OT: remember the car-refinance thing?

[ranalli]

I really worry about Americans and the debt that they're carrying on credit cards. That was a lesson I learned when I was 21 and vowed never to repeat. I haven't carried a balance on a credit card since and have worked hard to get my finances in at least respectable order. Here in NYC I see a lot of people flashing a lot of bling whether it be clothes, electronic gadgets, etc, yet I wonder how they afford it when they're sitting at Starbucks on an Macbook all day....or a desk clerk at the local gym. Perhaps I'm too nosy....

 

[Variable]

BTW, some personal history of mine. My dad and my grandfather died at 50 and 52, respectively. I'm not waiting to to die at 50. I'm taking control of my finances but more importantly my health. It's up to you to take better care of yourself all around.

A healthy lifestyle doesn't/can't always completely overide genetics. You read stories about the healthnuts running and dropping dead of a heart attack, etc.

In some ways it's a blessing to drop dead early, and not leave your family members the burden of forking out $8000 or whatever it is a month for a nursing home when you're drooling all over yourself...

Yep, understood. I'm not really sure what happened with my grandfather other than that he died of a stroke. My dad's death was totally preventable.. heavy smoker coupled with a bad diet. Although he looked pretty healthy if you looked at him. My dad's mother is still kicking at 80.

And sometimes you get really lucky with genetics... for example, my dad currently is a hemophiliac (ie, his blood doesn't clot), has Hep C (granted, from a bad blood transfusion after I was born), has been through one stroke, and has Multiple Sclerosis. He's also had his gall bladder removed, has high blood pressure, and is pre-diabetic.

I, on the other hand, have none of these things. Lifestyle has a lot to do with it, too; you wouldn't be able to tell that my dad has that treasure trove of nasty diseases by looking at him. He's 60 years old, and when he shaves off the caterpillar, he looks like David Bowie This just goes to show that genetics don't always dictate what you're going to get, and also that an active lifestyle can offset the shit that's out of your control.

 

[kannibul]

My Credit card is now paid off

 

[kannibul]

I really worry about Americans and the debt that they're carrying on credit cards. That was a lesson I learned when I was 21 and vowed never to repeat. I haven't carried a balance on a credit card since and have worked hard to get my finances in at least respectable order. Here in NYC I see a lot of people flashing a lot of bling whether it be clothes, electronic gadgets, etc, yet I wonder how they afford it when they're sitting at Starbucks on an Macbook all day....or a desk clerk at the local gym. Perhaps I'm too nosy....

Shit, the amount of debt we carry on credit cards is a drop in a bucket compared to what the Federal Government has accumulated.

I can't wait until China decides to go mafia on us about the debt we owe them.