Comments on: Emails From My Readers Reveal Painful Truths About Debt

By: Rob in Madrid

Rob in Madrid — Wed, 16 May 2007 19:39:19 +0000

Hi Trent excellent post. Yes I agree it’s very easy to fall into the debt trap and very difficult to climb out.

@ sun very few people are able to resist the sirein call of easy debt, we are programed from a very young age to spend spend spend. Stores creditors make it very easy to fall into the debt trap. All of a sudden you realize that you are on a tread mill working hard only to find your self falling behind. You manage to get a bit a head and then you get waylaid by a huge bill. Look around you what’s the ratio of frugal to spendthrift 99 to 1 high I think perhaps a 1000 to 1.

By: Cameron

Cameron — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 17:37:53 +0000

Terry – Even if you do earn minimum wage, you have to spend less than that. What choice do you have? You can spend more than you make for a few months by using credit cards, until they’re all maxed out. And you can’t make the payments because you are spending all your money. This can’t continue forever. You’ll eventually file for bankruptcy, and then you won’t get credit again for years. Then you literally have no choice but to spend less than you make.

By: Jag Nogg

Jag Nogg — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 13:52:04 +0000

The best advice I could give anyone struggling with debt would be go to Dave Ramesy’s web site (www.daveramsey.com) and click on the “find a station” link. Either that, or search for his podcast on iTunes. If you listen to him every day, there is a good chance he will help you change your life. My wife and I have paid off over $50k in debt in the past year and a half following his advice.

By: Terry

Terry — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 08:42:49 +0000

What if you earn minimum wage? Do you think YOU could spend less than that?

By: Trent

Trent — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 02:54:26 +0000

I’m brought to tears by the fact that there are so many stories like this and they’re so similar. There’s something really wrong when people enter adulthood and aren’t equipped with basic financial education, but very few people are.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 23:34:04 +0000

@ Sun,

For the most part, you’re right. As someone who, I think, was an catalyst for this article, I’ll tell you that my current situation is my fault. Mostly.

I knowingly ran up a larger credit debt than I was comfortable with last year, but I had a plan to pay it off this year. There would have been a little left over to take care of at the end of the year, but it would have been mostly gone.

Then, because of a change in my insurance and unexpected medical needs, I ran into a series of medical bills that used up every cent I had earmarked for credit card payments, plus some. That has left me where I am now, which, to put it in perspective, is bad, but not “about to be in the street” bad. What I have realized is that if I don’t do something drastic now, it will GET bad.

So I put myself where I am, but it was magnified by events out of my control. My emergency fund, never at the levels I wanted it at, is keeping things under control at this point, but its time is running out.

@ Trent,
Thanks for the advice, and again, for the site. Just so you know, in my case the restructuring is only one part of the overall plan.

By: Sun

Sun — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 22:16:07 +0000

“brought to tears”? For what? I don’t want to offend anybody but I have no sympathy for those who got themselves into debt by spending every penny they made. Student loan is one story, credit card debt is another. If they can’t get their spending under control, they got nobody but themselves to blame for the struggle.

By: Matt

Matt — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 21:24:40 +0000

I’ve always found debt to be a struggle even though I know that it’s a very simple concept of spending less than you make. Spending is so ingrained in our society that getting that under control will bring the debt issue along with it.