I used to be a mortgage-loan officer; I would get a couple that each made six figures, but would have difficulty qualifying them for a loan amount they wanted because of their consumer-debt load. Conversely, I would have a blue-collar “Joe Sixpack” that made substantially less but saved and saved and saved, and who got the loan he needed for a house. People in the U.S. need to wake up and not be compulsive: Quit buying things you really don’t need.
It’s that way with the federal government as well, and based on that. We’d better get real quick or we’re going to have a financial crisis that makes the Great Recession of 2008 look like a picnic. University of Miami President and CEO on the Future of College Sports Play video: University of Miami President and CEO on the Future of College Sports Don’t Short Yourself offers weekly money tips to help you earn it, stack it and grow it.
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Why are so many people going hungry? With the 30-year mortgage hitting 7.3%, your letter has not come a moment too soon. About your time as a mortgage-loan officer: I’m sure there were many hardworking people whose applications you hated to have to decline, but I also suspect that you probably remember the standout applicants who should have looked great on paper — with six-figure-plus incomes, good prospects, steady jobs and, alas, lavish spending habits, car loans, student loans (through no fault of their own) and credit-card debt.
That last one is a doozy. You’re not wrong that millions of wide-eyed and, perhaps, naive homebuyers have their applications rejected every year. A high income, as you rightly point out, is not the same as financial security or discipline.
Likewise, a low income does not mean that you can’t retire and enjoy that chapter in comfort. There are four horsemen of the financial apocalypse: income, spending, debt and savings. You can earn $200,000 a year and still be financially fragile if every red cent is committed to credit-card debt and sustaining an extravagant lifestyle, or you can build a financially secure life by living below your means while earning a fraction of that amount. > Be careful about comparing household finances with government finances, even if it’s a tempting comparison.
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