Car Loans - keeping America poor?

[CorbLand]

I really don't know what it how to take that statement, but as a father, I wish I had 5 more kids.
My kids are simply the greatest accomplishment, achievement, and things in my life. I truly feel sorry for someone that has a child and can't, or didn't see it that way.
Until very recently I have worked multiple jobs, passed up numerous opportunities due to not being willing to take that money from my family, and straight up sacrificed a lot of time for my family, and would happily do it all over again.
That is the hardest thing or society can't comprehend anymore. You should be willing to self sacrifice for others, not what's best for me in every scenario, me, me, me.

You have done those things because you wanted kids and understood the sacrifice that comes with having them. I think there are a lot of people that have kids because they are told that they should have kids. Then when it comes to having to give up things on their end due to kids, they dont because it wasnt what they really wanted.

Wife and I are having our first any day now. Keep getting asked if I am nervous and many people are surprised when I say "no." I am not nervous to have a kid because I actually want her and will do anything it takes to provide for her and am willing to give up things on my end to be there for her. If I didnt want her, I would be far less likely to do those things.

 

[robby denning]

As soon as I quit taking out car loans and paid cash (yes, had to lower my standards for a few decades), my financial life took a hard turn up. And amazingly enough, all those old trucks got me around pretty good.

 

[Billinsd]

We have a neighbor who complains about how it's a break even on one of their salaries for daycare.
I have very pointedly asked them why they would go work and pay someone else to raise their kids for a break even. I don't want to give up my career they say....
People priorities the damn dumbest things over their family.

Your neighbor has a great point and so do you. Everyone’s situation is different and unique. There are several very good ways to raise a family and the only bad ways are if you neglect your kids and don’t prioritize them! Child Daycare raise your children like a school does. Neither do! A good Daycare teaches your kids to get along with others, independence, early social and learning skills they will benefit from for the rest of their lives! When a person stops working their career stops and it is a steep uphill climb to get back into it. I’m speaking from several of my wife’s friends. For one parent to stay at home with the kids is generally noble and I know families that do it and their kids turn out well, however the family buys clothes and things at the goodwill and do without many things, which isn’t a bad thing. Most people aren’t cut out for that. My wife and I are not and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Cheers Bill

 

[Billinsd]

I think there are a lot of people that have kids because they are told that they should have kids. Then when it comes to having to give up things on their end due to kids, they dont because it wasnt what they really wanted.

Wife and I are having our first any day now. Keep getting asked if I am nervous and many people are surprised when I say "no."

You ARE the people I SAY should have more kids! You are who I am talking about, you are very smart, educated, have a lot of common sense and the country desperately needs more of you!!! In my situation and I’m a late boomer Protestant from a wealthy family and you were expected to graduate college, get a good white collar job, get married and buy a nice house, two cars, and have 2.0 kids. Peer pressure and pressure from parents and relatives was very strong. People who didn’t live up to this were deemed LOSERS. I did feel a slight primal drive to have children. Chris Hamilton of Hamilton Education tells his students to choose their parents carefully! He’s really saying they should be grateful that their parents care about their education so much. I ask my kids occasionally what do they think we could be doing better? https://www.hamiltoneducation.com/

 

[songster]

conversation seems to have moved from car loans to the cost of having kids. i see the connection. i drive fully paid 10+ year old cars so i can pay for my kids' college/law school tuitions. worth the sacrifice but college/homes shouldn't have to be so expensive. it's beyond reasonable

 

[Predator_SD]

I really don't know what it how to take that statement, but as a father, I wish I had 5 more kids.
My kids are simply the greatest accomplishment, achievement, and things in my life. I truly feel sorry for someone that has a child and can't, or didn't see it that way.
Until very recently I have worked multiple jobs, passed up numerous opportunities due to not being willing to take that money from my family, and straight up sacrificed a lot of time for my family, and would happily do it all over again.
That is the hardest thing or society can't comprehend anymore. You should be willing to self sacrifice for others, not what's best for me in every scenario, me, me, me.

Amen to that!

 

[Speaks]

conversation seems to have moved from car loans to the cost of having kids. i see the connection. i drive fully paid 10+ year old cars so i can pay for my kids' college/law school tuitions. worth the sacrifice but college/homes shouldn't have to be so expensive. it's beyond reasonable

College is expensive because in an ill-advised attempt to make it easier for kids to go we removed the normal supply/demand market forces. We introduced readily available student loans and then used the colleges themselves, high school councilors, and parents to all tell kids not to worry about the loans and go get a college degree. So the customer (student was no longer price sensitive). The college wants cost to go up especially since much of the extra cost is going into growing administrative systems and not education, the banks writing loans that they can profit off of but the government backs want cost to go up because they make more money, and the kids dont care (until much later). There is no downward pressure on pricing and those setting the price (college) and those paying (loan companies) both want prices to rise.

