Not Again... Americans who can't afford their mortgage up 145%

In my case, it wasn't that I don't have money, or didn't spend it wisely. Where I live they're trying to sell shitboxes that wont pass a regular inspection let alone a VA inspection for $200,000 900sq ft no land 0.1 acre lol. There isn't enough inventory to keep up with demand and the inventory that is there sucks, we were looking for a house for almost 2 yrs before we found the one we're in now. People are renting similar houses to the one we're in for like $2400/mo which is more than twice what my mortgage is.

ttystikk said:

That's what happens when you drop the capital gains tax to minimal levels.

Oh, the coming crash will be one for the history books. It will look a lot like the one in 1929, for all the same reasons.

Maybe that's the ultimate flaw of humanity; the inability to retain the learning from our mistakes for more than one lifetime, in spite of all the documentation left behind.

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High capital gains taxes reduces investment, why would I take a chance on a risky stock if the downside is losing it all and the upside is limited by taxes?

PCXV said:

Look at how many American actually hae savings. Go ahead and blame iphones, a $700 cost that will last several years, when rent/mortgage is 2-3 times that every month.

You will never save your way out of poverty today.

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Don't tell that to granny, she had it worse than just about anybody I know. No food stamps, welfare, or low income housing back then. My Grandpa was more of a liability than any help.

jonsnow399 said:

My granny raised two kids and a drunk husband on mill job pay, bought her own house and had S10,000 in the bank when she died. She went thru the Depression and never forgot. She was tighter than Dick's hatband.

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She would have a much harder time doing that today (without welfare) because costs have skyrocketed compared that same mill job pay.

greg nr said:

Or you get sick, lose your job and the health insurance that may have come with it, and the world falls on your head. There are only so many hours of minimum wage, part time work you can get.

People who would normally be able to budget and keep up with payments can go into a tight tailspin with any disruption to income or expenses they can't control (healthcare, divorce, legal, etc).

It isn't always about iphones or vacations. Sometimes life just plays the nasty on you.

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Why though?

I don't borrow money for nothing. Not a damn thing. Not even a house. Save. Save. Save.

The only exception I see to that rule for people is a house payment.

Save up an pay cash. I don't buy new cars. I pay around 5 grand cash for a good used one.

I figured my bills and put 6 months worth of living expenses in a savings account. I have another account that is an emergency fund in case something breaks or tears up.


People need to quit fucking borrowing money and taking credit cards out.

schuylaar said:

They didn't give me the option and forced me. Told me they were going to sue me etc.

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How? Gun to the head?

PCXV said:

She would have a much harder time doing that today (without welfare) because costs have skyrocketed compared that same mill job pay.

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Not really, she accounted for every dime she spent, and paid all her bills and put something back before she spent one penny on herself. She also bought only stuff on sale or discounted.

jonsnow399 said:

Don't tell that to granny, she had it worse than just about anybody I know. No food stamps, welfare, or low income housing back then. My Grandpa was more of a liability than any help.

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I have family that lived through the depression. I admire her fortitude but do not envy the circumstances that made her that way. We shouldn't have to live like a starving rat because 1% of people want to drain the world of resources and wealth so they can hoard it.

jonsnow399 said:

Not really, she accounted for every dime she spent, and paid all her bills and put something back before she spent one penny on herself. She also bought only stuff on sale or discounted.

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OK but if she barely did it when rent/mortgage was less than 1/4 her income, could she still do it went 3/4 her income goes toward rent/mortgage without government assistance? Let's be realistic and look at the numbers today.

I'm simply saying her quality of life would be much worse today than it was if not for gov. assistance (which is actively being fought against).

twostrokenut said:

Ya sometimes, what like maybe 1% of the time here in reality? Planning for hard times is part of responsibility in so far as not extending yourself to the max debt every time you get a new job or a raise or every time your home equity gains a dollar.

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Probably a lot higher than 1%. Layoffs are accelerating and millions of people are losing healthcare. All it takes is one catastrophe in your life. Savings are good, but even a small health crisis can run $50k. And if you lose a really good job and can't find another, 6 months later you will be missing payments. You may not even be able to sell if you are underwater and can't come up with cash to close the gap. Unemployment won't save you for long anymore, and a lot of people who lose their job don't qualify for unemployment anyway.

A LOT of people who think it will never happen to them are 6 months away from being homeless. Don't be so smug. It can happen to anyone in the lower 95%..

PCXV said:

I have family that lived through the depression. I admire her fortitude but do not envy the circumstances that made her that way. We shouldn't have to live like a starving rat because 1% of people want to drain the world of resources and wealth so they can hoard it.

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I agree, I admire her grit,but don't envy her circumstances, however she never worried about it, there was no other option. She came off a farm where it was even rougher. She thought she was in heaven when she got the mill job.

PCXV said:

OK but if she barely did it when rent/mortgage was less than 1/4 her income, could she still do it went 3/4 her income goes toward rent/mortgage without government assistance? Let's be realistic and look at the numbers today.

I'm simply saying her quality of life would be much worse today than it was if not for gov. assistance (which is actively being fought against).

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I agree, I'm just saying that most of the people I see aren't even attempting to cut costs or save money.

jonsnow399 said:

I agree, I admire her grit,but don't envy her circumstances, however she never worried about it, there was no other option. She came off a farm where it was even rougher. She thought she was in heaven when she got the mill job.

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I guess her generation thought their circumstance better than the alternative; revolt.

jonsnow399 said:

High capital gains taxes reduces investment, why would I take a chance on a risky stock if the downside is losing it all and the upside is limited by taxes?

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Capital gains tax only kicks in if you DON'T reinvest within 90 days.

PCXV said:

I guess her generation thought their circumstance better than the alternative; revolt.

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back then they would shoot you down in the streets if you tried that.

PCXV said:

Look at how many American actually have savings. Go ahead and blame iphones, a $700 cost that will last several years, when rent/mortgage is 2-3 times that every month.

You will never save your way out of poverty today.

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The middle class is getting squeezed. Soon there will be nothing left to squeeze out and the upper class will crash the entire system of their own greed... Again.

jonsnow399 said:

I agree, I'm just saying that most of the people I see aren't even attempting to cut costs or save money.

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Fair enough. We are living in weird times. What I see here in Oregon is a very divided population along lines of wealth. 900 sq ft houses for $300,000. New cars are $50k-$70k. Major gentrification, the majority of working people getting priced out and cutting down on everything. I see it especially hard for my parent's generation to give up the quality of life they once had.

jonsnow399 said:

back then they would shoot you down in the streets if you tried that.

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Oh, they still will.

ttystikk said:

Capital gains tax only kicks in if you DON'T reinvest within 90 days.

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Nope, there are long term and short term capital gains taxes.

jonsnow399 said:

back then they would shoot you down in the streets if you tried that.

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"They can't shoot us all"

PCXV said:

Fair enough. We are living in weird times. What I see here in Oregon is a very divided population along lines of wealth. 900 sq ft houses for $300,000. New cars are $50k-$70k. Major gentrification, the majority of working people getting priced out and cutting down on everything. I see it especially hard for my parent's generation to give up the quality of life they once had.

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The top 10% are setting the price and the other 90% can't keep up. It's a recipe for disaster.

Yet our government is doing all they can to help the top 10% while leaving the rest to twist in the wind.

The end result is clear; it's only a matter of how long it will take.