[Alfarif]

Tyler Durden, is that you? Seriously, do you really believe that? I can't imagine how people get such unfortunate attitiudes towards the U.S., as I've never felt that just because my neighbor has a nicer car, or my fellow employee gets paid more, that I'm somehow a shittier person. Sure, seeing someone do better than myself can make me jealous, but jealousy is just a great tool to be used as motivation to make more money, become better at jobs/school, and enjoy it all along the way.

Do **I** really believe that anything anyone else has or owns affects me in any way? No. Do plenty of other people? Yes, unfortunately. I prescribe to the "living cheaply and comfortably" way of life. I never buy "new", I don't buy at retail stores if I can help it, and I'm quite satisfied with my life.

[Cyan]

Or you can not be a dumbass, educate yourself, and not fuck up your life.

This. It's not that hard to figure out that spending more money than you earn is not sustainable.

"But Cyan! Everyone else is borderline retarded and are forced to buy iPhones by giant corporations!"

There are always social pressures to keep up with the Joneses, but we're also taught to resist social pressure at a young age ("Just say no!" and all that crap). If you feel like you have to look better off than your neighbor, you can fuck right off when it comes to complaining about your money situation.

And I'm glad that doesn't describe you, Alf. Still, don't excuse people from personal responsibility just because outside pressures exist.

[Sir Fragula]

We've got a nice system here in the UK, at least we did back when I was a student. I think they've changed it slightly, recently. Basically I got a £3,000 loan and a £1,000 grant every year as well as tuition fees paid for. The loan is kept on an inflation tracking interest rate, and you only pay it back automatically to the sum of 5% [if memory serves] of your income above £15,000. So if I were on £20,000 a year I'd be paying 5% of £5,000 a year, or £20.83 a month.

I guess that pretty much amounts to wages being garnished though, doesn't it?

[dem]

I dont understand people who are "bad" with money.
How much sense does it take to know what you can afford?

I have a huge fear of not having any money. It seems like some people dont think twice about racking up debt. I was so happy when i paid my car off. :lol

[FTWer]

If he doesn't give a shit about his credit score, I don't see the problem with that.

Just get a job that pays under the table

[Alfarif]

This. It's not that hard to figure out that spending more money than you earn is not sustainable. "But Cyan! Everyone else is borderline retarded and are forced to buy iPhones by giant corporations!" There are always social pressures to keep up with the Joneses, but we're also taught to resist social pressure at a young age ("Just say no!" and all that crap). If you feel like you have to look better off than your neighbor, you can fuck right off when it comes to complaining about your money situation. And I'm glad that doesn't describe you, Alf. Still, don't excuse people from personal responsibility just because outside pressures exist.

Oh, believe me, I don't excuse them. If anything, I'm guilty of trying to point people in the right direction, only to get really pissed off when said person refuses to make changes in their life and then starts in complaining about their situation again. At that point, I walk away and roll my eyes.

I have a huge fear of not having any money. It seems like some people dont think twice about racking up debt. I was so happy when i paid my car off.

After I paid off all of my debts, I made a pledge to myself that I would never have another debt that wasn't a house already 60% paid for. I've stuck to that and been able to get two "new" cars, all the "bells and whistles" of a modern house (LCD tvs, nice furniture, etc), and have a bit of a nest egg through nothing but saving and proper money management alone. I only make $27,000 a year...

I'm like you. I'm scared of not having a cushion. I don't want to have to have "insurance" as my cushion. I want to have my own monetary cushion for when bad things happen and then "insurance" because it's just a good thing to have.

We're getting off-topic, so I'm just going to leave it at that.

[quaere]

meh, some of you take financial responsibility too far the other direction. I have a ton of student loan debt which I could repay, but instead I'm deferring it and letting it collect interest while I buy expensive clothes and an iphone. why? cause I can. I'm willing to pay more later to finance my lifestyle now. my salary grows a lot faster than my debt.

[Pterion]

Oh, believe me, I don't excuse them. If anything, I'm guilty of trying to point people in the right direction, only to get really pissed off when said person refuses to make changes in their life and then starts in complaining about their situation again. At that point, I walk away and roll my eyes. After I paid off all of my debts, I made a pledge to myself that I would never have another debt that wasn't a house already 60% paid for. I've stuck to that and been able to get two "new" cars, all the "bells and whistles" of a modern house (LCD tvs, nice furniture, etc), and have a bit of a nest egg through nothing but saving and proper money management alone. I only make $27,000 a year... I'm like you. I'm scared of not having a cushion. I don't want to have to have "insurance" as my cushion. I want to have my own monetary cushion for when bad things happen and then "insurance" because it's just a good thing to have. We're getting off-topic, so I'm just going to leave it at that.

