I'm sure a lot of the readers wonder what you are on about but clearly you have seen a few summers and have a sense of values from growing up in a time when people borrowed if at all and paid it off as quickly as they could. When they worked, saved, and went without until they could pay.
These people, our Parents and Grand Parents, had vivid memories of the 30's and did not want themselves or their families to ever experience such loss or pain.
Unfortunately, we have not succeeded in passing that message on to our children and as a result they have been willing participants, even victims for the slick money machine which has peddled Paradise in Debt.
The idea that you can have everything, your Parents were mugs. Borrow 100%, borrow more for holidays, borrow for a car, rent your home, car and life from the bank. Don't think about it, everyone's doing it. Look like you own it, brag like you earned it, but don't miss a payment.
Unfortunately, life just doesn't work that way. In the end comes the day of payment and not only the debt has to be paid but the accumulated interest often more than doubles the debt and has to be paid too.
People in debt wake up poorer every morning. They are salves to their finances. They have lost their freedom to live as they choose. The job and the boss calls the shots. Fear of failure drives their day. They are owned by the Bank and driven to work. Their family sacrifices. They can't have a normal life and even cut the food off the table to pay for their debt and ego.
And to make it even worse, some of our own generation jumped into debt when the attraction of a Pay Later society looked just too good to miss out on.
Now is the time of payment. So how is this going to work out? How will someone who spent their next 10 years savings in advance pay this off and get debt free?
That's the challenge now, thousands of families with nothing to do but pay off debt for the next 10 years.
When they finish, if they ever finish, guess what they will be saying about borrowing and debt. They will sound like our Grandparents and the cycle will have started again.
One thing we do know is that our Grandparents got past the 30's and we will too. But the lessons will last generations so expect a lot more pain yet.
