This wrier is a slow bloomer. I’ve managed to become penniless and I’m not quite yet 40. Of course I didn’t do it all by myself; I’ve had a tremendous amount of government assistance in becoming penniless....
Banks, insurance companies and the federal government saw the opportunity as well.
According to BO and his D’RATS, we’re all supposed to be penniless. It’s the natural state when living in Socialism. Gloom, doom, poverty and despair. Get used to it. But hey! We’ll have “free” rationed “healthcare.”
There simply is no substitute for managing your own investments..whether it is realestate or stocks..there is no such thing as a hands free investment strategy.
It doesn’t take much time, but it does take some decision making. I was shocked to learn some years ago that 97% of the people in my company did not take the opportunity to move their 401k plans to the brokerage option and invest themselves. The company mutual funds which were on the list all were underperforming the SP500. All you had to do was move your money to SPY and you would have a much higer return and fewer fees.
The lady should rejoice as her wealth is somewhere on its way to help those who have followed "The Divine One Of The Crown Of Thorns."
He or she, had an interest only loan for his/her first home. Ding, ding, ding !!!
Doesn't exactly sound like she is destitute and without opportunity. My guess is she is like a lot of people on both sides of the Atlantic who think of themselves as "poor" if they can't afford every little thing they want.
Please. I’m about your age. I’ve trusted people and lost unspeakable millions. In fact, I lost everything — 100%, meaning even my clothing, furniture and photographs — more than once, and everything was far more than a couple of houses. I try never to think about it.
Getting rich again is the easiest thing. Figuring out whom to trust, healing a broken spirit and heart, is a great deal more difficult.
You’re only 55. You want money, it’ll make you feel better? Use your head. Anyone can make money.
And when you get it, don’t exchange it for promises. When it comes to money, people who take promises are called suckers by people who make promises.
Now quit whining! :)
Interest only loans, taking out equity cash...bla bla.
Well, she had bad luck on her investments. But she was not exactly prudent or careful. She quit several jobs that would have given her more income and security. I don’t blame her for getting mad about the insult to her secretary, but I don’t know that it required her to quit her job. And I don’t know why she quit her other job.
Also, she is angry at the Scottish bank because they won’t allow her to leverage her mortgage loan even further. Is THAT really the way to get rich—increase your debt so you can have some spending money?
She sounds like a typical boomer generation person to me. And I don’t know why her friends would ask her for financial advice, since she evidently never bothered to manage her own money.
Charity begins at home........build and secure your base. Multiple fiscal resources aka never put all yer eggs in one basket per se........live within your means be it a “van down by the river” or a pimped out “crib”......:o)
Then and only then help those you can !!
My opinion and what I have done. Gonna go polish the rims on my home now.
Reads like a non stop progression of very poor decisions. Starting with an interest only mortgage followed by and equity loan against the same property.
Primary ingredients in a recipe for financial disaster.
I am making a generalization here, but people that make such obviously foolish decisions usually don’t stop at a couple. In her case it appears to be a pattern of good money after bad.
Sad but, commonplace tale of "smart people" who make stupid decisions due to their not having been properly educated! It is not her fault (?) that she did not receive a basic education in diversifying her assets (not putting all eggs in a few baskets...)
I know a number of individuals who are in the same shape today. Over the years however, they have lived "HIGH ON THE HOG" for many years, freely providing their views of how to "GET RICH AND PROSPER" to their friends!
Aesop's fable of the Ant and the Grasshopper (expanded to include asset diversification) is as valid today as it was eons ago!
This writer claims to have been an astute investor, but really only was a gullible person who did not investigate where she put her money. She gave lots of it away, and quit lucrative jobs because of perceived “racism”.
Don’t expect to be wealthy just because other people tell you how foolproof their investment schemes are.
Meanwhile...
Obama Wants $100B For Global Poverty
Geithner says crisis threatens work on poverty
By Harry Dunphy, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON – The global economic crisis threatens to reverse gains in fighting poverty, so banks that provide aid to poor nations must embrace changes in their operations, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Sunday.
Those development banks are at the forefront of efforts to eradicate poverty and promote sustainable growth, he said the World Bank’s policy-setting board.
“We cannot afford to lose time or lose ground,” Geithner said.
At the same time, he said it was important for the banks to conduct their aid business in the open.
They must face reviews to ensure they have enough money and are promoting fundamental changes, Geithner said. He added that their resources must be used to “achieve the maximum impact on long-term development objectives, including addressing the needs of the poorest.” …
Officials agreed on an immediate increase of $250 billion for IMF lending. A further $250 billion would be added later to an “expanded and more flexible” line of credit.
President Barack Obama is seeking congressional approval for up to $100 billion for that effort, matching commitments for the same amount made by Japan and the European Union…
via: http://sweetness-light.com/archive/obama-wants-another-100b-for-global-poverty
Original: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090426/ap_on_bi_ge/us_world_economy
When I bought my house all the mortgage people thought I was crazy for getting a 15 year mortgage. Well, I put 23 percent down and will have it paid off five years early. I still have plenty of equity in the place even today and after 10 years I’ll have a 10 year old house that’s fully paid for. Who’s crazy now?
Sometimes one can out-’smart’ oneself.
Apparently she's an exception...
“Had anyone looked at my life at 30 they would have said I was the most prudent young woman around...”
Not me. This woman bought a home on an interest-only mortgage, additionally paid into two separate “endowment funds” (investments meant specifically to pay of her mortgage on the theory that they would make more than the interest rate on the loan,) and now, after 25 years, she still does not own the house?
Her plan sounds like utter insanity which has worked out exactly the way a prudent person would have anticipated.