James Woosley’s Blog

Credit Card Offers Stacking Up at Homes of the Newly Bankrupt - New York Times

If you’re a follower of Dave Ramsey, you’ll be sickened by some of the comments in this story:

“The people coming out of bankruptcy need an opportunity to get back on their feet,” said Laura Fisher, a spokeswoman for the American Bankers Association, the industry’s largest trade group.

“If you take away the opportunity to get credit,” Ms. Fisher said, “it’s like taking away the want ads from a job-seeker.”

No, it’s not. It’s bad enough they declared bankruptcy and will have to live with that mark on their record for the rest of their lives. At least for now they don’t owe anyone. The best thing they can do is not borrow any more!

“The whole business model of the credit card industry is built around outstanding debt,” said Ellen Schloemer, a researcher at the Center for Responsible Lending, a nonprofit group that tracks lower-middle-class financial issues, based in Durham, N.C. “This is the only industry that calls people deadbeats when they pay all their bills every month.”

Amen! Don’t play with snakes–they BITE!

Ms. Fogle would seem to be a perfect candidate for long-term debt to credit cards. Though she works regularly as a nurse at Good Samaritan Hospital here, earning $16 an hour, and has health insurance, she said a health emergency pushed her into debt. Last year, she needed surgery for uterine cancer, which caused her to lose days of work and income. Credit cards made up the difference, and soon she was $15,000 in debt.

She filed for protection of the courts in late August, and her debts are now removed. “My plan is to lay off credit cards until I can really afford them,” she said. “But it’s tempting. I would like to have one in case of emergency.”

Ms. Fogle said she was trying to stick to a disciplined new pattern with her finances. “I try to buy only what I need, instead of what I want,” she said. “But there are small things that I want - a latte, every now and then, taking my kids to the movies.”

This lady had bad things happen to her and she ended up filing for bankruptcy. I feel sorry for her. Her comments show me she has the capability of winning financially, but she won’t until she realizes what she’s saying.

1)You can never “afford” them. They will bring you back to this mess again, or worse!

2) Emergency! The red lights went off a long time ago and you weren’t rescued by the cards then. You need an emergency fund, not an emergency card.

3) Needs, not wants! She gets it! A glimmer of hope. Just don’t have that latte or movie every day…save your pennies and do it once a month. Budget it!

The credit card offers inform Ms. Fogle that she is pre-approved, but at higher interest rates - 23 percent or more, which is typical for offers to the newly bankrupt.

“It’s obvious what they’re trying to do here - start people off with a fresh credit card at a much higher rate than before,” she said.

Here we can tell she gets it…but will she follow through and live a new life, or fall back into her old patterns? Only time will tell.

How am I doing? Well, I’m in debt up to my eyeballs. The hole is big, but my shovel is big, too. Following Dave’s plan, I know I can win. I haven’t used a credit card since July 2005 and I never will again.

If you’re struggling financially, check out what Dave Ramsey’s got to say. It will change your life!

I travel a lot…more than 500,000 miles in the last four years. So I see a lot of people talking on cell phones in the airport and various other locations. Sometimes I’m one of them.

Last night I was boarding a plane in Baltimore (BWI) and the guy in from of me had one of those Bluetooth wireless ear things (the Borg have arrived). He was chatting with a friend and talking about the upcoming weekend. I could hear everything he said, and nothing from the guy he was talking to.

He was going on about his kids sporting events for Saturday morning and that he and his wife were going to some cabin for the weekend. They were going to meet a couple of couples there and have an “orgy”. That’s what he said! An ORGY!

Now, it was most likely a crude joke. But do these Borg-people not realize that there are other people around them? Or have they simply gotten so used to their “implants” that they no longer think about it?

I’m all for technology and frankly, I think the wireless headset for my cell phone would be great to have. I just hope if I had one I could resist the assimilation enough to notice the audience around me.

But the problem isn’t limited to those with electronics in their audio orifices. I don’t know how many times I’ve been on the rental car shuttle and heard a couple of businessmen (normally men) dropping F-bombs like it was World War III. A lot of the time there are women and even children around (though some seem to contain themselves if a child is present).

I’m not perfect. I’m not always proud of the words that erupt from my mouth. But I’m aware of my surroundings (most of the time).

Are you?

I’m a bit of a fan of IKEA’s stuff (at least some of it), and while searching their website I ran across a great tool. They call it the IKEA 2006 Office Planner. It’s a room design and planning software that includes 3D modelling. It’s very easy to install and use, and kind of fun, too! Of course it only contains the furnishings that are available at IKEA, but there are enough basics that you can replicate the stuff you already have.

If anyone else has some great design software that’s free and easy to use, just leave a comment. Thanks!

So how exactly does one start to blog?

I mean, the technical side of it is easy for me. I’ve used Blogger in the past, and I decided to try WordPress this time. I’ve played with the visuals and settings for a few months, but I think the biggest thing holding me back is just what to start with.

So this is it. Just start.

I’ll be posting often (at least I plan to). This blog will be a collection of my thoughts on a variety of topics, as well as some tips, tricks and tools to share.

That’s it for now. Really good content to come soon…