Flipperjo, your story is both eye-opening and really, really scary. Is everyone in North Dakota so corrupt? Isn't there any redress which won't cost you an arm and a leg to pursue? What happened to you is absolutely boggling and awful.

Back to Jawjaw's question: El Hubbo spends all day watching the stock market inch up and down. That's his new "job" (going on 10 years now) and he inhales the whole investment spectrum. He counts pennies. Plans his grocery shopping around this week's coupons. Never spends money on anything if he can help it. The good news is -- his financial machinations are adding a small income gain, as he's pretty conservative in his investment strategies. He also wants me to take a larger role in choosing stocks and investments zzzzz..... Thanks, but I already have a full-time job or two.

I've never been in debt. Never spent money that I didn't have. Never wrote a bad check. House and cars are paid for. Got insurance (health, car and homeowners.) Because of the nature of my business, I invest a fair amount of money on an ongoing basis for supplies.

We have an unreal number of credit cards, depending on who's offering us what at any given moment. Pay off the entire amount every month, on time.

Hardly ever buy non-business-related "stuff" although I have a nice computer. No cell phone, no cable TV, no electronic gadgets. Rent movies. Cook from scratch -- but good foods only, not junk. Most clothing bought on sale. When I travel, it's youth hostels or the back of my van for sleeping.

I've never had a lot of money, but I've always had what I think are necessities. Nice furniture, some of which I've had for 20+ years. Art work. I buy quality things to keep.

My one extravagance? A housecleaner twice a month.

Wow...am I sorry I asked? Not on your life. These stories by comparison are ALL eye-openers. Jo I'd like to come up there and give those bankers a piece of my mind. Back a hundred years ago when I had a small business (outlet store) I had a leave of absence from my "other" job, and had banked with a credit union for 25 years. When I approached them one time for a loan it was like I had a disease. I was flabbergasted since I had always paid my bills, never late, yada...yada. And they said, "no can do, you're a high risk." Huh? And the reason was? Female, if you ask me...but I couldn't get them to admit that out loud.

I was forced to use CC to make inventory. This was devastating to a small biz...as I'm sure you already know...
And that was in my hometown. I've had plenty of loans with them since that time, all paid off ahead of schedule, but that one time when I really needed them to be there, they weren't. I've never gone inside THAT particular branch since then, and never will. (Like that hurts them? ha!)...

To me and with my experience in debt, CC are evil. Are the cards themselves evil? Of course not. But they become a evil presence when someone is desperate to make ends meet for whatever reason, and feel they are forced to use them to survive, like Jo ... and me.

I just cannot believe they are not regulated any more than they are. But hey, they are big business. If you think about our parent's lives compared to our lives, and whats available to us now, it seems we have it better, much better, in some sense, but in other CENTS, we do not. I'm thinking that most people paid cash for everything they owned/bought back then.

JJ

Hi, Jo: Just wondering, have you sought legal advice against the CU? There must be some form of legal remedy available to you in tort i.e where a CU representative undertakes a duty and is then negligent in performing that duty.

House paid for, casr paid for, no credit cards to speak of...Now if major items would stop breaking down, air conditioning, $4000.00, water heater, $850.00, TV repaqir $400.00, need entire house replumbed $2100.00, and a new car battery just last Monday $89.00. If it isn't one thing its something else again....the house and I are both growing older and needing repairs.

I think each state should initiate a program for the schools and teach kids about CC AND about how to invest, how to save, and how to PAY CASH for things.

Maybe I should try to get a grant and write something for that, eh?

JJ

I agree one hundred percent. No child should graduate from school not knowing how to budget money, knowing how to handle a checking/savings account and being made aware of the evils of credit cards when not handled properly. It is disgraceful that none of this is taught. To me its the most important lessons we can teach our kids to be ready for the real world..

Post deleted by jawjaw

Eagle we won't tell your Mama. Filing for bankruptcy happens to the best of us. My parents had a friend that filed bankruptcy every 10 years or so. Each time he recovered, earned millions, and then went broke again. That was awesome.
I so agree with you ladies. One of THE most important things in life is budgeting, and they didn't teach that to me in school either. The first time I moved out and had my own apartment, I was dead broke within three months. I was so proud being on my own, that I borrowed money from friends instead of my parents,… just to avoid the "I told you so's." Now when I think back, my parents should have sat down with me and showed me a budget plan. I was like a cat thrown into a barrel of water. I've learned from that, though, and have always put money aside, that I don't touch, just in case I shouldn't sell anything for half a year or so. That's my security zone.

Have any of you ever heard of Junior Acheivement? I was involved in High School. It was a program where we met in the evenings and made a business - a real one. Our business ended up manufacturing emergency car flashlights out of toilet plungers, believe it or not!

We learned about cost of goods, marketing, manufacturing, budgeting, selling, etc. In fact, maybe that's where I got some of my business smarts.

Since I enjoyed it so much when I was a teen, I checked into it again when I was director at an elementary charter school. The have an awesome program for all ages, so I signed up and taught grades K-6 the program at our school.

The packages for the kids are fun yet educational - they all loved coming to class. And it's amazing how much most of them really absorb and understand economics once they are exposed to the principles.

In fact, I think if I ever retire, I would love to volunteer to teach this program again.

http://www.ja.org/

Kathy