Smalltownbanker

Credit Card Cancer

My dad took out a small loan in the mid-fifties to build the house I grew up in. He paid it off before he finished the house and it was the last loan he ever had. He saved money to buy what he wanted and waited until he could afford it to buy.

I wish I had been as wise as he was. The bank I worked for was closed this year. It is said that we were a victim of the downturn in the economy, even the FDIC agrees. That certainly is true to a point but did we properly underwrite credit and capacity? Did the appraisals of the collateral realy support the loans? If we and everyone else had acted prudently would we be in this situation?

I know that I spent more than I should have. I have borrowed for things I should have saved for. I did it and so did at least half of those who have posted here supporting the principles we know we should follow. We must change our ways but first we must admit that we are part of the problem, well at least most of us are...

If we listen to the President and try to spend our way out of this with our credit cards and HELOCs we will soon find ourselves even lower than today.