Depressed about being poor?

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jawbrodt
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19 May 2008, 9:51 pm

Yeah, it sucks. I grew up poor, and am poor now. I have no income. I still own my house, but it needs a roof which I cannot afford. Almost all of my utilities have been shut-off. Luckily, I sold my atv today. Now I can get caught up, and have some money to live on for awhile. I think I am going to apply for disability. I just hope I can survive, financially, until I get approved. Hmm......


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YowlingCat
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19 May 2008, 10:04 pm

jawbrodt wrote:
I still own my house, but it needs a roof which I cannot afford. Almost all of my utilities have been shut-off.

Contact some of these folks; they may be able to help:
HUD Home Repair Help



jawbrodt
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19 May 2008, 10:08 pm

^ Thank you. I am going check that out tomorrow. :)


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Nan
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20 May 2008, 12:27 pm

YowlingCat wrote:
There are Americans who live on a few bucks a day or less. They're called "homeless."


Yeah, and it sucks. Especially when it's winter and it's raining and you can't keep your feet dry, and everyone walks past you like you're invisible....



Xelebes
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20 May 2008, 5:41 pm

YowlingCat wrote:
It's a nasty catch-22, Tim. Your credit score is, unfortunately, everything to you as an American. Unless you're independently wealthy, you need to build your credit score.

1. You should have a credit card, and use it, but pay it off every month. Do not carry a balance. Get a car loan and pay for it using auto-deduct.

2. Never miss a payment on any bill, because a recent change in the FICO algorithm now allows the consumer credit reporting agencies to gather payment history from folks such as utility companies and others, which were not previously considered when calculating a credit score.

3. Almost anything that you make recurring payments on will be reported to one of these agencies. (An exception is debit cards, as the balance is tied to your checking account).

Ironically, the consumer credit reporting agencies have a term for people who pay off their bills completely, every month (and thus accrue no interest, fees or penalties). They are known in the industry as "deadbeats." :lol:


I prefer backing loans with equity moreso than backing loans with a credit rating.



YowlingCat
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20 May 2008, 5:48 pm

Please show me the the lending institution that gives out loans without a good credit rating.



Xelebes
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20 May 2008, 5:51 pm

No idea, but I managed to secure credit cards backed by GICs. I believe it was VISA but I can't remember as I nixed the credit cards before turning them on and cashed the GICs for school. I know I was offered an interest rate around 3.4% with no sudden jumps.



YowlingCat
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20 May 2008, 5:57 pm

They do pass out credit cards freely to students. That is the extent of getting loans without a good score. And there is absolutely no guarantee of them not raising your percentage. They can do it for any and no reason, and they will. It's in the fine print.



Xelebes
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20 May 2008, 6:00 pm

I'm a stickler for fine print, hence why I never actually activated the card.



CRACK
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20 May 2008, 6:06 pm

MissIntelligent wrote:
You can get your license at 16, I'm 18 and havent even got mine becuase my parents cannot afford the lessons.


What about you? How much do lessons cost? Can you get a part time job if you don't have one already? Regardless of wealth, a number of kids at my high school had to pay for their own Driver's Ed.



Xelebes
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20 May 2008, 6:39 pm

YowlingCat wrote:
They do pass out credit cards freely to students. That is the extent of getting loans without a good score. And there is absolutely no guarantee of them not raising your percentage. They can do it for any and no reason, and they will. It's in the fine print.


*comes back from shopping*

Credit rating is merely derived from balance sheets and income statements. Being able to back your loans with equity AND income will enable you to secure low-interest loans - providing both enables the lender to figure out the credit rating himself.



YowlingCat
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20 May 2008, 7:06 pm

Quote:
Credit rating is merely derived from balance sheets and income statements. Being able to back your loans with equity AND income will enable you to secure low-interest loans - providing both enables the lender to figure out the credit rating himself.

And there you have it. The lender has to figure out the credit rating. And once you're rated, you're in the system. No rating, no loan. The rating is way more complex than being "merely derived from balance sheets and income statements." FICO won't even give out the algorithm they use to derive a credit score.



Xelebes
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20 May 2008, 7:07 pm

FICO? I assume that's an American institution, right?



Nan
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21 May 2008, 2:48 am

Xelebes wrote:
FICO? I assume that's an American institution, right?


Exactly. And they are gospel - if there's an error on one of your credit reports, your FICO score (created by Fair Issac Corporation, I believe) can take quite a hit. If it does, kiss your chances of a loan at a good rate goodbye. For years.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_sco ... ted_States)

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Last edited by Nan on 23 May 2008, 9:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Xelebes
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22 May 2008, 4:08 pm

Nan wrote:
I'm told that my FICO score is also also lower because I paid cash for the car I drive, rather than financing it and paying it off over time. Even though I've paid faithfully on a mortgage for all these years, not having a car loan since 1995 has hurt my credit. Information typically remains on the reports for 8 to 10 years. The car loan(s) I had were obtained and paid off than 10 years ago, so they no longer count.

Weird, huh?


That does sound bizarre. I mean, having paid for any capital assets with short-term assets should mean that a fair amount of equity exists and that the equity can be leveraged. However, I must assume that leveraging equity is a different financial instrument than lines of credit.



asperity
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22 May 2008, 11:33 pm

I was depressed about being poor when I raised my daughter because she wanted things other kids had. I hated that I couldn't do better for her. Now she's proud that we managed on so little. I only get a little scared now and then because I can't afford a doctor if I get sick. I almost died once because of that.