Stressed borrowers use plastic to delay default

[sweeps]

With the holidays coming up, probably not going to get much better....

Reuters article

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

I'm among those nervously waiting for the shoe to drop. Not that I am over mortgaged or charged up too high on credit cards. But it just gives me some moments of anxiety to know that there might be a lot of people who are. I cringe at the statement in the article that some people will charge up holiday spending knowing that they are not prepared to pay it back along with their mortgages after the holidays.

By the way, can some one tell us about the work of a bank "compliance officer," which is the job of the woman featured in the article? I am beginning to loose my expectation that people who are professional money handlers/advisers are able to do better for themselves than the average person does At least on the internet I've come across a number of money pros who are in trouble over ordinary personal finances.

[mariogreymist]

...I've come across a number of money pros who are in trouble over ordinary personal finances.

I've noticed the same thing. I had a friend a few years back who was an economics advisor of some sort, and he was absolutely brilliant on the stock market - to hear him tell it. He would spend money like a drunken sailor after a big trade netted him some money, then borrow rent money two months later. Come to think of it, I think he still owes me $500. It's just like any other person - people can effectively handle other people's money just fine, see economic trends and business opportunities, and still not know that taking your 6 closest friends to the most expensive restaurant in town once a month is a bad idea.

[FrugalFish]

The whole idea of what's to come is very scary. I live in an area with an unusually high number of IO loans- I think next year my area will see some significant trauma.

During the last major housing recession I was a teenager growing up in CA. Where I lived, 1 in 6 houses fell into foreclosure during a short period of time. Back then people did not turn to CCs for a bailout, they simply walked away. I think this time might end up being a lot scarier as people attempt to postpone the inevitable.

[Broken Arrow]

That's insane. Not that surprised really, but still insane.