Bad Credit

[GrrlGoalie33]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

but as previously mentioned i do think basic finances should be taught in high school. kids need to learn that a credit card != free money

This is something that should be taught at home, with some follow through in school. Some kids never learn the value of money. When I was growing up, we never had much money, but as I started to get older my parents started having more money, and buying what they want. As a result, my brother and I both learned very poor spending/budgeting habits and have both run into trouble. I think we covered budgeting for half a CALM20 class in grade 11...

The learning needs to start at home!

[Agamemnon]

Originally Posted by Dominicwasalreadytaken

I don't buy that at all.

I've had less than $1,000 of work done on my 87 Buick Century and I've owned that car for just under 5 years (bought it for $2200). If it ever craps out on me I'll just buy another one. It'll take a lot of cars before my spending comes anywhere near $12,000.

I owned a Neon for 5 years. I bought it for $3500 and paid approximately $500 per year in maintenance on it. Eventually it was so beat up to **** that I sold it to a wrecker for $200 and bought a mini-van for $4,000. That was just over a year ago, and I've paid nothing in maintenance.

So, over the last 5 years I've spent no more than $13k and I've owned 2 cars. 100 bucks says there aren't a whole lot of $12k cars that will cost you less than $1k in maintenance over 5 years. Not to mention the interest you're paying on your car loan. And the way cars are built these days you probably have to buy another car after 5 years to replace that $12k car you bought to save money.

Do your research, get the car inspected by someone you trust, and you will very rarely suffer for buying a cheap car. Unless you consider it suffering by looking as poor as you really are.

Well, if what you're saying is poor people should buy/drive poor cars, then I agree. Someone in dire straights financially/credit-wise should probably not spend a lot on a car.

That said, maybe she's got bad credit, but a great job? If she can 'afford' the car reasonably, why should she limit herself? Bad credit does not = poor, far from it. I was being rejected as recently as 2 months ago, despite being worth well over $150k on paper (not to mention a healthy income). Just because I couldn't get financing easily doesn't mean I should be driving a beater...

[Agamemnon]

Originally Posted by Frankster

This is something that should be taught at home, with some follow through in school. Some kids never learn the value of money. When I was growing up, we never had much money, but as I started to get older my parents started having more money, and buying what they want. As a result, my brother and I both learned very poor spending/budgeting habits and have both run into trouble. I think we covered budgeting for half a CALM20 class in grade 11...

The learning needs to start at home!

A bunch of parents (especially the poor ones) are probably not the best teachers of financial gain/wealth. Schools can at least tell a kid that when his credit gets checked repeatedly, it goes down. No one 'officially' told me this until I'd already applied for a bunch of things. There are _tons_ of parents that set poor spending examples for their children.

[V]

Who knows, maybe it's just a philosophy of mine. I refuse to borrow money for depreciable assets. If I don't have the money in the bank to buy it, I won't buy it. It's a very simple rule that's done me very well in my life so far.

[Displaced Flames fan]

Originally Posted by Agamemnon

It should be taught in school...

Truer words have never been posted. Well said Ag.

Debt is the devil.

Your sister should try to avoid the loan if she can and save some cash. I know that's difficult and takes sacrifice but if she has any chance of making that happen that is exactly what would be best for her.

[RedMan12]

Originally Posted by fotze

and sometimes you have to pay for bell expressvu's mistakes.

like when they triple charged me when I ordered the sattelite system from them and it took 10 days to to get it refunded back on my credit card.

[FlamesAddiction]

Did she try a Credit Union? Sometime they are a little more forgiving.

Several years ago I had to get a loan but I had no credit rating (right out of high school). I had an account at a major Canadian bank my whole life, but when I asked them for the loan, they refused. I went down to the Credit Union and asked them, and they approved me. All I had to do was open an account... and it was a better interest rate than the bank as well.

[Displaced Flames fan]

Originally Posted by fotze

School should be for reading riting and rithmatic. Life skills SHOULD be taught at home.

Doing the beater car thing can be time consuming, I did that for my whole life until recently. It is nice to have some car peace of mind for once. It is a dog**** investment. Hell it shouldn't be called an investment, investments have the potential to increase. Cars should be put in the same category as food. Ground beef is not an investment.