 

[cornfedkiller]

College is expensive because in an ill-advised attempt to make it easier for kids to go we removed the normal supply/demand market forces. We introduced readily available student loans and then used the colleges themselves, high school councilors, and parents to all tell kids not to worry about the loans and go get a college degree. So the customer (student was no longer price sensitive). The college wants cost to go up especially since much of the extra cost is going into growing administrative systems and not education, the banks writing loans that they can profit off of but the government backs want cost to go up because they make more money, and the kids dont care (until much later). There is no downward pressure on pricing and those setting the price (college) and those paying (loan companies) both want prices to rise.

 

[CorbLand]

College is expensive because in an ill-advised attempt to make it easier for kids to go we removed the normal supply/demand market forces. We introduced readily available student loans and then used the colleges themselves, high school councilors, and parents to all tell kids not to worry about the loans and go get a college degree. So the customer (student was no longer price sensitive). The college wants cost to go up especially since much of the extra cost is going into growing administrative systems and not education, the banks writing loans that they can profit off of but the government backs want cost to go up because they make more money, and the kids dont care (until much later). There is no downward pressure on pricing and those setting the price (college) and those paying (loan companies) both want prices to rise.

All of this has also allowed businesses to require a four year degree to get entry level positions. Thus, further pushing the student to go get a degree so they can get a seat at the table. Keeps demand high.

 

[TheWhitetailNut]

Come on man, 95%? It can’t be that high unless you’re servicing more urban areas like Chicago or something. Most guys willing to DIY are more than capable of doing a simple job like a water heater, install a receptacle, build a wall in the basement, do their brakes, etc. This stuff isn’t rocket science it’s pretty simple. Someone incapable of installing a water heater calls someone to do all their work 99% of the time. My Chicago brother in law can’t change a light bulb. I fixed his flapper valve in 2 min on his toilet he let continually run for 6 months before i noticed it when i was over and asked him about it. He didn’t know how to get inside the toilet tank to check anything, not joking.

Not saying you don’t see shoddy work but to say 95% doing work don’t know what they’re doing is a stretch. On the flip side, i have come in behind work done by contractors talk about shoddy work!

Post a picture of yours. They all think they know what they are doing.

 

[Reburn]

College is expensive because in an ill-advised attempt to make it easier for kids to go we removed the normal supply/demand market forces. We introduced readily available student loans and then used the colleges themselves, high school councilors, and parents to all tell kids not to worry about the loans and go get a college degree. So the customer (student was no longer price sensitive). The college wants cost to go up especially since much of the extra cost is going into growing administrative systems and not education, the banks writing loans that they can profit off of but the government backs want cost to go up because they make more money, and the kids dont care (until much later). There is no downward pressure on pricing and those setting the price (college) and those paying (loan companies) both want prices to rise.

Right almost like they are running colleges like a business. And the students are the clients and the product. That the government gives you a loan for that you cant default on. That almost makes you an indentured servant. Its a hell of a scam.

 

[woods89]

Tell me how you watched HGTV and think you know how to do glass tile by yourself so you can remodel and house and try to flip it without telling me. (I didnt do this the house came this way)

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It's really a shame sometimes to see people spend their money on upscale materials and figure they'll save their money on the installation, whether that be DIY or the 2nd cousin who's trying to get back on his feet ( because that well regarded contractor they had look at it was just trying to rip them off, you know?).

Basic materials+true professional installation>high end materials+hack installation.

And my distaste for HGTV is about on the same level as the hunting influencer industry.

 

[Billinsd]

College is expensive. The college wants cost to go up especially since much of the extra cost is going into growing administrative systems and not education

I was looking at Stanford tuition, room, and board and it's $92k a year!! Luckily the great private universities have financial aid, even for families grossing over six figures. I did a quick and dirty calc and my estimate was, I'd pay about $50k a year, much better but hey, lol. My son told me he'd like to go to Harvard or Yale, etc. He's got a shot, way, way long shot! The Universities have gotten out of reach, because of student loans and financial aid. As both of these increase the colleges increase their costs. College Campuses have become more like luxury, vacation resorts, with less and less emphasis on learning. Community Colleges, and local State colleges are an excellent and low cost alternative to private universities. The room and board for even state universities, luxury resorts is outrageous!!! Tuition is high, because of all the overpaid administrators and professors! My daughter decided to stay home and is living at home and finishing a degree at local state University on a full scholarship. I'll be in much better shape to pay for her medical school in a couple years. I remember when I was in college was all the "liberal arts" majors! Most didn't get very good jobs, except teachers. However, back then kids and parents didn't get into debt getting a degree, it was unheard of

 

[Billinsd]

This film explains why college costs have gotten out of control and options people have!!

