Bought a House You Can’t Afford? Cry Me a River
August 26, 2008 by Kristen King
Filed under Business
(www.bizchicksrule.com) — Before you call me a callous witch, let me point out that my mortgage payment is almost $2000/month and my husband lost his job when the division he worked for closed, so I get what it’s like for money to be tight. I’m a freelancer, our monthly insurance premium for the crappiest coverage ever is $800/month, and our dog needs emergency surgery, which he will be undergoing today. And it’s hard. And it kind of sucks.
But we’re making it work. He’s taking jobs where he can find them while figuring out what’s next, and I’m working about 20 extra hours a week. And so when I hear people complaining that the government isn’t doing enough to save them from their own stupid decisions, I just want to scream. If I can bust my butt and meet my financial obligations, so can you. Shut up and get to work.
Taxgirl Kelly Phillips Erb reported last week that first-time homebuyers are complaining about not getting enough money from tax credits, and having to pay it back. Uh, what? Says Kelly,
And that’s the part that I don’t get. This is a hand out. It is an interest free cash advance from the government – the forgiven interest can total thousands of dollars to you without penalty. It is something that you would have been otherwise not entitled to. It is a gift.
Stop your whining.
Seriously! Attention, Americans: Know what happens when you make bad decisions? You have to suffer the consequences. Except, oh, wait, apparently you don’t anymore — and you’re still complaining about it. GROW UP. If you can’t afford to make a house payment, you need to rent. If you’re not making enough money to cover your expenses, you need to get a second job. This whole sense of entitlement is what got you into trouble in the first place. KNOCK IT OFF.
(image: Newscom)
Contents © Copyright 2008 Kristen King
Tags: womens business blog, women and business, women in business, foreclosure, housing crisis, tax credit, first time homebuyer, economy, recession, money management, financial management, entitlement, biz chicks rule, kristen king
(applause!!!) GO YOU! i have a friend in CA who bought before she was financially able to and is now $70K in debt because of it and whines. I can’t talk to her anymore about it.
I don’t own my own house because I can’t afford it. When I can, we’ll go from there. Until then…
AMEN! I know some people were “conned” into the sub-prime mortgages, I know some were lied to. On the other hand, when the interest rate at signing isn’t what the mortgage broker promised, that should raise a big red flag.
This is going to be painful for a lot of people, people who had no business buying a house. People who didn’t think past the 3 or 5 years fixed interest period to realize that their payment was going to GO UP A LOT.
I’m not heartless, but I hate entitlement and whining, and this whole expectation that they will be bailed out at no cost.
Government involvement should only be to the extent that it prevents a total collapse of the financial markets, not bailing out people who made bad choices.
Not only do I applaud your sentiments, I applaud your nerve to say it in your blog!
Thanks for giving hubby and I a good laugh this morning at the blog–maybe it wasn’t meant to be funny, but the way you presented your point definitely made us laugh and nod our heads in agreement.
Wishing you all the best with your money issues lately, although you sound like you will land on your feet and be okay (probably better than before!)
Thanks, Colleen, Realist, and Dawn. I wasn’t going for funny so much as snarky, but snark can be hilarious at times.
Realist, I agree completely: “Government involvement should only be to the extent that it prevents a total collapse of the financial markets, not bailing out people who made bad choices.” I think people in my generation in particular (I was born in 1982) are very accustomed to having other people fix their problems for them. I know my brother’s cohorts, just a few years younger thank I am, are even worse than people my age! And don’t get me started on the teen and tween set.
Dawn, thanks for the applause. Bloggers don’t hear it enough. ;)
Colleen, good for you for knowing what you can handle. Realist said it perfectly with “people who had no business buying a house.” Sounds like your friend is probably in that category. I’m glad you can distance yourself from it. Other people’s whining is draining!
Picture this.
You have a great job and your husband has a great job. You’re doing so well that you decide to buy a house, nothing ridiculous, just something big enough to raise a family in. You move in and get settled and become pregnant. Your pregnancy progresses and your doctor notices some abnormalities. Your put on bed-rest and have to quit your job and follow up with your doc three times a week for tests, expensive ones. Meanwhile, your husband is laid off from work and can only find a job making half of what he had been. Suddenly, your bank accounts are depleted and late fees and bill collectors are waiting around every corner. You just can’t catch a break.
Moral of the story?
Not everyone in these situations knowingly walked into them. Lives can change drastically at anytime. And I’m sure that you are thoroughly enjoying patting yourself on the back because you handled your situation so responsibly but remember there really are people who actually have it worse than you.
Also, the only thing that is more annoying than whining is people whining about other people who whine.
Adrienne, I’m not talking about people in genuinely bad situations that are outside their control. I’m talking about people who had no business buying houses in the first place and made stupid financial decisions and expect someone else to fix it for them. The scenario you describe is not in this category at all.