Here’s an article from the “What were you thinking”? department:
http://cbs5.com/local/auto.loan.defaults.2.645976.html
Vivian Snyder bought a $100,000 BMW convertible with only $2500 per month in disability income. Somehow her income got stated as $8600 per month so that she would qualify for the lease. She definitely bears most of the responsibility for putting her entire retirement savings in the pot as her down payment and also should bear a lot of the responsibility for signing a document with the wrong income stated on it. I have to wonder how sleazy the car dealer was, though, because it sure appears that they altered the income after the fact to make sure she’d qualify.
You can read people’s comments on Fatwallet here:
http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/messageview.php?catid=52&threadid=807688&start=80
Up next is:
This man put up a post on Fatwallet asking for help on how to help his father who just inherited $1 million dollars from his grandfather. Nothing too special here, although I have to wonder how someone with over $100K a year in income has $30K in credit card debt. On the surface, it appears that they might be at risk of burning through the funds fairly rapidly. Interesting comments from people though. This is a subject I’ve thought a lot about as I try to help my mother come up with a financial situation that will help her live a comfortable life once she stops working in a few years. My thought is to invest the money in secure investments that will yield a reasonable 4-5% return to supplement her social security. Have you thought much about how to help your parents navigate their financial future?
http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/messageview.php?catid=52&threadid=807553&start=20
Personal Finance alongside Celebrity news?
I’m not real sure what’s going on with “The Street” but they launched a site called mainstreet.com which is supposed to be a combination of celebrity, politics, fashion or just plain fun and personal finance. Huh?? Here is their summary:
“MainStreet launched in February 2008 with a simple mission: To present news stories in which life and money intersect. Every article – whether it’s a cautionary celebrity tale, a rags to riches story, politics, fashion or just plain fun – will have a secondary focus on improving your personal finances. Updated throughout the day, MainStreet delivers national and international news that impacts your life decisions, your pocketbooks, and your future.”
It’s tag line is “Where life and money intersect”. Uhh okay. Tag line sounds okay but when I look through the site, I struggle with their concept. How can I seriously consider reading a site for personal finance information when there is a glaring face of Amy Winehouse or Britney Spears looking back at me. Maybe I’m missing something, but it just doesn’t make sense.