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> DEBTors
Author: aLmich
Has anyone seen this particular episode of MTV's True Life series? I had never really watched the show until this past weekend, while I was thinking on how to spend the entire week, knowing that I need to work while others enjoy their vacations. It was hot, sweaty and uncomfortble. Thus, I succumbed to the trashy television and found myself hooked on these "documentaries" on real people in real life situations [ I'm Dating Someone Older, I'm a Drug Addict, My Dog's a Ballerina, etc. ]. Of course, when the "I'm In Debt" episode came on, I had to watch.
I have to because I am. I indulged into this perfume business and people just forgot/neglected their responsibilities. There goes the list of BIYENAN NI KAT, KRISTOFF, MIKE etc.. much to my belief, even one of our supervisors at work - SIR MARK totally fooled me. Kapal ng mukha!
Mami Cez also experienced the same thing, this time with what we almost considered a trusted new friend - PINKY.
Uutang utang mga wala naman palang kuwenta! Punyeta! Mangamatay na sana!
Sheezzz... Let me just go back the story. Basically, the show followed three people as they stuggled with their debts. One girl was jobless and living with her parents, saddled by huge amount of credit card debt. However, rather than deal with the situation, she shows absolutely no motivation to go find a job, even though her MOM has put together a resume for her. She lets her parents pay some of her credit card bills, and snaps back at creditors when they call. She spends most of the show in her pajamas.
The next girl had a troubled youth, but after inheriting money from a family member, she bought a house. However, once she lost her job, she was barely able to make her mortgage payments. This girl, unlike the one before her, actually strives to make ends meet, working hard at her job and saving as much as possible. At the end of the show, she has been able to meet her mortgage a couple of months in a row. Success!
The final story revolved around another girl who was about $20,000 in credit card debt. She has decided to declare bankruptcy. She clearly wants the easy way out, not understanding the implications that bankruptcy will have for her credit score in the long run. She even at one point goes to see a credit counselor, who tells her that she can pay off all her debt in about 2 years by paying about $400 a month towards her bills! She poo-poos this idea, however, because she doesn't want to have to live with her parents that long. What?! This was incredibly crazy to me. Yes - $20K is a lot of money, but she could have made this work without bankruptcy. She just wanted an easy out. When she gets paid at one point in the episode, she goes to the tanning bed and then shopping, spending about half her paycheck in 3 hours. Who wants to bet she'll be in debt again soon?
These shows are interesting, because I believe there are probably countless examples of people like these women. Financial education in our country is so lacking that people not only don't understand how to use credit properly, but also don't understand the impact of declaring bankruptcy, just to name a few topics. It was a sad show to watch. I was happy to see the one girl take responsibility for her situation and work hard to resolve it, but the other two were just beyond depressing. How can we change this? It's just mind-boggling to me.
