Comments on: Can you hide debt?

By: Simon

Simon — Thu, 29 May 2008 14:38:15 +0000

I think that more people than not are in debt, not just mortgages, but CC’s, car loans etc. I see lots of plastic whipped out when i am out shopping or eating and just look at the national numbers of debt owed per capita – cant recall the exact figure, but its high enough that even if not everyone has it, some people most be really extended. My wife and i have some debts, but we have two well paying jobs, some savings and practically everything is with 0% for a fixed term within which we pay off the debt, thus keeping the money in our pockets. Its a risk to take, but in the 6.5 years i have had of credit history since moving to this country, i have only had one late payment (bill arrived and was due within the 3 weeks we had away for our honeymoon) and never run out of these interest free periods with a balance. I am almost certain most people in my company, subdivision and that i know in other ways have enough debt to deal with as do we, but it doesnt keep me up as i dont pay any interest or fees on it. I would love to do it all in cash like my Father, however at only 30 its hard to save up every penny and still have a life worth enjoying. He says he envies us as we are able to strike a balance of living for today and working on saving for tomorrow, when he and my Mother were our age, they put aside as much as they could in savings for a house etc, and didnt enjoy the time they had – personally i dont know what i would prefer the money or the enjoyment of life with a little less money set aside.

By: LivingAlmostLarge

LivingAlmostLarge — Fri, 23 May 2008 21:58:42 +0000

It’s just hard to tell whose really in debt. There is not set formula nowadays. You could be rich beyond belief, a friend was a gradute student but her parents had died while she was in college. She was a multi-millionaire, hence her lifestyle in college/graduate school was better than a normal student.

So you can’t really tell I think.

By: The Baglady

The Baglady — Fri, 23 May 2008 19:45:47 +0000

Yeah, I agree it’s pretty hard to tell who is in debt just by their spending habits. I knew a guy that bought all kinda useless crap but he actually had a lot of savings and paid off all his credit cards. He just bought things to amuse himself, but he could definitely afford it. On the other hand, it’s pretty easy to tell that someone is in debt when they buy a 2 million dollar house and they don’t make more than $100k a year.

By: Mrs. Micah

Mrs. Micah — Fri, 23 May 2008 19:14:28 +0000

A spouse might have a better idea of the picture, and perhaps close family members. I doubt they know, but they may occasionally feel that something’s not quite lining up.

By: Baz L

Baz L — Fri, 23 May 2008 18:11:11 +0000

forgot to subscribe

By: Baz L

Baz L — Fri, 23 May 2008 18:10:37 +0000

There might be something wrong with your first example of the folks that have 3 businesses.

Depending on how a business is set up, it can be its own entity. IE, if you have 1 Million in your personal account, your business could still go bankrupt.

But anyways…You never know who’s in debt. There are good indications, but they only serve to help you guess. It’s just too easy to get stuff on credit these days that some people don’t really understand that credit is real money.

When you can get a full furniture set for $25 downpayment and “no payments for 2 years”…you can’t help but have that idea. On the flip side, there are still tons of people that buy things when they can afford it, so it’s hard to guess.

You can no longer tell a person’s financial situation based on the type of life they live. Credit these days enables you to live waaaay beyond your means.

By: vipness

vipness — Fri, 23 May 2008 14:41:27 +0000

Seems that people are hiding this skeleton in the closet very easily. I think the party’s over and the hangover is beginning to show… could be wrong though.

By: zeromoney

zeromoney — Fri, 23 May 2008 12:36:49 +0000

I don’t think it’s that hard to hide, I have a pretty good idea of which of my friends are in debt. IE the one who works in sales, but manages to purchase a couple new tv’s, a car the same day he decides he needs a new one, bedroom sets, living room sets, renovations on his house etc etc.. all in one year.

I asked him about it, and yup, he’s run up over 25k in the past year alone

By: devil

devil — Thu, 22 May 2008 22:59:27 +0000

Perhaps Suze thinks that anyone who could rack up 87K in cc debt must be a crazy-obvious spending monster?

The 87K figure just didn’t shock me. These days that just isn’t THAT much money. I can see how charging stuff here and there could add up to that amount. That said, I’d NEVER marry someone with that much debt. Marriage is challenging enough.

Anyone considering marriage should run a credit check on their future spouse. They should check a few other things too. There’s too much at stake to rush in blindly.