From Deseret News archives:
Some advice for would-be borrowers: Make do
I, too, could use a federal bailout.
Would I, then, be wiser about the loans I make? I'd like to think so. After all, the government is practically encouraging banks to get back in the game. "Lend all that very low-interest money we've provided you. Go, go, go," Uncle Sam has told the banks.
Now hold on a minute. Isn't this what got us to this point, all this feckless lending and borrowing? And what is to give us any confidence that the bailout recipients are going to be any more cautious with our $700 billion than they were their own?
If you live long enough, you get to experience a few rides on the nation's economic roller coaster. You may live through a Depression, a few recessions and some salad days, too. You develop your own means of coping in lean times and saving for a rainy day in times of plenty. Or you don't.
And we marveled how they were able to do that.
No surprise, really. They were mortgaged to the gills. Now they're upside down in their houses. They're not living so comfortably now.
In some respects, it's sad. Who wouldn't want all of those things if someone could make it possible? It's mighty tempting.
I come from a generation where credit was not easy to obtain. No one was handing out credit cards on college campuses. No one received a steady stream of credit card offers in the mail. You had to start small and work your way up to a major credit card.
Starting out, that's what I did. I had a gas credit card and I paid it off each month without fail. Some time later, I got a department store credit card. Again, I used it judiciously. I will always have an affinity for that store for taking a chance on me. In time, I obtained a major credit card, but it had a relatively modest limit.
I can remember people being turned down for credit cards. It's hard to reconcile that with later experiences of being offered credit cards as if they were growing on trees.
Recent comments
Like it or not, economic reality is going to force compliance with...
Like it or not | Nov. 4, 2008 at 11:12 a.m.
Sure, blame the twenty-somethings for all of the feckless spending....
The 20 somethings | Nov. 4, 2008 at 11:09 a.m.
- Post office to be named for Rex Lee 11:41 a.m.
- Halle Berry to receive Lansing award 11:32 a.m.
- Travoltas have 'own way' of coping 11:31 a.m.
- Rock Hall events salute Janis Joplin 11:30 a.m.
- Arrest warrant dropped for Quaids 11:28 a.m.
- Perry: Band not breaking up 11:27 a.m.
- Laurent's objects to be auctioned 11:26 a.m.
- Rucker up for two CMA awards 11:22 a.m.
- Glamour mag's Women of the Year 11:19 a.m.
- 'Aha' suit against Winfrey settled 11:15 a.m.
- Utah group finds homes for orphans
- Soccer MVPs know how to win
- Senators want food tax restored
- Jazz blow big lead, hang on
- Matheson gets no thanks from GOP
- Alta's Ohai is Ms. Soccer 2009
- Mitchell seeks to block witnesses
- Price injured; Miles has cast removed
- Y. tight ends talented tandem
- Utes get extra motivation
- House passes health care bill
239 - TCU showdown has big implications
184 - Lobo suspended
182 - Cougars crush hapless Cowboys
155 - Utah Jazz fall apart against Kings
131 - Senators want food tax restored
128 - TCU 4th in AP poll; U. 16th, Y. 22nd
119 - Thousands protest health bill
119 - RSL rallies to advance
103 - No 'backlash' for pioneers, gays analogy
102
I've known Mike Lee for several years, and he will wow the delegates as they...
I am a byu fan. am i bashing utah, no. do i want tcu and BYU to cream UTAH,...
LOWER the Cost and more people will go to school. It is really simple....it...
yes, gdog3, the energy isn't there. if conditioning techniques are suspect,...
Conyers is a hero. To every freedom-hating individual in this nation. He is...
that they should consider what percentage of people in the US or Utah are...
@Congrats Not necessarily. 22% voter turnout is pretty typical. Which...
If, like GWB says, that Health Insurance kills people, there should be a...
Just so you know Kansas is one of the top 5 basketball schools in the...
There are many players that are overlooked because their teams did not make...