Does not compute.

[Freshmaker]

So my job sent me an email saying that some dude contacted them about paying back my student loans and I could pay him $54 a month so they wouldn't garnish them. The company is the National Student Loan Program. Can they do that?

Get a job with Blackwater.

[Phobophile]

The only thing I'm pissed off about is that I'm making double my minimum payments on my credit cards and yet my balance doesn't decrease much. I'm barely paying more than the interest.

[allegate]

I'm graduating in two weeks and I will have zero school debt when I do. I will also have zero debt period. I owe no money other than usual bills and my one credit card owes me money. I have a wife and son and still have no debt.

Of course, I had help: I was in the Army and that guaranteed paycheck was used to pay off my car and various other bills before I got out. I used the G.I. Bill for school so they're paying for that and about $761 a month to live on. I'm 50% disabled (long story, but it's from the Army) and that gives me another $821 a month and my house payment is $825 a month (I own).

I would say "join the military" but now is not a great time for it. :/

[Squirrel Killer]

The only thing I'm pissed off about is that I'm making double my minimum payments on my credit cards and yet my balance doesn't decrease much. I'm barely paying more than the interest.

That's because the minimums are for suckers. Twice that only a little less.

[Alfarif]

Does not compute.

Check your PMs.

[Cyan]

After I paid off all of my debts, I made a pledge to myself that I would never have another debt that wasn't a house already 60% paid for. I've stuck to that and been able to get two "new" cars, all the "bells and whistles" of a modern house (LCD tvs, nice furniture, etc), and have a bit of a nest egg through nothing but saving and proper money management alone. I only make $27,000 a year...

Impressive! I too don't like the idea of being in debt, but I'm not as good as I'd like to be at saving up for stuff. Rather than getting it on credit, that means I just don't buy it. Still, I need a new computer. I'm getting there...

The only thing I'm pissed off about is that I'm making double my minimum payments on my credit cards and yet my balance doesn't decrease much. I'm barely paying more than the interest.

Minimum payments are designed to keep you paying as much interest as possible for as long as possible. In fact, CC companies had to be forced by government regulation to make their minimum payments higher than monthly interest.

[Alfarif]

The only thing I'm pissed off about is that I'm making double my minimum payments on my credit cards and yet my balance doesn't decrease much. I'm barely paying more than the interest.

Try to do 3x the minimum amount if you can. Do everything in your power to pay this off. In fact, kill everything you don't need... newspaper, cellphone, cable tv, even internet. Get those cards out of the way so your Debt to Credit ratio looks better. It will help you in the long run and you'll even have the ability to do things with cash that you couldn't do before (because it was all going to your credit cards).

[Suburban Cowboy]

We're in a society where we're told from a young age that there is "free money" in the form of credit cards.

wtf are you talking about? As a kid, I saw nothing but cautionary tells about credit cards not being free money. There are numerous shows that have episodes in which a character gets screwed over because of a credit card.

[WrathOfOtaibah]

We're in a society where we're told from a young age that there is "free money" in the form of credit cards. That if you don't own a brand new 200X car or a house, you are worthless. If you don't have the latest electornics, a cellphone with all the latest features, and able to go out to expensive restaurants with your friends every weekend, then you are a loser. Unless you're the #1 man on the totem pole, accoridng to society, you are nothing and your life isn't worth shit.

You're not your fucking khakis.

I agree with you. Not just in society but shit, even on this board. Gaming setup anyone?

I was in a situation where I was $4000 in the hole in credit cards and I borrowed student loans like nobody's business. Realizing that I maxed all my cards out, I had to make changes. The first thing I did was write down every expense on an Excel spreadsheet. Next on another Excel sheet, I tabulated my credit card debt and set up a nice chart where I could see progress.

The hardest part after that was that the only expense I had was food and cell. I sold all my shit off. Sounds wasteful as I got maybe 30-40% of what I paid for but I put that towards debt. I was tempted to sprint out and buy all kinds of shit but I never went through with it. I eventually found myself motivated by every pay day, going to update the cc bill chart and seeing the drastic downward trends. I made about 6-8x minimum payments and got my credit cards paid off in 8 months. I saw that from the start to finish, I paid $700 in interest payments and bullshit fees. I was pissed but I treated that $700 as a harsh lesson learned.

