Consumer Credit Issues

Co-signing a loan is a dangerous thing. Too many people end up in bankruptcy due to debts they just co-signed for, so here are a few points worth considering before co-signing for a friend or family member.

1. There is a reason they need a co-signor. A professional lender does not think they will pay the money back. An objective professional (or underwriting standards) arrived at this judgment. Why do you think you know differently?

2. If they do not pay or miss payments, it will affect your credit.

Bankruptcy is a last resort of course.  But it is an option.  Paying back debt when you barely have enough money to survive is usually a horrible alternative.

Casinos would go broke if people acted completely reasonably with money.  Instead, players go bankrupt and the house always wins.  Banks have learned to play the same games.

Banks are gradually turning the consumer financial world into a casino.  I don’t mean just the way they turn every loan into a chip in a huge game of chance like the one that crushed the real estate market last decade.  Although that doesn’t help.