     Greg Fisher, creditscoring.com | Sunday, November 21, 1999 - 06:23 pm 
Are they already in financial trouble?
Some say budgets don't work. Maybe that's not a good approach.
And now, with credit scoring and risk analysis, the old budget rules (like no more than 28% of your income for housing and 36% for total debt) are dead. By suggesting the previous wisdom (loose term), you may talk someone out of a house payment (and house) they could manage, but the old rules say they can't.
Tell them to save their money; use that as a goal. It is the one big component missing in Americans' lives which would solve many of their problems. If they're paying their bills, and their savings keep going up, how can they be doing anything wrong? |
