Maxhell- Part 5

[samurai_sarah]

Carry on from here:

 

[Maggie Mae]

I have a hard time respecting people who don't allow comments on their posts. If you can't argue your point, how strong is it? Same with people who delete any comment that isn't fawning praise. I understand not wanting to share abusive comments or comments that are incredibly off topic, but I enjoy a good discussion, and when blogs are carefully curated in the comment section, it's a total turn off. This goes for Steve Maxwell and his "debt series" which is REALLY boring and I wouldn't want to comment on it anyway. Other than to maybe ask why credit is always bad, even when you pay it off monthly. 

 

[bertnee]

I love how miserable Steve & crew assume us godless heathens are. I'm quite happy, thank you very much! And yes, his debt-free post was useless. I should write them for him next time...

"Why be debt-free if you don't love Jesus? How empty a life! You should love Jesus. God will provide. Don't parents provide for their children? God will do the same for you! <insert Bible verses with randomly italicized words> <insert picture of cute kid for no reason whatsoever>" :::disable comments:::: ::::publish:::: DONE!

[VooDooChild]

1 hour ago, bertnee said:

I love how miserable Steve & crew assume us godless heathens are. I'm quite happy, thank you very much! And yes, his debt-free post was useless. I should write them for him next time...

"Why be debt-free if you don't love Jesus? How empty a life! You should love Jesus. God will provide. Don't parents provide for their children? God will do the same for you! <insert Bible verses with randomly italicized words> <insert picture of cute kid for no reason whatsoever>" :::disable comments:::: ::::publish:::: DONE!

LOL!  That's just how steve-o writes.  I've seen better flow and cohesiveness in a 3rd graders' writing than his.  All his posts and corners read as so fragmented and disjointed.  I wonder if he speaks better than he writes.  

[fundiefan]

6 hours ago, Maggie Mae said:

I have a hard time respecting people who don't allow comments on their posts. If you can't argue your point, how strong is it? Same with people who delete any comment that isn't fawning praise. I understand not wanting to share abusive comments or comments that are incredibly off topic, but I enjoy a good discussion, and when blogs are carefully curated in the comment section, it's a total turn off. This goes for Steve Maxwell and his "debt series" which is REALLY boring and I wouldn't want to comment on it anyway. Other than to maybe ask why credit is always bad, even when you pay it off monthly. 

 

There are no comments allowed because he knows two things. He is full of shit and he has not said a damn thing that is worthwhile. He can't have someone outside his control pointing out that he is a useless idiot with a complex or two. 

[bertnee]

A friend of mine is a believer in the most high God and fellowships with the Lord every moment of the day. She left a comment on the face painting post and wondered how the Maxwells would react to someone in clown makeup passing out tracts for, oh, say LDS Church or Jehovah Witnesses. Strangly her comment was not allowed through. Guess we'll never know how Steve would respond to his own prostelizing tactics thrown back at him.

[freejugar]

why is it tagged as physical stewardship? doesn't it just mean fitness?

[mango_fandango]

My parents own our house debt free, no mortgage. Is that wrong, then, Stevehovah?? (Can't quite bring myself to just put Steve because that's also my father's name). 

Reading that first sentence, my first reaction is "why?" Is it really about being debt free, or is it about converting people to his brand of Christianity? Methinks it's the second option.

 

[JillyO]

Credit score here in Germany is so different than the US. Basically, you start off with a good score (good meaning "there is nothing negative on your credit report"). That doesn't mean you'll get a big loan from the bank, obviously, but it's good enough to rent an apartment, for example. And if you never buy anything on credit, that doesn't mean you have a bad score. What gets you a bad score is defaulting on your debts.

Seeing as I'm looking at moving to the US permanently (at least for the foreseeable future), the American credit scoring system kind of freaks me out. For example, my husband (who already moved to the US) has a credit card limit of only $1000, despite earning a good salary, because he has no credit history. Now apparently, while you SHOULD use your credit card in order to build credit, you're not supposed to use more than 1/3 of your credit limit. So for Mr. O, that's only $333. That's... not very much. Extremely impractical. I do not get the point of this. What's wrong with maxing out my credit card if I pay it all every month?  So strange. Anyway, please continue. This contributed nothing  of value to the conversation.