I stopped borrowing for school, the amount is still high but I won't have to get any more. In fact, I have several thousand dollars already saved up and I'm soon about to pay off my car. After that, it is all going towards the student loans.

It isn't easy and I think that is why many people make these financial problems to be tougher than they are. All it takes is restraint but in this consumer driven society, we are told that we need, not want but need, all these excessive luxuries. Not only that but you need to get more and more of them. I bought some shit $400 Gateway laptop and in nearly two years of service, is still going strong. I could have bought a Core 2 Duo laptop to play games I wasn't going to end up playing for $1000+ but anyway...you get the idea.

[Alfarif]

Ask a slew of random folks on the street how many credit cards they have and the average will probably be in the neighborhood of 6 to 9. Just because someone SAW something, doesn't mean that they took it to heart.

[Alfarif]

You're not your fucking khakis. I agree with you. Not just in society but shit, even on this board. Gaming setup anyone? I was in a situation where I was $4000 in the hole in credit cards and I borrowed student loans like nobody's business. Realizing that I maxed all my cards out, I had to make changes. The first thing I did was write down every expense on an Excel spreadsheet. Next on another Excel sheet, I tabulated my credit card debt and set up a nice chart where I could see progress. The hardest part after that was that the only expense I had was food and cell. I sold all my shit off. Sounds wasteful as I got maybe 30-40% of what I paid for but I put that towards debt. I was tempted to sprint out and buy all kinds of shit but I never went through with it. I eventually found myself motivated by every pay day, going to update the cc bill chart and seeing the drastic downward trends. I made about 6-8x minimum payments and got my credit cards paid off in 8 months. I saw that from the start to finish, I paid $700 in interest payments and bullshit fees. I was pissed but I treated that $700 as a harsh lesson learned. I stopped borrowing for school, the amount is still high but I won't have to get any more. In fact, I have several thousand dollars already saved up and I'm soon about to pay off my car. After that, it is all going towards the student loans. It isn't easy and I think that is why many people make these financial problems to be tougher than they are. All it takes is restraint but in this consumer driven society, we are told that we need, not want but need, all these excessive luxuries. Not only that but you need to get more and more of them. I bought some shit $400 Gateway laptop and in nearly two years of service, is still going strong. I could have bought a Core 2 Duo laptop to play games I wasn't going to end up playing for $1000+ but anyway...you get the idea.

... did you hack my computer circa 2001 or something!?

After being in a really bad financial position, I did the exact same thing you did. I can't describe how it feels to see that debt fall off and then to be completely debt free... that the money you earn is completely and totally your money aside from utilities.

[ZombieSupaStar]

yeah ive kinda curbed my buying and spending I basically do gamefly and netflix for games/dvds its around 35 a month total but I dont buy any games (60) or dvds (20ish) mutiple times a month anymore

I paid off a 4k visa, and 2k ae (and closed it) this year, now its just down to my best buy and mc


still have 30 k in student loans coulda done more but had like 2k in uncovered medical test i had to pull outta my ass (lol shitty insurance lol) but oh well...



and to the OP your complaining about 54? shit my credit cards a month combined used to be like 400...

[MaverickX9]

lol, holy shit.. you're crazy. I pay 1,000 dollars a month paying back osap. The money is not free.

How much did you borrow?

I'm looking at around $200k (+ accrued interest) and am dreading my monthly payment when I am finished in a year.

[Suburban Cowboy]

amazing how expensive college can be. I go to Cal State Fullerton (one of the top business schools in America) and tuition is only 1800 a semester.

[ZombieSupaStar]

How much did you borrow? I'm looking at around $200k (+ accrued interest) and am dreading my monthly payment when I am finished in a year.

200!!!!


....ok I dont feel so bad now with 30


lol sorry :lol

[kurahadol]

I thought I was bad with my 18k, 200k just blows my mind. I guess I can let out a small sigh of relief :lol

[Wellington]

Well, that's the problem, isn't it? For many of the 20-somethings I know, you're a dumbass with a fucked-up life if you DON'T wear $300 jeans that you lined up at dawn to buy, have the latest phone, etc. etc. Over the last ten years or so, the very defintion of what's "necessary" for a satisfying life has been completely rewritten--with most of the writing being done by corporate advertising.

Guess I am blessed that I grew up in a family in which we couldn't afford much.

I work with a guy that blows all of his money going out to bars a few times a week trying to pick up chicks. His parents have to loan him cash at the end of each month. He makes approx. $56k a year. How sad is that?

