Sorry Oprah...I don't think my debt

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Sorry Oprah...I don't think my debt
5
Fri, 03-10-2006 - 6:21pm

is a deep psychological issue. I watched the show today (boy that third couple is getting ignored aren't they!) and while I think it was true for those couples and interesting to hear how they are working through things-I honestly think my debt is mostly just silly...so let's see....

Car loan-This is a marriage disagreement. DH wants new cars, I'm getting a stronger opinion but really didn't care when we got married.

Student loans-18,000. I actually think we've done O.K. on loans overall. I had an undergrad one that is paid off. This is our combined student loan debt from doing Ph.D's.

Second mortgage-5,740. We didn't have 20% for a downpayment but didn't want the costs associated with PMI so we did a second mortgage then moved it to a low interest CC.

CC debt-11,300. This was just stupid debt-we left grad school at the end of May, DH received first paycheck at the end of September. We didn't think about/know all the differences in home ownership versus renting and were hit with medical costs from a pregnancy with complications. I'm not happy about it-but on the other hand, (and maybe I'm just in denial) I don't think our spending was a deep psychological problem. Once we settled down, figured out the ins and outs of DH's reimbursement system, I was able to move and had a less restricted diet after the PG and we figured out what our expenses would really be we started turning things around. Do I regret those purchases? Yes, in the sense that it wasn't a lot of big ticket items that I could sell off a la Dave Ramsey.

Sorry this got so long...I find the series interesting and I think it is true for a lot of people I just think you can spend yourself into debt without a deep issue being the root cause.

Taleyna

Avatar for mrslove2000
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 03-10-2006 - 8:45pm

I totally agree. I was disappointed that the third couple STILL hasn't had any air time. I wonder if it's for ratings???? I WILL be tuning in AGAIN next week because I want to hear thier story too.....

I thought today was too much psycho babble.

Susan

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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-11-2005
Sat, 03-11-2006 - 10:45am
Yeah, this coming from someone who has MILLIONS at her disposal.

Lara

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-06-2005
Sat, 03-11-2006 - 11:13am

I haven't been watching the show, but I agree with you.

 

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Registered: 05-19-2004
Mon, 03-13-2006 - 1:33pm

I agree with you gals. I DVR'd it because I had to work~~ when I did get to see it I kept fast forwarding through most of it!!! I'm sorry, but anybody could think back and find SOMETHING to blame it on! And that's what that "expert" was making them do. Of course, I understand it could be true and some people do have legitimate problems, but they were hounding those women!

My parent's didn't buy me tons when I was a child~ I didn't have designer clothes....but now I am an adult and I can live MY life the way I want and can't blame them for how they spent their money. Sure I've gotten in messes, but I work them out without all the psycho stuff.

I do think society has a big hand in our debt. It triggers something in us when we see the nice clothes in the magazines, the hgtv shows, and our neighbors new cars! Thank goodness for boards like this that we can help each other back down to earth!!

For now I'll just blame myself for impulse purchases.... but there is this purse I like and there was this kid in my first grade class who picked on me........... ;)
Nicki

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Registered: 01-28-2005
Mon, 03-13-2006 - 7:00pm
Oprah tends to make things "dramatic". Not everyone has deep emotional issues that are causing their debt. I guess the drama makes for good ratings.