[nastyhobbitses]

11 minutes ago, JillyO said:

Credit score here in Germany is so different than the US. Basically, you start off with a good score (good meaning "there is nothing negative on your credit report"). That doesn't mean you'll get a big loan from the bank, obviously, but it's good enough to rent an apartment, for example. And if you never buy anything on credit, that doesn't mean you have a bad score. What gets you a bad score is defaulting on your debts.

Seeing as I'm looking at moving to the US permanently (at least for the foreseeable future), the American credit scoring system kind of freaks me out. For example, my husband (who already moved to the US) has a credit card limit of only $1000, despite earning a good salary, because he has no credit history. Now apparently, while you SHOULD use your credit card in order to build credit, you're not supposed to use more than 1/3 of your credit limit. So for Mr. O, that's only $333. That's... not very much. Extremely impractical. I do not get the point of this. What's wrong with maxing out my credit card if I pay it all every month?  So strange. Anyway, please continue. This contributed nothing  of value to the conversation.

Yeah, I don't get the system either. I use my credit card pretty sparingly and pay everything off each month; I'm not going to have a spectacular credit score, I think, because aside from a couple plane ticket purchases (paid off in full), I never really go near my credit limit each month. But I've built a bit of credit, I'm not in debt beyond what I have to pay off at the end of the month (which is not very much), and I've earned a decent amount of rewards points, so I'm not too worried.

[alba]

Credit score here in Germany is so different than the US. Basically, you start off with a good score (good meaning "there is nothing negative on your credit report"). That doesn't mean you'll get a big loan from the bank, obviously, but it's good enough to rent an apartment, for example. And if you never buy anything on credit, that doesn't mean you have a bad score. What gets you a bad score is defaulting on your debts.
Seeing as I'm looking at moving to the US permanently (at least for the foreseeable future), the American credit scoring system kind of freaks me out. For example, my husband (who already moved to the US) has a credit card limit of only $1000, despite earning a good salary, because he has no credit history. Now apparently, while you SHOULD use your credit card in order to build credit, you're not supposed to use more than 1/3 of your credit limit. So for Mr. O, that's only $333. That's... not very much. Extremely impractical. I do not get the point of this. What's wrong with maxing out my credit card if I pay it all every month?  So strange. Anyway, please continue. This contributed nothing  of value to the conversation.

Haha, I'm in exactly the same situation, moving from the UK to Canada. I had no problem getting approved for a mortgage with my nonexistent credit card or debt repayment (the only debt I've ever had is my Canadian student loan). But I know Canada is more like the US, so I'll need a credit card and such to get a mortgage.

This whole "debt-free" thing is so very typically fundie, really. Fundies have a tendency to believe that if some people struggle with something, everyone should take steps to prevent it.

So, for instance, some people struggle with alcohol, so fundies are teetotal. Likewise, some people struggle with debt, and for them living totally debt-free might be the best choice to avoid falling back into horrid debt, but where rational people say, "Be sensible about debt, and if you don't trust yourself to do so, don't go into debt at all", fundies say, "You can't possibly be sensible about debt, so don't go into debt at all".

I'm reminded of Jim Boob interrogating Derick about money matters before he married Jilly, and he asked what Derick would do if his car broke down. Derick just kept saying, "I wouldn't go into debt", like some kind of fundie mantra.

Me? Well, debt wouldn't be my first answer, but if I had been careful with saving money and still didn't have enough, and I needed a vehicle to get to work because public transport wasn't feasible then, yes, I would get a loan to get a new car. In fact, we did so a couple of years ago when I started my current job a 25-mile drive from our flat. And we paid the loan off a year early.

[Bazinga]

One thing I never understood is how is a mortgage much different than paying someone else rent? Sure I could see the argument that you could lose your job, economy tanks, etc. and you end up owing more on your house then your house is worth.....HOWEVER, for many out there, owning a home is a good investment.

 

[alba]

One thing I never understood is how is a mortgage much different than paying someone else rent? Sure I could see the argument that you could lose your job, economy tanks, etc. and you end up owing more on your house then your house is worth.....HOWEVER, for many out there, owning a home is a good investment.
 

Fundies aren't supposed to rent, either. It's live with your parents till you buy your house in cash all the way.

It is, however, apparently acceptable to let out houses to other people, judging by the Duggars.

[silverspoons]

1 hour ago, Bazinga said:

One thing I never understood is how is a mortgage much different than paying someone else rent? Sure I could see the argument that you could lose your job, economy tanks, etc. and you end up owing more on your house then your house is worth.....HOWEVER, for many out there, owning a home is a good investment.

