SirPsycho said:

i'd gladly give you the grand tour...

RodeoSchro said:

That's wonderful....what about them school loans? Some of us didn't get help...PERIOD...did I say period? PERIOD

My advice...pick up a credit management book, go to a seminar, etc.

Debt is a part of life in some way shape or form. Great job so far. My advice would be to get a little "starter" card and put 20 dollars on it, and pay it each month. It will help.

If you want to own a house one day...you need to have a credit record.

I remember getting my first car financed - I had no credit...and they put me through the same shit as if my credit were shit.

KatSkrizzle said:

I actually bought my first house 9 years ago with little credit history and without ANY open lines of credit. My car was paid off so I had to provide letters from my utilities showing my payment history. And I still qualified for a loan. So it can be done. This was before the lending rules had become so lax, but they've since tightened up again.

KatSkrizzle said:

that's it right there
some make it sound so easy to live debt-free like everyone has it easy.

If it were me, I'd steer clear of any and all loans.

Credit cards are the worst....even if you say you'll pay them off, etc. it's like playing with fire. You of all people having worked for them, should know.

It's a myth that you need to establish credit. The car loan is the one of the worst. Cars depreciate in value faster than anything...those purchases should be cash. If you don't have enough, then you can't afford it.

Even a house, you don't need credit history. You just need to go to a mortgage broker that actually writes the mortgages as opposed to selling them. They will do a check on you, employment, rent payment history, etc. and if all is good you'll get a mortgage. But it is possible to even pay cash for a house if you really want to.

A really really good book to read is "Total Money Makeover" by Dave Ramsey.
Lots of great common sense advice about money.



http://www.amazon.com/Tot...802&sr=8-1

butterfli25 said:

This is a myth. You can get a home loan without credit. You just need to find a place that actual does the underwriting themselves instead of selling the note.

SCNDLS said:

Of course that's the advice you give, because you want to make the money from people by selling the loans!

SCNDLS said:

Just because someone "wants" it doesn't make it "necessary".

It's very simple...if you cant' afford it, you can't afford it.

truefunksoldier said:

Ummmm, what are you talking about? If you pay off your credit card balance every month the bank does not make any money off of people. Did you read what I said? This comment was about credit balances not loans.

SCNDLS said:

It's about perpetuating a climate of indebtedness. People have the cards and think of them as a safety blanket and instead of having a cash emergency fund, they use credit when something happens and they're in a vicious cycle.

truefunksoldier said:

Again, what are you talking about??? People are entitled to spend their money on whatever they want to and I didn't say go into debt just to drive what you want. My whole point is that some people HAVE to finance to get a car, paying cash is usually not an option for MOST people. Furthermore, what's "necessary" is totally subjective and I'm of the mind that if I'm making a payment on something, whether it's a car or a house, it's going to be exactly what I want or else I wait until I can afford it.
[Edited 5/6/08 20:10pm]

truefunksoldier said:

Obviously, you haven't read the whole thread. The FIRST thing I advised was for him to save NINE months of expenses for his emergency fund BEFORE moving out. However, if you want to build a credit history opening charge accounts is the fastest way to do that. I think you're making a HUGE assumption that just because you open an account means you're going to run up a bunch of debt and be irresponsible. It is quite possible to open lines of credit and use them responsibly.
[Edited 5/6/08 20:08pm]

truefunksoldier said:

sooooo..... you have 50 g's packed away somewhere? on top of your 401k? IRA?

You serious? We are in a climate of kids getting out of college with NO JOB prospects, folks are losing jobs, or getting what they can for way less than they are worth (hello! that's me).

I bought a new cheap model car that was cheap to insure, and has a great warranty, and is so cheap on gas. Yeah it depreciates, but having to not worry about a piece of shit that I paid cash for and went into the poor house reparing pales in comparison.

Or....since if you can't pay for college I guess I should not have gone? Shit...college is what put me in a financial crisis to begin with. I wish people looked at things for the realism of the situation. There was no way in hell I was not going to go to college.

You are a little old school in your beiliefs. My Dad told me not to go back to grad school till I paid my loans off....I would have never made it.

Seriously...although I'm not rich, I'm re-learning what my accountant father DIDN'T teach me - said I was too flighty and spacey to handle money and my husband would take care of that.

Well I'm 31 and not married, and I "re-learned" money at 27. Dude.....I think that is just old school. Don't ball outta control like you are millionare with your cards and pay your shit on time. It's helped me out very well.

sammij said:

"..take me...2 your mansion...honey, let's go everywhere..."

SirPsycho said:

done - but i ain't payin your way here

KatSkrizzle said:

College loans suck. I'm still paying mine off too. But as Suze Orman says school loans are "good" debt because they are an investment into your own grownth and development and you will reap the rewards of that investment if you finish school and use your education. This point of view makes it a lil easier to write that check every month.

KatSkrizzle said:

That is NOT true...

sammij said:

"..you doooon't have 2 be rich...2 be my..."


come on lover...i could do this all night...

SirPsycho said:

you've got my extra time... now what?
and why not go all night, love...

sammij said:

KatSkrizzle said:

I have about 4 months of living expenses in a money market account as an emergency fund.
Yes, this is on top of my 401K at work.

KatSkrizzle said:

All the more reason to live on less than what you make, not jump into debt without having safety nets.

KatSkrizzle said:

You don't need a new care to have one that is reliable. If you want to use that as a justification for buying a new car that's fine, but it's simply not true.

