In light of the bank collapses and general economic downturn, Shayne and I feel very fortunate. We're grateful now that we decided what we could afford before we went to the bank. Our mortgage payment, plus insurance, PMI, and taxes, is well below $800, which we can afford without difficulty even in the worst months. We later found out that the banks would have approved us for nearly $100,000 more, which is well beyond our means. Had we not done our homework and set limits ahead of time, we could be in the same mess as thousands of other people. We've both sometimes wished for a bigger home or more property, but what we have is really all we need, even with plans to start a family.
It makes me mad that all taxpayers are going to have to bail out people who didn't do their homework or were misled by greedy lenders. I know some people have lost their homes through job loss or other personal crises. If I suddenly lost my job, however, I wouldn't expect the government to help me keep my home. I understand that this bailout project is something of a necessary evil, since the problem is now so widespread that it could harm our economy so much more than it already has. But $700 billion more national debt (I can't even fathom a number that high!!) isn't really an option either. We're already operating at a record deficit. Our country simply cannot fight a war, lower taxes, enlarge the federal government, and rescue the economy. Something will have to give, and I have a feeling it will be ugly.
What angers me even more is that something like this never should have happened. Businesses have a responsibility to consumers, the environment, and themselves. What ever happened to ethics? Responsible business practices? When did we become a society that worships profit above all else? Such practices are not sustainable, environmentally or socially, and we're seeing the repercussions.
I hear you...but it goes beyond Coorporate Greed unfortunately. The responsibility is shared by our politicians as well. They all (both parties) knew this was coming, yet they didn't institute modern and tougher regulatory agencies. They passed laws "to encourage" the lenders (especially FMae and FMac) give to loans to low income folks....as a result, fancy financing came into play.....
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, we went for a home where the total owed each month could be paid out of our spending money left over after our normal bills. We are a Navy family and if we suddenly got the call to move across the country, I wanted to be sure the house would be paid for in addition to rent on another place, utilities, etc. We are misers, we mostly either by preowned, clearance or make it ourselves. LOL. My husband had an officer on his ship a few stations ago who owned three houses, he couldn't get the previous 2 to sell but his stuck up wife wouldn't live in anything rented, so they had over a half a million in homes they could not pay for. Some of it is banks, and some of it is politicians, but a TON of the mortgage crisis is people wanting everything, the biggest and most expensive they could get RIGHT now if they could afford it or not. I see a lot of people who make about $2,000 a month total who have 3 new cars, 2 kids and a $200,000 house. It just makes no sense to put out all of that just to look important. I'll take my cheap old house and used car, at least we'll be eating next week.
ReplyDelete