Good morning, Tuscani. Nothing to do while I wait for the kids to awaken, but to come online -- with my blankie 
, coffee and cough drops -- the flu's got me. Yuck. Anyway, I went on Fat Wallet/Forum last night, just to read and to learn, and my gosh, this AOR stuff is so incredibly scary! Time after time, and to the tune of dozens upon dozens of stories, I read how bank accounts were frozen, credit accounts closed, lives ruined in a heartbeat and with very little notice. You'd think people would have more sense.
, coffee and cough drops -- the flu's got me. Yuck. Anyway, I went on Fat Wallet/Forum last night, just to read and to learn, and my gosh, this AOR stuff is so incredibly scary! Time after time, and to the tune of dozens upon dozens of stories, I read how bank accounts were frozen, credit accounts closed, lives ruined in a heartbeat and with very little notice. You'd think people would have more sense. What really got to me though was the undertone of power and greed, that just seemed to be the underlying factor in a lot of these stories. Everyone trying to outdo the other or pull one off on yet another bank/creditor. I just couldn't imagine why anyone would need (NEED) so much credit! And is that really something one should be so proud of? It's borrowed money, right, as well as it is all at risk!
The more I read and learned, however, the more concerned I became, and am about my daughter-in-law's mother, who always appeared to have more money than God's got angels in heaven, for all of the HELOCs she's taken out and been able to pay back within 6-8 months, and all of the car loans she's taken and paid back within a year, and all of her constant remodelling. How was all of that possible, on $18 an hour? And worse, my daughter-in-law brought me her credit reports a little while back, as she attempted to refinance the condo, but was turned down. The lender gave her, her tri-merged credit report and I almost fell off the chair! I couldn't imagine how one so young could have accumulated so much debt/credit! $10,000 here, $10,000 there. In her 20's she was/is more than $50,000 in (credit card) debt, split between no more than 3-4 cards, and though her payment history was good, one by one the creditors, in particular BOA shut her down, leaving her with about $2500 to work with, and a credit score that went from the mid 700s to 576, now.
Thank God my son's credit reports don't reflect the same. He can carry them through this. Still, I understand better all of the whispering and group separations at family functions that always centered around the flashing of plastic and interest rates and swap outs. I think many within my daughter-in-law's family have been doing this, and for quite some time. I need to talk to her, today, about this, so that once all of this debt is paid she doesn't repeat the same mistake, as I am almost 100% certain this is what's been going on.
You can't possibly imagine how utterly grateful I am to have found this forum, and to have come to know and to be advised by so many of you. I've learned so much and have yet so much to learn, but credit ignorance will no longer play a role in anything I do, and it will surely enable me to better instruct my children. Credit is a good and neccessary thing, but it is also a very scary thing that deserves no less than our utmost respect, to be sure.
Thanks again,Tusc, for tolerating my ramblings. Have a really nice holiday!
Have a really nice holiday!