Credit Crunch - I know let's borrow some money!

people figure if they can turn 5 bills into 1 and have 1 due date instead of many then it might be easier for them to manage.. the problem is the interest and fines/fees add onto the debt.. but yeah your right.. everyone being irresponsible is why everything is screwed up now..

I rip up all the letters that come offering us more and more money and bigger limits on credit cards - no thanks! We prefer to live within our means and wouldn't buy something if we didn't have the money for it. I suppose it's our generation - bankcards had only just come out when I was entering the workforce, and because my parents were of the 'neither a borrower nor a lender be' mentality, I've always gone along with that. I use a credit card only when I don't know how much money I'll need for something (for instance, when going to the dentist) - but then I'll go home and transfer money straight into the credit card online. Unfortunately, our 21yo lad is of a different generation, and is quite happy to have a personal loan and to overdraw his savings account ... grrrrrr! His three sisters are terrific with money - so I'd love to find my son a delightful girlie with a heart of gold and a knack for accountancy. She'd need both!

I do agree with you that over borrowing is a huge contributor to the credit crunch. People got carried away and didn't know when to stop. Some people have no choice but to borrow because it's the only way they can afford to live. Others might borrow large amounts which they can pay back. The problem, I think, is those in the middle. The kind of people who are just greedy or will take a loan because it's there with no thought as to whether they can afford to repay it and then can't.

It makes no sense at all to keep borrowing. If you notice...all the credit card debts are tied up in foreign countries. I try hard to live off of my means. I did, while raising my girls get caught up in the credit card stupidity. It was not for material gain...It was food and just to get by. 3 out of 4 have moved out of the house now and I went and consolidated locally. I should be debt free within a year. Credit cards are dangerous. Even in my situation, I have to think that I may have been a bit more frugal had I known the outcome. It may have been necessities but maybe i'd of bought more store brand items...less snacks...I don't know. I don't regret it....learned alot. I'd never done the credit card thing until I found myself in the position of single mom. I do feel good that I did not resort to welfare & they ate healthy & dressed decent. They did not have every toy that came out or even very many...none actually. I can't help but think there may have been other ways. My accounts were not behind when I consolidated and my credit is still in good standing. Now when I get the offers...I cut them up and throw them in the trash.

Hi p1ke am finding things hard myself and yes as you say borrowing is making things worse..problem is sometimes people cant see the light at the end of the tunnel..I cant..and reccession isn't helping..my sister is in a lot if debt as she has borrowed money and is living off credit cards and is thinking of seeling her house but it would be just as expensive to rent a flat as to pay her morgage..its just hard to know what is the answer to this mess..littleowl

I agree with you borrowing more money wouldn't seem to be the way forward! i get spam like this all the time and there's loads of adverts on tv! what always amuses me is the astronomical interest rates on some of these loans, you'd end up paying back an awful lot more than was borrowed in the first place! You're right, not everyone is as financially secure as they might like but i am a firm believer in living within your means, if you can't afford a new car, telly, whatever, you don't get one! I think a lot of people want things that they can't afford but go ahead and buy them on credit perhaps not thinking of the consequences! Admittedly it's not always easy not to overspend, especially with prices soaring but borrowing money can quickly spiral to a large amount of debt, which could leave people in the position where their only option is to borrow from these companies with high interest rates. I don't think simply borrowing more money is the answer, making sacrifices and being less frivolous is the answer, it's not much fun though!! xxx

i never agree in borrowing money and i never like to have a debt... if i don't have money, then i won't spend it... it is much better to live within our means rather than borrowing money from the banks and ended up in more debts... as you say, it won't solve the problem and only create more mess... take care and have a nice day...

Yeah. "Whoo, lets do exactly what we did to get all these people into this situation to get them out of it, yeah!" It's basically desperation, on their parts...hoping people are also desperate enough (see naive enough) to believe it.

i think so too. but I heard people sometimes don't over borrow, the bank lends them more than they need because then they will have to pay higher interest anyway to profit the bank. I don't think borrowing more is the answer but sometimes we hve no choice such as not enough work opportunity so no money coming in, how else can these people pay their debts?

sure, lets do that and get further behind with our money issues! i think a better way is to show people how to live within their means or get another job to make extra cash.

I think that is were they try to suck you into there scams. Yes you already have debt, so why not make more debt. It is just a scam to get more money out of you. In most cases there are high interest rates, and puts you into a deeper hole then you were in before. I think there should be something that prevents companys like that from targeting people who are already in debt.

I took out a bank loan 2 years ago to buy a car and consolidate the rest of my debt. I had a 27.99% interest rate on a $1500 default cell phone on top of 3 of my husband's old credit cards (each with 24.99% interest), and our monthly payments just kept getting higher and higher. For over a year, we paid them all on time, paid extra when we had it, and the amounts just kept getting higher and higher! The interest rate on my current loan is 12%. I pay $2.50 extra every month, and it will be paid off in a year. Borrowing money isn't necessarily the answer to all of our financial worries, but it does make it easier to pay off the bills you've already got.

Silly P1ke..yes it is the answer..Didn't you know how greedy we all are..lol.. How else will I be able to get my ticket to fly and see you and Goodie???? I love my credit bills and they love me and send me this cute statement each month..and sometimes they call me to ask if I want more credit..aren't they nice?? huggles and kitty kisses

the only way I would take a loan is if it was REALLY needed (not saying that I wouldnt have the money) more like for a home or vehicle loan not some stupid loan to pay off some sort of debt.

No it isn't but a lot of People think it is because that is how the Adverts and Spam Mails put it and People believe it I was one of those People to and fell for it but take it from me it does not make you better of at all

Yes I have noticed that a lot of my emails coming in seem to all be offering me loans to help me through the credit crunch. Borrowing money is definately not the answer, we have spent years borrowing bits here and there and I just got sick of never having any money because I had a loan to pay back. I paid all of it off, anything that I could pay off and be done with I did. Now all we owe on is the mortgage, but even that is low as we never put any borrowing on it even though the bank tried their hardest to get us to clear our loans by putting them on there. No we just knuckled down and did it ourselves and now we are in a much better position.

It's sad to know that for many people, that is the only way they think they'll survive. Personally, I say cut out all but the necessities and live below your means for a bit, and level off and live within your means. If you can't do that, you'll never make it no matter how much credit the financial institutions will give you.

That seems to be the answer for so many people. And I'm amazed at the attitude - once the credit cards are maxed and they can't pay for the "things" they HAD to have - that they can just blow off those credit card debts and never bother to pay them. Strange attitude. But...perhaps they're following our government's example. (Except the government can just print more money.)

Hi plkeflsh, That is why the countries are suffering with so much borrowing and what was it all for arms? no wonder we are all in such a state. Tamara

Hey pikey! That's what got me into trouble! Borrowing to pay my other debts! Don't think that's the best way to go! You are absolutely right! It just doesn't work! I decided to borrow on my credit card to pay the credit card. Now only an idiot would do that! (now you know why I'm in the idiot club!) Don't know what I wasn't thinking? So I maxed the $26,000 credit limit and I now owe I think about $40,000. They call everyday, all day long! They keep changing collection agencies. Why do they thinl I'm going to pay them? I once told them that it was their fault for raising my credit limit to $26,000 and they got really mad!lol I used to worry about it, but now I don't! What are they going to do to me? I have nothing to take! They've already ruined my credit. What more can they do?