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JustCurious · 03-31-2008, 07:44 AM

Subprime vets saw their industry, finances vanish in a flash - Mar. 31, 2008

"Their home equity line, mortgage, health and life insurance premiums alone cost about $10,000 a month. Still, they are trying to hang onto what they call their dream home with a view of the Pacific Ocean where they live with Mysti's 11-year old son.

Kent estimates the mountainside home in San Clemente, Calif., which they bought in 2005, is worth 20% less than it was a year ago. And in the current market, he said he's not sure he could sell it for even that amount.
"We've used up most of our reserves, cashed in her 401K," said Kent. "We're going Mach 1 into a wall. When we run into it, then we've got to decide what to do next."

Despite their financial problems, the Copes have worked hard to protect their credit rating, staying current on bills. And they've made cutbacks: trading in Kent's Corvette for a Suburban and getting rid of the gardener, for example. But the couple also has learned that it didn't need everything it used to spend money on."

I'm glad to see that he decided to get frugal and get a Suburban.

Edited to Add: A base model Suburban costs $41,870, without any options, and without the destination charge, and it gets 14 miles per gallon. It really never ceases to amaze me what some people consider to be "cutting back."

armor99 · 03-31-2008, 07:59 AM

OMFG!!! That was funny... I needed that..... thanks...

W2R · 03-31-2008, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JustCurious

I'm glad to see that he decided to get frugal and get a Suburban.

Edited to Add: A base model Suburban costs $41,870, without any options, and without the destination charge, and it gets 14 miles per gallon. It really never ceases to amaze me what some people consider to be "cutting back."

Amazing! Depending on how old his Corvette was and what shape it was in, the Suburban might even be worth more than the Corvette.

nepo · 03-31-2008, 08:14 AM

There's some hope for people like Kent and Mysti:

YouTube - The Job

saluki9 · 03-31-2008, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Want2retire

Amazing! Depending on how old his Corvette was and what shape it was in, the Suburban might even be worth more than the Corvette.

I know you will be shocked, but you can get a used Suburban VERY cheaply.

Notmuchlonger · 03-31-2008, 08:29 AM

This is all GWB fault!

FinanceDude · 03-31-2008, 08:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saluki9

I know you will be shocked, but you can get a used Suburban VERY cheaply.

Last week, a friend of mine bought a 2003 Escalade with 52,000 miles for $17000..........

poboy · 03-31-2008, 08:59 AM

Bite the bullet, fire the gardener.

W2R · 03-31-2008, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saluki9

I know you will be shocked, but you can get a used Suburban VERY cheaply.

Did he get a used Suburban? I guess I missed that. Oops.

maddythebeagle · 03-31-2008, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FinanceDude

Last week, a friend of mine bought a 2003 Escalade with 52,000 miles for $17000..........

I thought all of you homies in Milwaukee had one...

Notmuchlonger · 03-31-2008, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maddythebeagle

I thought all of you homies in Milwaukee had one...

Thats how they roll.. In Milwaukee

UncleHoney · 03-31-2008, 10:11 AM

These people seem to be stuck on the easy part of today's quiz, what's going to happen.

Maybe they need a little clue, perhaps a little tune will do.

Jingle Mail
Jingle Mail
Jingle all the way
Oh what fun it is to sleep in a soon to be repoed Chevrolet

**Walt34** · 03-31-2008, 10:14 AM

Life is so hard. sniff, sniff

What's a guy to do without a Corvette?

tuixiu · 03-31-2008, 10:16 AM

Could you imagine knowing that you needed to constantly generate the take-home pay to cover $10k/month in insurance and debt service backed by your house? And that's before home maintenance, food, gas, etc.

Wow x 3.

JustCurious · 03-31-2008, 10:51 AM

tiuxiu, no, I could not imagine that. But I know of someone personally who is in a similar situation, and they are in real estate sales. They know that I can "afford" a mortgage to buy a bigger home than my current modest starter home, and they are surprised that I haven't "upgraded." I think I will get the last laugh before long. This thing will get uglier for many people before it gets better.

Bestwifeever · 03-31-2008, 10:54 AM

Those two are idiots. They had to have had their own heads in the sand to be in the business and not seen this coming. Their financial acuity is illustrated by the husband talking about going through the wife's 401K. Idiots.

Razor · 03-31-2008, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Want2retire

Amazing! Depending on how old his Corvette was and what shape it was in, the Suburban might even be worth more than the Corvette.

He probably lost a bundle on the trade-in. A newer Vette and Suburban are about the same value. They probably should have sold the Vette, got a Hyundai or Kia and put the cash in the bank. These people are so stupid, it's only a matter of time before they lose everything they own.

lucija · 03-31-2008, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tiuxiu

Could you imagine knowing that you needed to constantly generate the take-home pay to cover $10k/month in insurance and debt service backed by your house? And that's before home maintenance, food, gas, etc.

Wow x 3.

Well... it's all relative. Having $10K/month in insurance and debt payments is not my cup of tea, but to each it own...

I am with Bestwifeever, they are idiots for thinking this could never happen (especially since they were working in the same industry)!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bestwifeever

Those two are idiots. They had to have had their own heads in the sand to be in the business and not seen this coming. Their financial acuity is illustrated by the husband talking about going through the wife's 401K. Idiots.

They should have allowed for a possibility this would happen and have some type of fall back plan. Saying, "We're going Mach 1 into a wall. When we run into it, then we've got to decide what to do next" clearly indicates they never had a plan and, what's even worse, they have put no effort to come up with one within the last 12 months once the layoffs started (she got laid off last year).