[Bboy AJ]

:lol :lol :lol :lol :lol

This is the funniest thread in a long, long time. The fact that the OP is going to such great lengths to avoid paying this small payment is hilarious. I mean, he's even willing to leave the country to not pay! This is awesome.

Still an idiot but hey, idiocy can be funny.

OP: I love how you're so determined that you will do damn near anything to not pay. Do you have any other similar stories? Because this one is great and I would be interested in hearing others.

[Cyan]

I wonder if he's even still reading this thread?

He may have already gone underground.

[xabre]

Can't you just move overseas so you don't have to payback anything?

[NomarTyme]

Wow funny stuff.

[allegate]

I wonder if he's even still reading this thread? He may have already gone underground.

I was about to say the same thing.

[reggieandTFE]

Oh, believe me, I don't excuse them. If anything, I'm guilty of trying to point people in the right direction, only to get really pissed off when said person refuses to make changes in their life and then starts in complaining about their situation again. At that point, I walk away and roll my eyes. After I paid off all of my debts, I made a pledge to myself that I would never have another debt that wasn't a house already 60% paid for. I've stuck to that and been able to get two "new" cars, all the "bells and whistles" of a modern house (LCD tvs, nice furniture, etc), and have a bit of a nest egg through nothing but saving and proper money management alone. I only make $27,000 a year... I'm like you. I'm scared of not having a cushion. I don't want to have to have "insurance" as my cushion. I want to have my own monetary cushion for when bad things happen and then "insurance" because it's just a good thing to have. We're getting off-topic, so I'm just going to leave it at that.

Wow, where do you live to be able to afford a house on your salary? I need to move...

[Wellington]

Check your PMs.

Shit, can you send me the same PM. :p

[Bebpo]

I work with a guy that blows all of his money going out to bars a few times a week trying to pick up chicks. His parents have to loan him cash at the end of each month. He makes approx. $56k a year. How sad is that?

Does he drink 1k worth of alcohol or something each time he goes? I can't see how going to the bar every other night would leave you broke on a 56k income. Then again, I'm guessing you guys live somewhere where the rent is pretty high?

[MaverickX9]

200!!!! ....ok I dont feel so bad now with 30 lol sorry :lol

law school is expensive :(

[Arthas]

Give the man a break. So he refuses to pay taxes, so he refuses to pay off loans, so he refuses to be a slave to the system. If he can get away with it, good for him, he's smart so he deserves to get away with it. Intelligence should be rewarded. If he can't and ends up in deep shit, why does anyone here care? Is he a relative? Does he owe YOU money?

Come on, just lay off, just because you conform with the system doesn't mean everybody else has to. This isn't a giant ant colony, we need rebels, rebels without a cause, to stir shit up from time to time. To keep things interesting.

*Burns flag*

[DreamMachine]

How much did you borrow? I'm looking at around $200k (+ accrued interest) and am dreading my monthly payment when I am finished in a year.

200k, holy fuckin shit.

what are you going to school for? the interest on that will be like 200 bucks a month..

anyway I have 18k in debt. i'll have it payed off in 20 months.

[Ether_Snake]

You can always run off to Tibet, become some sort of monk. People will give you food, and while you are meditating you can think about anything you want, like hot women and the likes. Just keep your genitals well covered so it doesn't show.

Heck, you could even win the lottery and be considered the next Dalai Lama!

[Tarazet]

Give the man a break. So he refuses to pay taxes, so he refuses to pay off loans, so he refuses to be a slave to the system. If he can get away with it, good for him, he's smart so he deserves to get away with it. Intelligence should be rewarded. If he can't and ends up in deep shit, why does anyone here care? Is he a relative? Does he owe YOU money? Come on, just lay off, just because you conform with the system doesn't mean everybody else has to. This isn't a giant ant colony, we need rebels, rebels without a cause, to stir shit up from time to time. To keep things interesting. *Burns flag*

Because if it's good enough for drug dealers, it's good enough for me!!!

..Yeah.

[Javaman]

Give the man a break. So he refuses to pay taxes, so he refuses to pay off loans, so he refuses to be a slave to the system. If he can get away with it, good for him, he's smart so he deserves to get away with it. Intelligence should be rewarded. If he can't and ends up in deep shit, why does anyone here care? Is he a relative? Does he owe YOU money? Come on, just lay off, just because you conform with the system doesn't mean everybody else has to. This isn't a giant ant colony, we need rebels, rebels without a cause, to stir shit up from time to time. To keep things interesting. *Burns flag*

"Rebels" like him cause everyone else to pay more for their college and have higher interest rates and taxes.

