Comments on RickBoyne.com: For my ex-pat friends

A pastor told of giving this advice to someone fac...

2009-01-07T10:49:00.000-06:00

A pastor told of giving this advice to someone facing tough economic times; "just open your Bible and put a finger on a page anywhere, then do what the verse says."
A few months later he happened to see the person getting out of a new Mercedes. When he asked, the person said they had just purchased a new home and had already furnished it completely.
The minister asked what his Bible had opened to. The person replied "Chapter 13!"

Tim - Same exact scenario.

Teesa - I KNOW!!...

2009-01-07T07:59:00.000-06:00

Tim - Same exact scenario.

Teesa - I KNOW!!!!! The finance guy said that if we hadn't been in the ministry, GMAC wouldn't have even come up with an offer!

Trey - It caught us completely by surprise. I didn't want that to happen to my "pals".

Ron - Thanks, friend. But it wouldn't help our credit history anyway! (With friends like you...)

Guy - Sorry, I don't have any ideas, but I'll keep thinking about it. Maybe you could buy something from a department store using their credit department?? Praying for your medical clearance!

Everetts - I dunno. I really dunno.

Jennifer - Spot on! Bad credit gets the loans! What insanity!

And we wonder why the world is in a financial cris...

2009-01-06T20:17:00.000-06:00

And we wonder why the world is in a financial crisis?

I can't fathom how someone with good credit isn't getting the breaks....they'd rather loan to someone in deep debt.

Oh, well...thanks for posting this....gives us something to think about as we get ready to head back that way this year...

Jennifer

We have wondered about this ourselvees. We have lo...

2009-01-06T20:09:00.000-06:00

We have wondered about this ourselvees. We have lots of great credit history from the first years of our marriage before we went overseas, but since then, we have only had our two credit cards (one for each of us that we pay off monthly) and one car (and even that was 3 or 4 years ago now). But what can you really do?

Wow, what an encouraging post! :)

We too ha...

2009-01-06T18:38:00.000-06:00

Wow, what an encouraging post! :)

We too have wondered what steps we might take to make ourselves look a little more credit-worthy than we actually are after 20+ years overseas. Any ideas, welcome!

Rick,

If you are willing to pay, twenty per...

2009-01-06T17:28:00.000-06:00

Rick,

If you are willing to pay, twenty percent interest, maybe I can help you out.

Ron

Thanks for the heads up. I have not lived in the ...

2009-01-06T16:05:00.000-06:00

Thanks for the heads up. I have not lived in the US since 94. I bet my credit is really out of date.

Trey

We faced the same thing when we came back. I had ...

2009-01-06T14:19:00.000-06:00

We faced the same thing when we came back. I had thought about this before we returned and made Bill open up a credit card for himself, just to give him some credit history.

It helped a little - our interest on my car isn't nearly as high. Then we were able to buy a house without any problems.

It's amazing how American's credit defines us.

I have often worried about this. The flip side is ...

2009-01-06T13:56:00.000-06:00

I have often worried about this. The flip side is that I went to a big concert once on furlough with a sort of "fair" at the back area. There was a booth where they were helping people figure out how to get out of debt. They called me over and asked my situation.
Do you have any credit card debt?
No, I only use it for unusual things and pay it off each month.
Car payment?
No, I have a really ratty car given to me by Wycliffe.
House payment?
Nope, no house.

They kind of looked at me flabbergasted and then said there was nothing they could do to help me.

Of course, I may be LIVING in that beat up car when I reach retirement!