My Debt Blog

As much as I read a lot of books,  I find documentaries also interesting. Take it from me, I watch a lot of them on many different topics, but the latest I have taken notice to are about debt in America. Why does America use credit so much? Not all debt is necessarily bad debt, some of it will open more opportunies in your life. Want to get an advanced job that requires specific skills with a high school diploma? Good luck, because that’s all you have. This is where college becomes crutial to young adults, the sooner that is realized the more advancement is possible. For people who claim they cannot afford to go to college are lieing to you. Are you a poor investment? Student loans for many are the only way to foot that tuition bill, among working a lot of crappy jobs for spending money.

I figured I would highlight some of these out there for those who have not heard their names thrown around. The latest one is “Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit and the Era of Predatory Lenders”, which you can see some clips and a synopsis at their website maxedoutmovie.com. Another interesting one is “In Debt We Trust”, same guy who did “WMD: Weapons of Mass Deception” (do the terrorists not count as WMDs?), website at indebtwetrust.com. These are only the latest ones that caught my eye, there are many others out there.

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This special was aired on ABC back in January. I had to post this clip about some extremes when it comes to living on a budget and being frugal. This video shows a family that is struggling with their debt and compare them to a family who has zero debt. This family has seven kids, two cars, a house, and absolutely no debt. They have self labeled themselves and their book “America’s Cheapest Family” which may or may not be a good thing. They buy a lot of stuff used, cars, furniture, clothes, and are on an extremely tight grocery shopping budget. Planning their meals for 30 days so they can go shopping once a month, which is almost like running a business at that point. I’ll give them credit for the dedication to their budget and owning that title. Do they ever take a vacation or splurg on something ‘brand new’ that someone wasn’t getting rid of?

I would like to see a followup on this family and what happens when their kids discover what credit can do. Money should not control your life to this point.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcsKi2hNuUw

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MTV used to primarily focus on music videos, they now have MTV2 for that, instead the focus has been mostly reality shows. This particular show called True Life follows young adults with the real world sitautions, those phases we go through transitioning out from under our parents. The episode titled “I’m in Debt” first aired about a month ago, if you happen to catch it.

The show highlighted three young women and their struggle to deal with debt with very minimal income:

• Amy (22) has $14,000 in credit card debt and employement is on and off. Debt collectors calling her daily and yet she still spends about half of her small paycheck on tanning and shopping.
• Daniel (25) has a $900/month mortgage payment, thousands in credit card debt and struggling between jobs.
• Ashley (21) has $20,000 in credit card debt. Her debts have forced her to move back home with her parents and must decide to do a debt management plan or even consider bankruptcy.

A lot of people in their 20s have stacked up credit card debt they regret, these are from what I feel are extreme cases. This would be a good thing for teens who are trying to obtain a credit card and build credit history to watch what that credit card the potential to do if they let it. Some lessons in life need to be experienced while others can hopefully be avoided.

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I find this video simply amazing. America was built on hard work yet the land of opportunity is being sold off to the highest biddder. As we grow up a role model inspires us to be like that person. I remember the “I want to be like Mike” Nike commercials, of course most of you know who Mike is. Celebrities at one time actually had real respect, yet today they act/say/do anything they want and go to rehab to fix their vices. Politicians sell themselves and their leaning to the highest bidder and tell us everything is fine. What happened to role models? How many of us are experiencing the American Dream or the American Nightmare?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCxJRrHyGdg

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