I agree it should be taught at home, but it can't be guaranteed to be taught in every home.

A class on personal financial management required in high school would be a benefit to everyone I think.

Ground beef CAN be an investment if you place a value on certain digestive biproducts.

[DementedReality]

Originally Posted by Dominicwasalreadytaken

I don't buy that at all.

I've had less than $1,000 of work done on my 87 Buick Century and I've owned that car for just under 5 years (bought it for $2200). If it ever craps out on me I'll just buy another one. It'll take a lot of cars before my spending comes anywhere near $12,000.

I owned a Neon for 5 years. I bought it for $3500 and paid approximately $500 per year in maintenance on it. Eventually it was so beat up to **** that I sold it to a wrecker for $200 and bought a mini-van for $4,000. That was just over a year ago, and I've paid nothing in maintenance.

So, over the last 5 years I've spent no more than $13k and I've owned 2 cars. 100 bucks says there aren't a whole lot of $12k cars that will cost you less than $1k in maintenance over 5 years. Not to mention the interest you're paying on your car loan. And the way cars are built these days you probably have to buy another car after 5 years to replace that $12k car you bought to save money.

Do your research, get the car inspected by someone you trust, and you will very rarely suffer for buying a cheap car. Unless you consider it suffering by looking as poor as you really are.

some people like to have some frivilous items for their hard work. good on you for only spending 2500 per year on your car. i am sure you dont have high speed internet, just dial up too right? its cheaper after all. basic cable, no digital or satelite right?

or maybe some people have the money to spend on a nice car?

[FireFly]

Originally Posted by @theCBE

how much of an affect does paying bills late have on your credit?

edit .. to be more specific i mean like cell phone bills/cable bills

Well, I work for Telus and think I might be able to help you with that one.... Though if you're with someone else I can't guarantee it's the same process.

If you're consistently late, it hurts your credit with us and you end up with a shorter leash, meaning we'll suspend you quicker. We only ever report it to a credit bureau though if we have to cancel for non-payment. If we've done that, but you pay it off right away it's a small hit. If it goes to collections, it's much larger.

Hope that helps.

[@theCBE]

Originally Posted by FireFly

Well, I work for Telus and think I might be able to help you with that one.... Though if you're with someone else I can't guarantee it's the same process.

If you're consistently late, it hurts your credit with us and you end up with a shorter leash, meaning we'll suspend you quicker. We only ever report it to a credit bureau though if we have to cancel for non-payment. If we've done that, but you pay it off right away it's a small hit. If it goes to collections, it's much larger.

Hope that helps.

I appreciate the offer ... but it was more of a curiousity thing more than anything else.. I paid my cell phone bill late a couple times a few years ago but it was never anything major

[Draug]

Originally Posted by ken0042

And sometimes you get free Flames PPV's because of Bell Expressvu's mistakes.

OR, pay double for the Center Ice Promotion, and still not have it fixed 8 months later.

[V]

Originally Posted by DementedReality

some people like to have some frivilous items for their hard work. good on you for only spending 2500 per year on your car. i am sure you dont have high speed internet, just dial up too right? its cheaper after all. basic cable, no digital or satelite right?

or maybe some people have the money to spend on a nice car?

I do have high-speed, because I can afford it. I don't have to borrow from the bank to be able to afford it, and I can still live my life as I want to with that expense coming out of my bank account every month. I use the internet at home for work as well, so dial-up just isn't an option, either.

Basic cable? Not even. It's peasant-vision for me. I've never lived with anything but.

I can understand the fact that people like pretty things and are willing to pay for them, even if they don't have the money. Personally, I hate borrowing money to buy something that will make me look richer than I am, but I can understand why a lot of people do it. What I don't buy is when people say they buy nice cars because it will be cheaper in the end. That's a load of bull.

