every penny I got. I cut back on all my spending. And through discipline and toil, I was able to pay it off and still save money!
That’s right! I still was able to put money away for saving!
I don’t get paid that much. I’m a firm believer that you can save no matter what you get paid. Most people don’t because they are under the impression that they need every penny. This is simply not the case.
The auto industry has only itself to blame for getting into this mess. The problem is three-fold: