Note: This situation has occurred MULTIPLE times in multiple venues and does not reflect any one situation.
As a financial counselor and teacher, I have encountered many horrible financial situations.
There are times that I leave the conversation thinking, "I don't think they get it!"
I have had people approach me for advice. Their situation? They are three months behind on the house payment and cars have been/are in the process of being repossessed. Their car payments are 40% of their take-home pay. The amount owed on cars is equal to two year's salary! The list of horrible, depressing situations could go on …
When I ask them how many hours they are working and how many jobs they have, the answer is forty hours and one job!
How is that possible?!!! If being three house payments behind does not motivate one to go get more hours and income, at what point does the fire alarm start ringing?
If I were even close to being behind on a house payment I would have five jobs by the end of the day! I would work eighty or ninety hours each week to get out of the situation!!!!!!
I feel like I am having to sell the concept of earning more money to pay the house payment.
I hear excuses like, "I'm not going to work at McDonald's. They only pay $7/hour."
I understand that they don't want to work at McDonald's, but desperate times call for desperate measures! By working 20 hours per week at McDonald's, they will bring home an extra $400 take-home pay to address the past due situation payments!
Don't get me wrong. I want them to earn as much per hour as possible, but when McDonald's is the option available - take it!
There are times when the world seems all wrong, the bills are stacking up, and life is just not fun. There are two choices available - stand around and watch it all be taken away OR take matters into one's own hands and generate enough income to recover!
You can AVOID falling behind on your payments by spending your money on paper BEFORE the month begins! Click
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November 9th, 2007 at 04:29 pm 1194625772
Sometimes, it seems like people want a quick-fix pill wrapped in a painless sugar coating, produced and marketed by people who supposedly have the inside track on what all the "rich gurus" are using.
And then they upset or defensive when you try to tell them that there is no such thing....
November 9th, 2007 at 06:06 pm 1194631579
I have never offered advice anything that we never did to get ahead. But people take offense. Work a second job? Buy anything used? Egads. What are we smoking?
How the hell do you think we got where we were? Yeesh. & we were never in debt or "behind." Lord knows we would have worked harder if we were.
I find people pretty much close their ears when you try to tell them that there isn't a quick fix. Bursts their bubble quite a bit to hear your success didn't just fall out of the sky. On the contrary, a few smart cookies will take advantage and realize anything is possible with some extra sweat. You think it would be refreshing to know that there is a fix that most people can follow. But human nature is they rather play the lottery and toil in debt or something.
November 9th, 2007 at 07:01 pm 1194634892
November 9th, 2007 at 07:12 pm 1194635550
November 9th, 2007 at 09:35 pm 1194644101