This is post-WWII economy thinking. “Easy credit” was an experimental concept, and it has failed. Small business used savings to get started, and used income to grow, not credit, since Biblical times.
So we have to get back to business concepts that work. Credit is not for those who need credit. It should only be offered to those who can back it with 100% collateral, and that collateral should always be appraised ahead of time.
Even credit cards should be more like debit cards. They offer convenience and more security than cash, but not “really” credit. Most people should never have credit. Getting a mortgage should be very hard, as it used to be.
At the end of each month, people get a paycheck. At the start of the new month, they use that paycheck to pay their *next* month’s rent. Everything else they put into savings, to pay expenses as they come. And if they run out of money, they do without until they get more. Except for the last 50 years, this is how things worked.
Investment is only for the wealthy. The only investment most people had was the interest they earned from bank savings. The big money was in bank Certificates of Deposit.
It’s not impossible to live this way.
bttt
I believe the Bible is clear that the first 10% tithe belongs to God, otherwise you put your money in a pocket with holes in it. It also says “owe no man anything but to love him”.
Yes, it used to be a 20% down payment to own a home, so that you had an investment in it; therefore thinking twice before walking away.
Credit is dangerous and should be used sparingly. None of those statements you made are wrong. However our society is very different than the 1950’s, and it is a personal decision now to do the right thing, and if we don’t everyone will suffer for it. “The rain falls on the just and unjust”.
And I'm guessing banks paid a better interest rate back before the easy money days of the Fed, "stimulative" rate cuts, etc.