The majority of America is runing my hard work...

The unfolding events in the financial markets have me sick.

Despite having visitors from Wednesday to Saturday I was glued to the television to see what the government was about to screw up... again. It's no secret that the Bush administration is not my favorite - as a matter of fact I'll go as far to say that this administration has ruined much of what America stands for and fixing it will take generations - not years.

The foreign policy inacted has made more enemies than friends and done nothing to actually help the american people, if anything the killing of 4167 American young people has hurt our nation in ways we won't fully understand for many years. Suffice to say there are many families hurting.

Now, let's take a look at the current 'bailout' the government has proposed. More than $1 trillion in debt - this doesn't include debt already accrued or the cost of the war. Never before have the American people gone so far into debt without much to say about it. There were no votes made by the American public. I know our Congress people are our 'voices' in Washington but how many people in the US even know who their congress person is or how to contact them? Personally I've called my Congress people several times, mostly on issues concerning animal rights - but you can rest assured they have heard from me on this issue because I'm pissed off!!

As a national news editor said:

Please explain to me how any of this is different than Hugo Chavez nationalizing companies in Venezuela.

I guess he does it by force.

We just do it by decree.

I'm pissed off that the government set up the credit lending industry to fail like this. I'm pissed off that they knew it and failed to stop it. I'm pissed off that the people elected by the American people failed to protect them.

Even more so I'm pissed off at the majority of Americans! If this applies to you I'm sorry if you are offended but you need a wake up call.



When I first saw this comercial years ago I thought it was very funny. Now I just find it sick because its so true. There are far too many Americans who are living by the seat of their pants with no savings for 'a rainy day'. Prior to the governement changing the lending rules people actually planned for emergencies - now people have an extra credit card for emergencies. Personally I have an account at Emigrent Bank with money for emergencies. I haven't had to touch it for nearly 3 years, but its there if I need it. Can you say that you have money for an emergency?

Today I sent $1500 to Honda Finance to pay off my husbands car. Since January 2006 we have been in a 'debt paydown' because like the majority of America, prior to then we were living from pay check to pay check despite making WAY too much money for that. With Arianna on the way I knew I may want to stay home with her but couldn't do that with the current loans and other debt we had. So we started paying it off and living within our means - what a concept! Since that time we have paid off $45,935.52 in various debts. We were very fortunate to not own our home when we started and had a very good income - but we aren't unusual, lots of Americans could do that too. We owe $9,000 on my 2006 Toyota Corolla and then we are debt free minus our home. I'm very proud of us! We did it all while getting our first house, having two kids and the associated cost that goes with them. We have no credit cards or open lines of credit and both have credit scores over 800 - we did it by making payments on time/paying stuff off, not by opening new lines of credit.

But when I talk to other people, especially in my generation, they don't understand why we would want to live debt free. They actually tell me that having debt is good. Really?? Good for who? You? Heck no! But it sure is good for the credit company. Especially when there is a run on the market and suddenly the banks are failing, a la last week and the cause of the great depression.

For years now 100% mortgages have been the norm and yes we're one of them - we have an 80/20 loan but when we bought we made sure we could afford the payment on just my husbands income. But I see many more problems than that - even in my parents generations. For example, we have an old TV - its 10 years old. I purchased it at WalMart for $250 10 years ago. My Dad gives me crap about not buying an HD TV or at least one with inputs for our stereo system. But we don't have $1200 to shell out on something as trivial as a TV, especially when we MIGHT watch 10 hours of TV per week. He tells us to put it on a credit card/store charge account. I laugh considering he just paid off the leins on his house fromt he IRS.

We have a very strict budget - we give ourselves allowances and only have a certain amount of money per week for gas/groceries and we put aside $400 per month into savings. My Dad thinks its odd that we live so closely to our budget. He always said if he needed more money he always worked some overtime. Hubby works overtime but its to pay for our health insurance, not our budget because we actually live within our means.

But then you have Americans that have two SUVs, a 100% mortgage, several credit cards, expensive clothes and material things, much like the commercial above. These Americans piss me off - not only are they perpetuating this faux 'American Dream' but they are the ones that are being forclosed on causing the banks to fail and now causing the rest of America to bail them out. I'm going into debt for you because you can't live within a budget and within your means.

I'm hoping to be able to stay home with my kids - we're in a position to do so now that the only debt we have remaining is my car. We've worked VERY hard to do this and I'm very excited to be there for all my children will experience when they're young. With the current events unfolding the housing market will tank and we won't gain any equity on our home for many years. Our HELOC (home equity line of credit) changes over from interest only to principal only after 5 years, which is 3 years from now. It was originally our plan to refinance the house to get rid of the $50k HELOC but we won't be able to do that now. Will we survive with the $500/month payment increase? Yes, I'll have to get a job at that point but yes, we will survive - but it SUCKS that we have to do it that way because so many Americans decided to finance a house they couldn't afford.

I hear so many people saying but its the mortgage companies that set this up. Bull crap! Your an adult, you knew, when you signed the papers, that you couldn't afford that house unless it was interest only. You decided to live outside your means - the mortgage company was simply the pied piper giving you the means to do so.

And now your ruining my hard work by tanking the banks and causing the housing market to lose so much value that many people are losing the only equity they have.

At least I'm already saving and planning for that raining day - maybe everyone else will too? Maybe they'll decide to pay cash for cars (or at least don't finance 100%) and cut up the credit cards?

I think that's wishful thinking, but at least I'm already there.