[Comfort_Eagle]

I dont understand people who are "bad" with money. How much sense does it take to know what you can afford? I have a huge fear of not having any money. It seems like some people dont think twice about racking up debt. I was so happy when i paid my car off. :lol

No shit. Anyway, the OP is a fucking role model.

[GreekWolf]

How much did you borrow? I'm looking at around $200k (+ accrued interest) and am dreading my monthly payment when I am finished in a year.

Ha! Chump change.

I have a cousin who will be graduating from an off-shore med school next year (St. George), and will have racked up somewhere in the neighborhood of 325k in student and personal loans. As a general practitioner, she'll earn around 90k a year and will be paying back on that monster for the next 20 years or so.

There's always someone who has it worse.

[Captain Glanton]

Guess I am blessed that I grew up in a family in which we couldn't afford much. I work with a guy that blows all of his money going out to bars a few times a week trying to pick up chicks. His parents have to loan him cash at the end of each month. He makes approx. $56k a year. How sad is that?

He must be pretty ugly if he has to spend that much money on drinks for chicks.

But yeah, it's pretty funny how so many of my students & coworkers look down at me because I'm from small town Indiana and they're from Chicago, yet they can't figure why I'm more focused, balanced, and disciplined than they are.

:lol

[Pterion]

Ha! Chump change. I have a cousin who will be graduating from an off-shore med school next year (St. George), and will have racked up somewhere in the neighborhood of 325k in student and personal loans. As a general practitioner, she'll earn around 90k a year and will be paying back on that monster for the next 20 years or so. There's always someone who has it worse.

1) 90k a year is way too low, even for a GP. 2) Where is she doing residency ? 3) 325k ? That's why you should never go to an off-shore med school.

[GreekWolf]

1) 90k a year is way too low, even for a GP. 2) Where is she doing residency ? 3) 325k ? That's why you should never go to an off-shore med school.

She's committed to spending her first five years on a medical mission trip to Uganda after residency, which (as far as I know) will be with UT-Memphis.

Absolutely agree about off-shore schools. The family tried to talk her out of it, but she wasn't patient enough to wait for an open seat at Vanderbilt, which is where she really wanted to attend. I'd like to feel bad for her, but I have a sneaky suspicion that, financially, she'll be more than fine.

[Anno]

Six months ago I would've given you a snowballs chance in hell; now that I work for a bank chasing down retards like you, I don't. You're pretty much fucked. Make some calls and promise to pay some things back before your life truly belongs to the government.

[FTWer]

Six months ago I would've given you a snowballs chance in hell; now that I work for a bank chasing down retards like you, I don't. You're pretty much fucked. Make some calls and promise to pay some things back before your life truly belongs to the government.

:lol

[kurahadol]

Six months ago I would've given you a snowballs chance in hell; now that I work for a bank chasing down retards like you, I don't. You're pretty much fucked. Make some calls and promise to pay some things back before your life truly belongs to the government.

Shit like this is more true than one can imagine. I worked for a credit reporting agency for 3 years, he has no chance in hell.

[Zeke]

Holy fuck :lol Kiss the rest of your life good bye.

[White Man]

Shit like this is more true than one can imagine. I worked for a credit reporting agency for 3 years, he has no chance in hell.

I've spent the last YEAR AND A HALF of my life cleaning up student loan delinquency that was MINOR compared to the OP's case. And I make a decent salary. Heck, I'm still recovering in some ways (my strategy was basically to put most things in life on hold and pay off the loans asap, and in doing so, I of course neglected some other things).

As of now, I should be student loan free within the next 4 months or so. It would have been sooner but I didn't count on the dentist getting it on with my finances.

It's also taken that long to get my credit to anywhere that even resembles not laughable, and it's still not great.

[Zeke]

Give the man a break. So he refuses to pay taxes, so he refuses to pay off loans, so he refuses to be a slave to the system. If he can get away with it, good for him, he's smart so he deserves to get away with it. Intelligence should be rewarded. If he can't and ends up in deep shit, why does anyone here care? Is he a relative? Does he owe YOU money? Come on, just lay off, just because you conform with the system doesn't mean everybody else has to. This isn't a giant ant colony, we need rebels, rebels without a cause, to stir shit up from time to time. To keep things interesting. *Burns flag*

its like i'm 16 again fight the system! down with government! anarchy rulz!