 

Young marriage and having babies quick is common in my area. The down payment is the biggest issue. Then having enough income to qualify.  Owning a home is MUCH less then rent where I live. It is crazy that a property management company will let a young couple with a few kids making 35k a year , rent a 3 bedroom basic house for $1500 but they could not qualify for a mortgage on the same home and the mortgage would be under $800 a month. It is hard for these young couples paying such high rent to ever get that down payment saved.  The lucky ones live in their parent's basement and get a few years to save.

Steve was challenged on that podcast I listened to about low mortgage rates. Steve thought we were still living in a 6% rate time?? That is what shows he is out of touch.  Mortgage rates being so low makes buying a house completely different then the mindset Steve is stuck in.  He also did not discuss property taxes and utility cost. This makes a big difference for debt free buying. My husband and I want to move to the East coast. We could buy a house for cash in PA, but the property taxes are 6k a year and the utility cost averages over $400 a month so our debt free home would still be costing over $1k a month forever. The home I live in right now the property tax is under $1000 a year and utilities average $150 or less so after my small mortgage is paid it will cost $250 a month to live in my current home.

 

[anjulibai]

38 minutes ago, alba said:

 

Fundies aren't supposed to rent, either. It's live with your parents till you buy your house in cash all the way.

It is, however, apparently acceptable to let out houses to other people, judging by the Duggars.

 

You can also sell to people who have to take out loans. Homes, cars, it's not your problem if other people take out a loan to pay you! Just as long as you are doing the right thing, that's all that matters!

[fundiefan]

1 hour ago, Bazinga said:

One thing I never understood is how is a mortgage much different than paying someone else rent? Sure I could see the argument that you could lose your job, economy tanks, etc. and you end up owing more on your house then your house is worth.....HOWEVER, for many out there, owning a home is a good investment.

 

That's pretty much what happened with me and why I rent. While we didn't owe more than the house was worth, we took a huge loss on the sale after 3 years - yes, 3 years, on the market. My timing for divorcing was not financially planned-I filed at the beginning of 2009, in the midst of the housing crash. After owning my home for 15 years, investing close to $100,00 into it in those years, paying off the mortgage and later only taking out a small equity line of credit - in a perfect world we'd have come out of that sitting nice and pretty and the investment would have more than paid off.

Instead, we sold for $25k less than we'd paid - essentially losing at least $125k not to mention interest, etc. While that still gave us each cash, it wasn't as much, obviously. I ended up in quite a bit of debt for many years because of the marital debt that was split.

So, I rent because I refuse to be that tied to something. I know the market has improved and it would be unlikely I'd ever own a house that took 3 years to sell, but I also know that there are zero guarantees of coming out of it better than going in and my burns are still raw.

[VooDooChild]

For us, renting has always been a better option than owning, for various reasons.  These fundies seem to think the world is a one size fits all place.  What astounds me the most about their beliefs is the smug, self-righteousness/satifaction they exude when they "teach" others through their blogs, books, and what have you.  Steve is just clueless.

[silverspoons]

How old is Steve? When I was mentioning him not talking about property tax, I just thought could he be getting it reduced or taken away because of age? My city lets people senior age 62+ not have to pay any school tax and depending on income no property tax at all in some cases.

[mango_fandango]

Families like the Maxwells are, as we all know, very enmeshed. I bet Stevehovah doesn't really have a clue about house prices outside of Leavenworth. Some places are ridiculously expensive. I live in London, and by God, house prices are mental. Dad bought our current house twenty years ago. According to a property website it was bought for £327,000. Obviously inflation has affected things, but it's estimated to be a tad over £2million now. It would take YEARS for someone to earn that much if they had an average-paying job!! Stevie boy, you have no clue. Yes it's a nice idea to be debt free, but unfortunately not always that realistic.

[anjulibai]

2 hours ago, mango_fandango said:

Families like the Maxwells are, as we all know, very enmeshed. I bet Stevehovah doesn't really have a clue about house prices outside of Leavenworth. Some places are ridiculously expensive. I live in London, and by God, house prices are mental. Dad bought our current house twenty years ago. According to a property website it was bought for £327,000. Obviously inflation has affected things, but it's estimated to be a tad over £2million now. It would take YEARS for someone to earn that much if they had an average-paying job!! Stevie boy, you have no clue. Yes it's a nice idea to be debt free, but unfortunately not always that realistic.

