Ok, let me tell you a REALLY short story that puts this into perspective.
My sister-in-law (also my best friend) was having trouble getting pregnant and after years of trying decided that they were going to adopt instead. But as you know, adoption can be very expensive. When she told me this, I said to her "You better start saving now. Just put $200-$300 in savings in month and it won't be long before you'll have enough."
She whole-heartedly agreed this was a great plan. I also mentioned to her that if the adoption came up sooner than planned I would help her be loaning her some money.
Fast forward 2 years: The perfect baby comes up for adoption. She calls my husband and I to ask about the possibility of a loan.....$10,000+. Because she was so blunt asking for money, I was very blunt in asking her what her savings account was up to. She admitted that she hadn't saved a dime because they really couldn't afford it.
So I told her that unfortunately, I wouldn't be able to loan her the money because if she couldn't save the $200 a month, then obviously she wouldn't be able to pay the $200 a month on the loan.
She really didn't get it. (BLOWS MY MIND!)
Anyway, my thoughts are that people need to get in the habit of making the payment for months before actually getting a loan. That way, they'll know what it's like to have that monthly debt before they get themselves into it and they will also have some money to put as a down payment. If that doesn't make sense, you have no business borrowing money or getting into a loan. |