"My Personal Financial Crisis" - NYT Edmund L. Andrews

[Iwillnevergiveup]

There are several compelling editorials in this morning's NY Times, but this article from the Magazine section is absolutely riveting.

"But in 2004, I joined millions of otherwise-sane Americans in what we now know was a catastrophic binge on overpriced real estate and reckless mortgages. Nobody duped or hypnotized me. Like so many others — borrowers, lenders and the Wall Street dealmakers behind them — I just thought I could beat the odds. We all had our reasons. The brokers and dealmakers were scoring huge commissions. Ordinary homebuyers were stretching to get into first houses, or bigger houses, or better neighborhoods. Some were greedy, some were desperate and some were deceived."

--snip--

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/17/magazine/17foreclosure-t.html?em

[Happyhippychick]

1. I agree. Well worth the read. I will admit one thing though.

I was very skeptical of his descriptions of all of the children being fine through all of this. I would have to believe that children living through a divorce, through a remarriage, through an uprooting (she moved from the West Coast to DC), through having to adjust to new siblings and new schools and new friends, through having parents who are at each other's throats (his admission) for all of their married life...I would have to believe that either they are not fine and he is in some serious denial or he is lying.

I do get that the thrust of the article was about the financial condition of the household but I couldn't help but think about the emotional toll this has taken on the children. I wish he had addressed that a bit more. I don't really believe your financial house can be in order if your emotional house is in disarray.

Thoughts?

[Iwillnevergiveup]

2. Couldn't agree more

Just because divorce is commonplace doesn't make it any less traumatic on the kids!

[Happyhippychick]

3. And now that I think about it, his denial over his financial situation is what led them to the mess.

Interesting. I think I've discovered his problem and it ain't financial!

[Tangerine LaBamba]

4. I didn't see anything about a remarriage .......

I got the distinct impression that they're unmarried, living together, and he was doing everything he could to continue to court her - even when that meant putting their financial lives into the crapper.

She, I got the sense, wasn't at all interested in working, just wanted to be a stay-at-home Mom and housekeeper, even though the kids were all big enough not to need a stay-at-home Mom.

I feel very sorry for all of them, and, no, I agree, those kids aren't all right - especially the young girl, the woman's daughter. It sounds like a badly-planned adventure that went very, very wrong.

In a short while, she'll have left him, I suspect...................................

[Happyhippychick]

5. You're probably right. I made that assumption. And I agree that she will likely leave him soon.