KatSkrizzle said:[quote]Or....since if you can't pay for college I guess I should not have gone? Shit...college is what put me in a financial crisis to begin with. I wish people looked at things for the realism of the situation. There was no way in hell I was not going to go to college.[quote]

You can pay for college. You just have to work while going and/or go somewhere less expensive.

KatSkrizzle said:

I may be old school, but I have no debt and I'm not sweating any bumps in the road 'cuz I have a cushion. I'll take that over swimming in debt any day of the week.

SCNDLS said:

I'm talking about people wanting things they can't afford.

If you don't have the money, you pay cash for an inexpensive car. You drive that for a year or so, all the while paying payments TO YOURSELF. Then you trade up to a slightly nicer car. You keep doing that until you get what you want.

But most people act like children, stomp their feet and scream "I WANT IT NOW!!" and then go into debt to buy a car they can't afford that goes down in value the second you drive it off the lot.

Truefunksoldier speaks the truth:



I think most people consider education an investment worthy of taking out a loan. Because the returns should be greater than the interest accrued. But with more and more companies getting out of the student loan business, you might need to be careful.

A house/property is another.

A seven year loan on a car?---not a chance.

There's a lot of advice here already, I'mma make mine simple:

SAVE like crazy before you move out. I know you're probably chompin' @ the bit to move so you can do the ladies all over your new place but WAIT, & save. I'd say 6 months total expenses at least...

If you're not actively looking for places yet start checking Craig's list & see what's out there in the neighborhoods/areas you like, # of bedrooms, etc. so you can figure out what your rent will be (the biggest chunk of your $). & ask around about the utility costs, food costs - get a basic budget going of roughly how much it takes you to survive each month & save accordingly...

On the credit tip I did the dumb shit when I got into college - racked up debt on bullshit (in the low 5 figures) & spent so many years paying that shit off & being strapped I swore I'd never use credit cards again! Used cash @ all times, if I couldn't afford it right then I couldn't have it right then. BUT it became necessary on big purchases (new furniture, shit like that) & it really is worth it to build up your credit score. The KEY, the absolute fucking KEEEEEYYYYY imo is not to look @ that credit card as "free money" & go wild. & it seems like everyone under the sun makes that mistake when they first get some credit DON'T - think of it as more cash coming out your pocket! I think when you're first establishing credit you let the balance ride just a bit but look to pay that mf OFF as soon as possible. Don't build it up, don't let it linger. When you go to rent your credit report is what they look @ & if you have no credit history it can be difficult for you.

It's really about restraint & responsibility - holding back now will make you much happier in the end.

& for everyone giving home-owner advice it IS smarter to do but I can understand the want to rent when you're young & not so settled. It gives you more freedom as far as moving around BUT you do pay for that freedom by never owning that rental property. & that sucks. It's also harder to save up to buy while you're renting b/c your $ just gets sucked away. It's a tough call, but I bet if we were to advise him to save up & buy he'd look @ us like

& once you do move, don't forget to always ALWAYS pay yourself - put $ away each & every month, even if it's just $50. DO IT...


[Edited 5/7/08 13:30pm]

truefunksoldier said:

Again, one size does NOT fit all when it comes to finances why is that so confusing to you??? I live in a city and state with virtually no public transportation. If I need a car today but don't have available cash, guess what? I have to take out a loan. Plain and simple.

SCNDLS said:

Not confusing at all. If you can't scrape $1000 bucks together to buy a car, then you're not really trying.

truefunksoldier said:[quote]KatSkrizzle said:[quote]

You don't need a new care to have one that is reliable. If you want to use that as a justification for buying a new car that's fine, but it's simply not true.

KatSkrizzle said:[quote]Or....since if you can't pay for college I guess I should not have gone? Shit...college is what put me in a financial crisis to begin with. I wish people looked at things for the realism of the situation. There was no way in hell I was not going to go to college.


Wow...that's exactly what I did...and for the record, UNC CHapel was the number one cheapest school to attend, until 2001.

I guess working the third shift that paid for rent and that's it wasn't enough. I had to forego the four hours sleep....

Don't know about you, but I chose to put my grades on a higher basis than working my ass off and sleeping in class and flunking out.

....special

To each their own, just dont judge us, dude. If you were/are a chick, there is a syndrome for that, it's called the "Queen Bee Syndrome". I studied that in on of my classes, actually.
[

KatSkrizzle said:

STILL sounds like you weren't trying hard enough. Couldn't you work the second shift too??? I mean it was after classes right? Slacker. . .

SCNDLS said:

HA HA!! People in their own situations get really self rightous....just saying.

The money I am using to get my MBA so that I can run my own business is debt well worth the trouble.

Yeah...I was an idiot in my early 20's...but today, I have no credit card balances..all at zero. And I am actually meeting with my financial advisor tomorrow to roll my 401K over into an IRA and add a chunk of dough I saved. I guess I could have told everyone that earlier, but it wasn't about me.

Hey... I wonder if the company I worked for that stopped contributing to their employees' 401ks is in trouble? Ha Ha! I'd put that company's biz out in the street but I won't Media.....

This post makes no sense

KatSkrizzle said:

I did the same thing too though. Went to school in the day, worked a shitty factory job from 4 pm til 4 am. And took out hella loans to make up the difference. But I finished in 3 years. And I'd do it ALL over again because all of that was an investment into myself and my future. I was so blessed that when I got my Master's the company I worked for paid for it. So I got my Master's degree, paid very little outta pocket, and bounced up outta there. Holla!