Comments on: The Anti-Debt Culture http://blog.canadian-dream-free-at-45.com/2008/07/29/the-anti-debt-culture/ Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:31:40 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 By: Sarlock http://blog.canadian-dream-free-at-45.com/2008/07/29/the-anti-debt-culture/comment-page-1/#comment-6921 Sarlock Wed, 30 Jul 2008 02:16:06 +0000 http://blog.canadian-dream-free-at-45.com/?p=485#comment-6921 Debt is certainly useful in some situations. Buying a house, for instance, where saving up the cash to buy one could take decades. Or buying a profitable business... generate cash flow and grow a future asset. But debt to buy consumer goods (new stereo anyone?) Not so wise... Debt is certainly useful in some situations. Buying a house, for instance, where saving up the cash to buy one could take decades. Or buying a profitable business… generate cash flow and grow a future asset. But debt to buy consumer goods (new stereo anyone?) Not so wise…

]]> By: Richard http://blog.canadian-dream-free-at-45.com/2008/07/29/the-anti-debt-culture/comment-page-1/#comment-6898 Richard Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:58:01 +0000 http://blog.canadian-dream-free-at-45.com/?p=485#comment-6898 I don't think there will be any lasting effect. The GRS article states "Banks know better than the consumers how much debt a person can afford" which is very wrong - no one should know better than you how much debt you can afford to pay back (the next sentence is even funnier if you've heard any news in the last year). Sure there's a few things you learn from experience, but it sounds like the problem is people knowing it can't work and doing it anyways. There's too many people who just can't ignore a quick fix no matter what the cost is. Maybe seeing this will eventually cause a generational shift, but I think a lot of people who get away without losing too much won't change their ways. It seems like there's a recent shift to consumers having more credit available than they can really afford to use which may have caught people off-guard, but if there's any reaction to that it will probably be a backlash purely against the lenders for taking advantage of their customers. In the long term things could change, but that might take 50 years or more. I don’t think there will be any lasting effect. The GRS article states “Banks know better than the consumers how much debt a person can afford” which is very wrong – no one should know better than you how much debt you can afford to pay back (the next sentence is even funnier if you’ve heard any news in the last year).

Sure there’s a few things you learn from experience, but it sounds like the problem is people knowing it can’t work and doing it anyways. There’s too many people who just can’t ignore a quick fix no matter what the cost is. Maybe seeing this will eventually cause a generational shift, but I think a lot of people who get away without losing too much won’t change their ways.

It seems like there’s a recent shift to consumers having more credit available than they can really afford to use which may have caught people off-guard, but if there’s any reaction to that it will probably be a backlash purely against the lenders for taking advantage of their customers.

In the long term things could change, but that might take 50 years or more.

]]>