[DementedReality]

Originally Posted by Dominicwasalreadytaken

What I don't buy is when people say they buy nice cars because it will be cheaper in the end. That's a load of bull.

fair enough, it isnt cheaper at all to own a brand new car ... although when you describe owning a car as a "pretty" thing, it sounds quite condecending, like those of us who choose to "waste" our money on a nice looking car arent as good as you.

fact is, not every expendeture has to be a "good" investment. if you go into car ownership thinking it is a financial investment, you are an idiot. but there is something called an investment in your quality of life and that isnt measured in $$'s and net worth statements.

of course if you cant pay your other bills, but you are driving a 2007 Porsche and wearing Armani suits, you should reconsider your priorities.

edit: also wanted to add ... even if you have the cash for a brand new vehicle, it doesnt always make financial sense to "buy" it out right. not when dealerships are offering 0% financing or you can lease the vehicle at very low interest rates. i would rather pay for the vehicle in very small pieces and keep the cash on hand. well, not at 20% like this thread is saying, but at the no or low interest rate levels it makes much more sense to borrow the money, even if you have the cash

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by DementedReality

fair enough, it isnt cheaper at all to own a brand new car ... although when you describe owning a car as a "pretty" thing, it sounds quite condecending, like those of us who choose to "waste" our money on a nice looking car arent as good as you............

edit: also wanted to add ... even if you have the cash for a brand new vehicle, it doesnt always make financial sense to "buy" it out right. not when dealerships are offering 0% financing or you can lease the vehicle at very low interest rates.

Did you miss the title of this thread? It was about somebody with bad credit. And said person was looking to finance a car.

As somebody who has had to get himself out from under bad credit, I know it isn't something that "just happens." It was decisions; bad ones. Like going to the Keg because you were hungry, and even though you don't have cash, you can put it on your Visa. Then when your buddy you went with pulls out cash, you say "I'll just grab your cash and put it all on my Visa."

It's all about living within your means, and that's all I've heard anybody say here. There is no need for a $15,000 car when a $5,000 one will do. And if the person has been living beyond their means for a while, at some point they need to come back to earth.

[DementedReality]

Originally Posted by ken0042

Did you miss the title of this thread? .

my bad for hijacking the thread ...

[V]

Originally Posted by DementedReality

... although when you describe owning a car as a "pretty" thing, it sounds quite condecending, like those of us who choose to "waste" our money on a nice looking car arent as good as you.

Hey, I buy pretty things too. I just picked up a $250 monitor, when I probably could've done with my existing monitor for a while still. My wife and I are looking at buying a tent trailer when our current tent would probably still do the trick. By saying "pretty things" I'm not trying to be condescending at all. All I'm saying is that I refuse to buy pretty things if I don't have the money on hand to buy them.

[GrrlGoalie33]

Originally Posted by Dominicwasalreadytaken

I don't buy that at all.

I've had less than $1,000 of work done on my 87 Buick Century and I've owned that car for just under 5 years (bought it for $2200). If it ever craps out on me I'll just buy another one. It'll take a lot of cars before my spending comes anywhere near $12,000.

I owned a Neon for 5 years. I bought it for $3500 and paid approximately $500 per year in maintenance on it. Eventually it was so beat up to **** that I sold it to a wrecker for $200 and bought a mini-van for $4,000. That was just over a year ago, and I've paid nothing in maintenance.

So, over the last 5 years I've spent no more than $13k and I've owned 2 cars. 100 bucks says there aren't a whole lot of $12k cars that will cost you less than $1k in maintenance over 5 years. Not to mention the interest you're paying on your car loan. And the way cars are built these days you probably have to buy another car after 5 years to replace that $12k car you bought to save money.

Do your research, get the car inspected by someone you trust, and you will very rarely suffer for buying a cheap car. Unless you consider it suffering by looking as poor as you really are.

Your "preachy" theory works great as long as you know what you are looking for. Someone who has no idea about cars can and may get taken to the cleaners by purchasing an older car.

Did I overspend on my vehicle? Probably, but with the amount of driving I do, having a vehicle that is 100% reliable is worth the extra money I spend on it every month, and the 0% financing was a huge bonus as well.

[V]

I know absolutely nothing about cars. I change my own oil. That's about it.

There are so many resources out there, it's not hard to find a good used car. Get it inspected by someone you trust, and it should be all good. You don't need to know anything for things to work out.

[ken0042]

Or ask a friend who knows cars to go shopping with you. Anytime I go to make a medium to large purchase I bring along somebody who knows about the type of thing I'm buying.