Wamu-biggest Bank To Fail In Us History!

[Ponyup]

I blame my generation. I have friends that couldn't make a house payment up & moved & got another loan for another house & thought that is okay. They have over 200,000 in credit card debt. I'm just so happy that I married a wonderful man that knew what he was doing. We buy everything with credit card, but pay it off at the end of the month. We use the credit cards money for free while our money makes interest in a saving account. He has excellent credit, I'm building mine slowly. We put 30% down on our first house....which was a small, inexpensive starter home. I don't understand how people can get loans for these giant houses they are building. My husband told me that your house payment should only be 15-20% of your monthly wage. I'm sure these houses I see are way more than that. I just don't understand why banks give these kinds of loans. It's like you're preying on people. You know quite well they can't afford those payments, but they don't care....they just want your money. I agree it was the greed of these large banks that did us in. I've never been so happy to be from a small town & how my mortgage with a small locally owned bank that actually cares about people.

[HALEY]

It's because the banks got greedy and gave out way to may loans to people that didn't have good credit with hardly no money down, and your right your total income should only be a small percentage for your house payment.
I don't believe it's totally your generations, we have guys here at work in the 50's losing there houses, believe me they have a good job and could afford there house payments, but they had to have nice new cars for there wive's to drive ( and most of there wive's don't work mind you) they needed boats, motorcycles, quads, more toys that they can't afford.. oh the list goes on. they wanted to be the Jones living next door.. we'll i think they should sell there "toys" and get out of dept. No i don't feel sorry for these guys at all. there the ones that made there mess by getting loans on top of loans and borrowing against there houses for these "toys"..

[Ponyup]

Originally Posted by HALEY

It's because the banks got greedy and gave out way to may loans to people that didn't have good credit with hardly no money down, and your right your total income should only be a small percentage for your house payment.
I don't believe it's totally your generations, we have guys here at work in the 50's losing there houses, believe me they have a good job and could afford there house payments, but they had to have nice new cars for there wive's to drive ( and most of there wive's don't work mind you) they needed boats, motorcycles, quads, more toys that they can't afford.. oh the list goes on. they wanted to be the Jones living next door.. we'll i think they should sell there "toys" and get out of dept. No i don't feel sorry for these guys at all. there the ones that made there mess by getting loans on top of loans and borrowing against there houses for these "toys"..

This sounds like our best couple friends. The guy still has student loans, but they are buying a boat. They don't even have funiture in there house & parts of it are unfinished & they are buying a boat. I just don't get. But my husband tells me that everyone has different priorities in life & we can't live other people's lives for them.

[HALEY]

I know i don't understand it either, many people don't put there priorities first!
I still live in my little house that i got for an estate sale 4 years ago, and yes i would love to have a bigger house one day, but i can't afford it now, i want at least 40,000 in my savings account for the down payment and to pay two house payments until i sell my other house.
My brother for one is totally different he borrowed twice against his house to pay off credit cards and his wife charged them all back up again, and she has to have a new vechicle every five years or she is not happy.. and yes they have toys too.
i would love to have a new truck, but i got my SUV that was within my budget and yes i got a used one.. and My husband and i both work!!!
My brother will probably be going into forclosure soon, i suggested his wife get off her butt and go get a job... boy did i get the dirty looks.. oh well there is nothing wrong with her working... I really don't understand what people are thinking when they get all these loans that they can't afford, do they thinkg they don't have to pay them back or what??? I'm just confussed, when i want to purchase something like a car i redo my budget and see if i could afford it or not... and i don't include my husbands overtime in the budget, cause ot is unpredictible.. especially in construction.

[gja1000]

Originally Posted by HALEY

... I really don't understand what people are thinking when they get all these loans that they can't afford, do they think they don't have to pay them back or what???

Yes! I'm convinced that many people KNOW they won't actually have to pay back the loans. Just listen to the commercials for debt reduction, e.g., "YES, you will only have to pay back pennies on the dollar of what you owe"!!! I hear that several times a day on both radio and TV. So, why in the world would people think they will really have to pay back the loan, when they hear that they won't. Also, anyone can (well could) get a loan, you hear those commercials too - "You CAN buy XXX even with bad credit!" I hear that too every day - so why in the world are we surprised that we are in this mess.

[HALEY]

Originally Posted by gja1000

Yes! I'm convinced that many people KNOW they won't actually have to pay back the loans. Just listen to the commercials for debt reduction, e.g., "YES, you will only have to pay back pennies on the dollar of what you owe"!!! I hear that several times a day on both radio and TV. So, why in the world would people think they will really have to pay back the loan, when they hear that they won't. Also, anyone can (well could) get a loan, you hear those commercials too - "You CAN buy XXX even with bad credit!" I hear that too every day - so why in the world are we surprised that we are in this mess.

Gayle i thank God for my sister and mother everyday, for teaching me how to save and manage my money, i remember the first credit card i got i maxed it and went out and got more credit cards, i had about 5 of them, all with balances and a 5.00 an hour job, i was in tears didn't know how i was going to pay them back, my mother took all my credit cards and cut them up, and showed me for the first time at the age of 18, to manage money, it took me two years to get those credit cards paid off, still today, i have one credit card now with a balance on it, and have two back up ones with zero balance on it... I like to pay cash but sometimes you can't but always make sure you have the money to pay them off when the bill comes in... My mother never had a credit card in her life and she still to today don't own one...

[Marilyn]

I hate the idea of a bail out, but it seems from what I'm hearing to be necessary.

We were truly blessed that I was raised by parents who believe in never buying anything on credit. I do remember that one time they bought a car and went to the bank to borrow money for a couple of months until they had the funds to pay it off. We sat outside the bank for a long time while they discussed it because it was so against their philosophy. They did get the loan, but I think they paid it off in two months.

Hubby and I have used credit, and our home is currently mortgaged, but the outstanding balance is less than the 3rd of the value of the home, and our mortgage is 4.2% 15 year fixed.

We were very poor the first 5 years of our marriage. As Dave Ramsey would say, we lived like no one else, so we could live like no one else. Our first home was bought with cash, but we built it ourselves. It took us 3 years and we paid as we went, but after living in it for 3 years, it sold for twice what we had paid for it. That's what gave us our start. That and education. I went to a local university and scrimped to pay cash for my education. I don't have a degree from a prestegous university, but I make as much or more that others I know who have that big name degree, and we had no student loans.

I'm not trying to brag at all. We are pleased with the way our lives and finances have turned out, but it was all due to being taught to conserve funds and not buy more than you can afford. We try very hard to counsel young people to not go into debt. Just hope we can make a difference in some of their lives.

Credit used to be hard to come by. It should return to being that way again!!!