Here is a reprint of one of my favorite K-Rant blog's just because a lot of people may have missed it:
From 9/28/2007 5:56:42 PM |
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K-rant
Is anyone not a victim???
So
today I heard a commercial on the radio that really irritated me, it
was one of those commercials that cater to people with poor finances
and even poorer judgment. It basically went: “Are you a victim? If
you have a mortgage, credit card debt, or owe money, then YOU ARE A
VICTIM! You could declare bankruptcy, but the new law FORCES you to
repay your debts! Call us blah blah blah blah…..” Ok, so lets break
this down… First off, doesn’t everyone have some type of debt?
Whether its student loans, mortgage or business loans, EVERYONE has
some kind of debt soo… we are all victims of… what? Who has victimized
us? Putting aside the common debt that everyone has, let's focus on
the people who are really screwed- those who owe lots on credit cards.
If you owe several thousand, or tens of thousands on credit cards-
whose fault it that? The stores that sold you the goods? The company
that produced such an irresistible product? The bank that actually
trusted you to pay them back on the incredibly high interest loan they
gave you in the form of a credit card? No, I’m pretty sure it's your
own damn fault. If you can’t control your urge to spend, if you can’t
make and keep a budget, if you can’t make a grown up decision not to
spend money, it's your own damn fault if your credit rating is lower
than your IQ. I know life is tough, and anyone can find themselves in
a bind. Anyone can find that their income is less than what they need
to live at the level they desire. But that is where people have the
choice as to what to do about it. You can lower your standards of
living, not get cable tv, not go out as often, not take vacations. You
can choose to live beyond your means, use credit cards for everything,
and just HOPE that your big payday will come soon (and be s.o.l. when
it never comes). Or you can work your ass off and make your life
better. It's tough, it’s a lot of work, and frankly it doesn’t always
pan out but you CAN make it work. A few contrasting examples: My dad
is one of the hardest workers I know, I have tremendous respect for
his business sense and work ethic. He started out with NO skills, and
taught himself carpentry. From there he became a plumber. He raised a
family of 5 on a plumber's salary, working weekends and any extra work
he could get so he could take us on trips and buy us nice things that
we could otherwise not afford. Eventually he started his own
successful business that has since prospered. But this only came after
an enormous amount of effort. Of course this doesn’t always pan out.
I know numerous people who opened businesses that failed and lost
money. But they tried, and kept trying. Eventually they will prosper,
if they keep chasing the American dream. And sometimes, even if life
appears to hand you a raw deal, you can turn it into the greatest of
lives. Take a family we know who started off rough, she was pregnant
at 17, in high school, and the future looked bleak. But they stuck
together, got married and worked their butts off. Now, years later
they still have to work hard, he works two jobs and they clip coupons.
But she stays home with their 5 kids, they even homeschool and are by
all appearances some of the most joyful people I know. They were not
given any breaks, they had no advantages, but they made it work through
sheer will. Contrast that to the people who visit loan sharks, payday
loan companies, buy things they don’t need, and whine to the media that
they “just didn’t know!” They are shocked to find that you are FORCED
to pay off your creditors even if you declare bankruptcy. My point is:
life it rough. At some point everyone finds themselves in dire
straits. Whether its medical bills, collage loans, losing a job, or
whatever. But there is always a way out. Nobody is a victim, it's
just life. And lest anyone accuse me of being all high and mighty, I
am just as guilty of bad decisions. I have made my share of dumb
financial choices, and paid the price. And we are still working to
get ourselves in a better spot. And that’s fine, because we make
mistakes, and live with them. They are our problems and no one thrust
them on us. The only advice I would give is this: try living with out
a credit card if you are struggling. We came to rely on using our Visa
anytime we "needed" something that wasn't budgeted for and funds were
short. But I realized that we would never pay it off if we kept using
it. So I shredded our card so we could not use it, and we kept making
payments. And guess what? We found money elsewhere. Or we put off
buying stuff till the next payday. We came to find that even with out
relying on the credit card we somehow managed. There's such freedom
that comes with living within our means. Anyone can make mistakes.
Accept them and fix them. No one is a victim.
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