 

[ddowning]

Tell me how you watched HGTV and think you know how to do glass tile by yourself so you can remodel and house and try to flip it without telling me. (I didnt do this the house came this way)

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That's pretty...shitty. The thing right now in my area is to have freedom and be your own boss. It is a farming community and everyone thinks they can be a builder. Since they were making $20/hr at their job where their employer was paying work comp and employment tax and a 401k match, if they charge $25/hr they can make more money while having free time to ride sxs in the mountains. The other phenomenon is to hire help with no skill that doesn't speak English. You can sell rocks to a farmer, but don't know the first thing about building. The help is cheap and so you can double or triple what they charge and still get the job.

A real business needs to solve real problems. It also needs to make a fair living for everyone working there and also earn a profit in addition to that. That requires $60-$100/man hour for residential remodeling in my area. To actually be worth that, you and everyone working for you needs to be damn good. Because that's the going rate for a skilled business, the sales guy with no skills is going to sell at that rate to. He's going to make people feel good, so they want to buy from him. Then people realize they got bamboozled and are afraid to pay that much for a contractor when they can get the same result diy or from the $25/man hour guys. Yes, those guys wash out, but there are always new guys coming in to take his place. It takes a lot of years in business to build the word of mouth reputation to be a legitimate residential remodeling business. If you don't know anyone, it's like playing roulette to hire a contractor. That's why people are so reluctant to pay real money and hire a good contractor.

 

[3forks]

I didn’t read every post, so I case it wasn’t posted:

 

[woods89]

That's pretty...shitty. The thing right now in my area is to have freedom and be your own boss. It is a farming community and everyone thinks they can be a builder. Since they were making $20/hr at their job where their employer was paying work comp and employment tax and a 401k match, if they charge $25/hr they can make more money while having free time to ride sxs in the mountains. The other phenomenon is to hire help with no skill that doesn't speak English. You can sell rocks to a farmer, but don't know the first thing about building. The help is cheap and so you can double or triple what they charge and still get the job.

A real business needs to solve real problems. It also needs to make a fair living for everyone working there and also earn a profit in addition to that. That requires $60-$100/man hour for residential remodeling in my area. To actually be worth that, you and everyone working for you needs to be damn good. Because that's the going rate for a skilled business, the sales guy with no skills is going to sell at that rate to. He's going to make people feel good, so they want to buy from him. Then people realize they got bamboozled and are afraid to pay that much for a contractor when they can get the same result diy or from the $25/man hour guys. Yes, those guys wash out, but there are always new guys coming in to take his place. It takes a lot of years in business to build the word of mouth reputation to be a legitimate residential remodeling business. If you don't know anyone, it's like playing roulette to hire a contractor. That's why people are so reluctant to pay real money and hire a good contractor.

This is a pretty good synopsis of the issue.

Around here we also have some "GC's" who simply hire subs for everything, and don't have the skills or aren't on site enough to catch the little things that fall between subs or are going to be quality control issues. There's a huge delta in workmanship between them and the guys who actually care about a home as a working system.

The other side is that if you can get 5-10 years in and maintain and grow a good reputation it opens up a lot of opportunities!

 

[KurtR]

You got to do it all within 3-4 years though. The average day care operator only lasts about 3 years before every thread of their sanity is gone.

Yep we built one had it for four years and sold it . More or less broke even each year it we owned it. Only money we made was because I built it and sold the building for a profit. The person that bought it sold it to the city in a year. No one in this town wants to pay what it costs to even keep the doors open.

 

[Billinsd]

Around here we also have some "GC's" who simply hire subs for everything, and don't have the skills or aren't on site enough to catch the little things that fall between subs or are going to be quality control issues.

I call those GCs brokers, lol. We hired a remodeling company and virtually all the work was subbed out. The PMs have too many projects and many are inexperienced. We removed our PM half way through and the owner managed the remainder of the work.

 

[woods89]

I call those GCs brokers, lol. We hired a remodeling company and virtually all the work was subbed out. The PMs have too many projects and many are inexperienced. We removed our PM half way through and the owner managed the remainder of the work.

Yup.

All subs can certainly work in the right circumstances for all parties, but there is a certain percentage that does NOT earn their GC fees........