Worries That The Good Times Were A Mirage
Jan 23rd, 2008 at 10:26 am by Susie
I find it so fascinating (and infuriating) that journalists are so well insulated from the economic forces that batter the rest of us that this recession thing comes as A Complete Shock! Nobody Knew! (Hey, you could have asked your Guatemalan nanny….)
I was talking yesterday to a recently-divorced co-worker who is flat broke. I was kidding him that the two of us were the only ones in the office who could handle a recession.
He told me when he was married, he and his ex had been spending 30% more than they were bringing in. And when they both lost their jobs, they used their credit cards for everything. When they finally sold the house at their divorce settlement, they had to pay off $100,000 in credit card debt.
I gasped. “How could you have been so stupid?” I blurted out. He shrugged. “We were foolish. She wanted a larger house, so we put on an addition…”
“And then she wanted the nice new things that went in the house,” I said, interrupting. “Yeah, I know. My friends and I call it ‘The Barbie Dream House Syndrome.’ It’s when a woman sees herself as a princess instead of an adult human being, and the man’s job is to make her happy by buying her things.
“If you knew it was crazy, why didn’t you just say no?”
“She’s a crazy person. She would scream and start throwing things. It was easier to say yes,” he said.
“Maybe you should have bought her that tiara,” I said.
He laughed. “Yeah, maybe I should.”
HAHAHAHAHAHA!
That’s exactly what happened to my ex-husband and his second wife. By the time of the actual divorce (right after the videotapes emerged; don’t ask) they had no assets, a giant house bought with a zero-down mortgage, and almost $100,000 in credit card debt.
They’re both well-paid, highly-educated professionals.
What a couple of idiots.
Must be something going around. I hear this a lot.
We shouldn’t judge these people — after all, they kept the Bush
economy afloat for six years.
On 9/12, he told them to go shopping, and they did.
You’re right of course, Iz. True patriots. *snicker*
i don’t think the barbie wives should get all the blame. after all the kens get to play big daddy, and if they didn’t get off on that they’d say no. they’re equally to blame for being absolute assholes. this is what i hate about america more than anything and frankly makes me drool for a major economic meltdown. (it’ll take me, living within my means, too, but what the hell.)
That’s kind of what happens when you live in a culture where you make yourself feel better with stuff. Where stuff is what indicates success and a happy life. When stuff is *everything* about who we are. The material made spiritual.