If I remember correctly, Steve has addressed that. The answer is to live somewhere that you can afford. 

Because in Steve's mind it really is that simple. Job opportunities, proximity to family, moving costs, area safety, transportation, none of that matters, just where you can afford to buy a house for cheap. 

I often wonder if it's ever crossed his mind that if everyone attempted to live like him, no one would be able to. 

[alba]

10 hours ago, anjulibai said:

If I remember correctly, Steve has addressed that. The answer is to live somewhere that you can afford. 

Because in Steve's mind it really is that simple. Job opportunities, proximity to family, moving costs, area safety, transportation, none of that matters, just where you can afford to buy a house for cheap. 

I often wonder if it's ever crossed his mind that if everyone attempted to live like him, no one would be able to. 

My heathen sister and her wife are planning on moving because of housing costs. They're hoping to find somewhere they can afford a mortgage on, as they're currently on the outskirts of a large city.

BUT they're also planning on moving to our hometown, where my parents still live and there are a lot of good jobs in the sector my sister works in (SIL works in retail at the moment, so she's less location-dependent).

If housing costs were the only issue, they wouldn't be choosing our hometown, because it's still a good-sized city less than an hour from the aforementioned large city. If they really wanted somewhere cheap, they'd go up to Northern Ontario or rural Manitoba, but then they wouldn't have jobs or grandparents to babysit when they have kids.

[Foudeb]

I think Stevehovah has got the older white man superiority complex - he thinks that by being older, and male, he has The Knowledge, and therefore a responsability to impart it to the rest of us.

And... it's probably better we're highly unlikely to be in the same room, ever, because I have very little patience with groundless pontification. He is an ignorant idiot who hasn't done half the thinking he could have done on this issue. He should therefore shut his mouth and go back to climbing a mountain or banging his head against a bible of whatever it is he does when left to his own devices. The blog should be left to poor Sarah - for her I do at least feel some compassion, whereas Stevus robs me of any charitable feeling.

Sorry for the rant, but this is a pet peeve of mine - of course older people should be given respect, but I see everywhere - work, home, in-laws - the older guys talking on and on about shit they don't know anything about, and everyone else enables them. When you often do have valuable knowledge or information in the room - often by a woman, who will often choose to stay silent because "it's not her place".

[fundiefan]

On ‎10‎/‎19‎/‎2016 at 2:04 PM, mango_fandango said:

Families like the Maxwells are, as we all know, very enmeshed. I bet Stevehovah doesn't really have a clue about house prices outside of Leavenworth. Some places are ridiculously expensive. I live in London, and by God, house prices are mental. Dad bought our current house twenty years ago. According to a property website it was bought for £327,000. Obviously inflation has affected things, but it's estimated to be a tad over £2million now. It would take YEARS for someone to earn that much if they had an average-paying job!! Stevie boy, you have no clue. Yes it's a nice idea to be debt free, but unfortunately not always that realistic.

While million dollar homes are not the norm in the Leavenworth area of Kansas, saving for a house in cash is - for the Maxwell boys - easier than it is for a normal person.

They live at home until they're married. They work, but don't have any expenses. Their money goes to saving for the day they become big boys, find a helpmeet, and buy a house with all that savings.

Given they all work for family companies, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Steve automatically puts a portion of their income into some sort of savings without them ever seeing it, giving them just enough to buy trucks & khakis until the rest is needed.

[MamaJunebug]

On 10/18/2016 at 3:38 PM, VooDooChild said:

LOL!  That's just how steve-o writes.  I've seen better flow and cohesiveness in a 3rd graders' writing than his.  All his posts and corners read as so fragmented and disjointed.  I wonder if he speaks better than he writes.  

To the bolded: no, not really. I heard him speak a few years ago & as an observer and not a seeker, found the experience close to torturous.  Others in the room -- the seekers -- were leaning forward, to catch his every word, I first thought. On reflection, they possibly were doing that the way a person does when they're having trouble comprehending something they think they need to be hearing. Just a thought. 

[bertnee]

17 hours ago, fundiefan said:

Given they all work for family companies, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Steve automatically puts a portion of their income into some sort of savings without them ever seeing it, giving them just enough to buy trucks & khakis until the rest is needed.