[polak]

I see some people on their high horse here assuming that everyone is just living outside of their means. The reality is most people don't just rack up debt without concern. Most people usually have a plan and they think they're making a smart decision.

Unfortunately, anyone who entered the workforce 10 years ago or later, wouldn't know what a true downturn is. I sure as hell can't remember anything like this. I have friends, who are otherwise smart guys, that thought oil was where it was at and that housing or oil would never see a sharp decline. Combine that with low interest rates and you have a bit of debt disaster waiting to happen. Yes we all heard the stories about the 80's but it's completely different to actually live through it. On top of all this, Calgary had an astronomical cost of living and believe it or not, every person doesn't make massive salaries just cause they happen to live in Alberta. It takes a lot of financial gymnastics to live here on even an average 50K salary.

So I'd hold off on calling people out for making some mistakes financially. Lots of people are experiencing something like this for the first time. Lots of people have probably only came into some money in recent years and weren't prepared for it, can you blame them? We teach kids advanced trig in high school but financial planning isn't touched on. Lots of people might have just been trying to get their feet under them, had a plan in place and it blew up in their face.

You're lucky that you're in a position to judge. You're lucky that your "plan" worked out. Not everyone whose plan didn't work out is some laissez-faire, spendy mcgee that was making it rain at the bar every night. There are many honest people who make honest mistakes or have bad luck or are haunted by mistakes they made in their youth.

Maybe this isn't the thread to be calling them out.