General Discussion

SoCalDem

(103,856 posts)

29. DEBT is the soul-crusher here

Tue Aug 6, 2013, 01:21 PM

Aug 2013

College debt
Car debt
"Shopping" debt

Life just costs a LOT more now for too many people.

I moved out on my own, with a Vickers gas credit card(limit $200)
$14 in my wallet
a half-assed 1962 Dodge Seneca
my cat
my clothes
a black & white portable tv

moved several hundred miles away.. I was 19, and "thought" I had a job lined up.. I was wrong..

but I was lucky and flexible & found a place to stay.. I shared a 3 room walk-up for a whopping $40 a month (my share)..

We had a 2-burner stove.. she got the bedroom & I slept in the living room..

Found a crappy job (Hallmark card Co), and managed just fine. but I had NO DEBT..

Modern-day "kids" cannot be so bold. Many are smothered in debt before they even get to adulthood.

There were very few "New Rules" for our boys as they grew up, but right at the top were:

DO NOT FINANCE A CAR
DO NOT GET A GIRL PREGNANT
SAVE......DON'T SPEND
ALWAYS HAVE A JOB (even a shitty job)

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Highlight:

Boomerang Babies: Record Numbers of Young Adults Live with Parents at Terrible Cost [View all] xchrom Aug 2013 OP

Just Keep Voting Republican. Keeping Any Of Those GOP Maggots In Power Is A Disaster. TheMastersNemesis Aug 2013 #1

Yes. Simple as that. nt ladjf Aug 2013 #13

This is the outcome when you destroy labor unions. B Calm Aug 2013 #2

Frightening numbers there. Inkfreak Aug 2013 #3

k/r marmar Aug 2013 #4

Obama's vaunted job creation mostly low-wage, dead-end jobs. Want fries w/that? Divernan Aug 2013 #5

Even the term "Job" has lot it's meaning. "Job" used to mean: Able to get out of regular debt,... BlueJazz Aug 2013 #7

Sometimes for college grads, "job" means an unpaid opportunity to gain experience. Quantess Aug 2013 #52

... n2doc Aug 2013 #8

Newsmax allowed as a source on DU. sufrommich Aug 2013 #14

++++++++ mopinko Aug 2013 #15

100s of sources reporting same story - are there any facts you contest? Divernan Aug 2013 #17

Don't forget Amazon. JRLeft Aug 2013 #20

Owner of Amazon just bought WaPo for .25 bill. (BBC). Eleanors38 Aug 2013 #30

Newsmax always has an ulterior motive. Enthusiast Aug 2013 #38

Bullshit Bullshit Bullshsit - American Business And The GOP Are Responsible For Low Wage TheMastersNemesis Aug 2013 #51

Don't blame Obama for the fact that the Rethugs have blocked every important pnwmom Aug 2013 #57

My daughter is 20 years old. she is in college and working... SummerSnow Aug 2013 #6

I tell boomers, do not try to compare your experience with what young folk are experiencing now Skittles Aug 2013 #34

Another recent phenomenon The2ndWheel Aug 2013 #9

it's true that it's a recent phenomenon. Back to the Waltons would be fine except that magical thyme Aug 2013 #11

Hey, let's raise the retirement age again, and cut those Social Security benefits magical thyme Aug 2013 #10

While not being able to leave the parental nest probably is a bad thing there is a plus. I am living jwirr Aug 2013 #12

who decided multigenerational living was always bad? mopinko Aug 2013 #16

My uncles were raised in Honduras and lived at home until lunamagica Aug 2013 #23

I've had this conversation with my friends before. RedCappedBandit Aug 2013 #27

greener, too. mopinko Aug 2013 #33

A lot of us move out or want to move out because we cannot stand our families. Gravitycollapse Aug 2013 #39

it's not for everyone, for sure. mopinko Aug 2013 #47

Are there no Amazons, are there no Costcos? Safetykitten Aug 2013 #18

I'm from a generation still well-educated enough to catch the allusion to Dickens Divernan Aug 2013 #19

Amazon has thousand of low wage jobs. JRLeft Aug 2013 #21

I've considered moving out during college, but... white_wolf Aug 2013 #22

What a waste... Sotf Aug 2013 #24

Lower than I would have guessed, tbh. RedCappedBandit Aug 2013 #25

alas. the same is becoming true for many seasoned adults Skittles Aug 2013 #35

That's very true. HappyMe Aug 2013 #56

AS long as D.C. bows to Big Biz and does whatever they want. Rex Aug 2013 #26

My friends from Afghanistan could never wrap their head around the idea that I lived alone Recursion Aug 2013 #28

yes, it's such a utopia there Skittles Aug 2013 #36

Yes, we should embrace extended family living! Enthusiast Aug 2013 #40

I bet a lot of Afghani women wished they lived alone Skittles Aug 2013 #42

What a stupid thing to say Recursion Aug 2013 #44

Wow, that went right over your head. Sheldon Cooper Aug 2013 #45

No Recursion Aug 2013 #46

You obviously don't know Skittles, who is a woman by the way. Sheldon Cooper Aug 2013 #48

Edited, thanks Recursion Aug 2013 #49

with that one it always does Skittles Aug 2013 #58

i grew up with my grandmother living in our home madrchsod Aug 2013 #54

DEBT is the soul-crusher here SoCalDem Aug 2013 #29

problem with having a shitty job tabbycat31 Aug 2013 #31

kepp your head down or you'll be blacklisted, MisterP Aug 2013 #32

What is wrong with a 1962 Dodge Seneca? Enthusiast Aug 2013 #41

It was uggggggly..but it got me where I needed to go SoCalDem Aug 2013 #59

This is why we must enact the TPP. Enthusiast Aug 2013 #37

This is a very negative indicator marions ghost Aug 2013 #43

I have THE WORST example three doors up from me. Son races VERY LOUD street-cars, and drives up and WinkyDink Aug 2013 #50

it`s been that way in my family for years madrchsod Aug 2013 #53

What strikes me as one of the problems SheilaT Aug 2013 #55

Another aspect of this is the effect on careers! LongTomH Aug 2013 #60