I am ususally the one person in the family that people come to when they need help financially...not money wise just budget wise and helping make phone calls etc...they know I won't lend them money. i always tell them you can't borrow your way out of debt you just need to work on it...I will sit down and write them out a budget after we figure out all their debts/income etc...it is time consuming but worth it if they stick to it.
One of my nieces uses a place that pays their bills for them and gives them an allowance, it cost them over $100 a month...I tell them they are wasting their money..and if they wanted to they could pay me the money instead..they won't..her sister is the one I am currently trying to help..she asked whether or not I should just pay her bills for her and she could pay me (Im like you have debt you can't afford to pay anyone) but that way she wouldn't have to worry about it...I sid no she needs to worry about it..if she isn't willing to put in the hard work on paying down her debt and building her savings then her habits won't change and she will always have debt..she said never thought of it that way...so will be slow going with her while we get things sorted out for her but hopefully she will be better off...her sister on the other hand and her hubby are always spending what they have...because someone else deals with their money they are not learning any lessons...what are your thoughts on this am I right/wrong or both??
family and budgets
February 17th, 2020 at 12:47 am
February 17th, 2020 at 02:43 am 1581907431
Of course some people are in poverty because of medical issues, (at least in the US!) and some truly do not have the ability to perform jobs that pay well. But in most cases, it is a combination of lack of knowledge, lack of will power, and poor choices that trap people. And the willingness of predators to exploit people.
The government does this by making the tax code seem so complex and the tax authorities so fearsome that people allow way too much money to be withheld from their paychecks.
Businesses do this be making credit so easy to get into and so hard to get out of. The ‘you need this now, pay later’ commercials make me angry. Save up for what you want. By the time you have the money, you might not even want it. Not understandng that credit cards can charge you 20 percent a year for everything you charge that you don’t pay off right away.
Payday lenders! Arghhh...charges for large payments, ATM use, convenience...double arghhh.
Student loans for degrees that will never result in jobs with high enough salary to pay them off. And without any incentive to pay the balance, or even the full interest.
People who understand the system use credit card rewards to make money - subsidized by those who have no idea.
Trying to help people understand how to get and stay out of debt, Saving. Investing. Deferring.
Good luck on educating others.
February 17th, 2020 at 12:43 pm 1581943387
I have known people who used debt consolidation through a non profit but it taught them nothing to prevent them from falling right back into a mess.
IMO it is important for people to learn how to talk to their creditors and learn to negotiate and manage the money they have. Especially being on time with payments etc.
February 17th, 2020 at 01:09 pm 1581944968
February 17th, 2020 at 04:33 pm 1581957192