Does your household have a negative net worth?

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Like your family's swimming in credit card debt you're not alone you can't pay off your student loans and bills you're not alone new research shows that one in five US households have.

Not a positive net worth but a negative.

Networks Steve you're not even -- on the couch real who has a long day brands and he's a personal fight access -- you said you can control some of -- he joins us right now from Nashville to explain I gave your -- tell us.

How do we do -- how we deal with all this.

Alone in my very cool -- on humidity audio blogs jealousy there -- regarded and well and we need to remember what network this net worth is what you own.

Minus what you.

So if you buy a house with nothing down you got a big pile of student loan debt of 60000 you got 20000 credit card that at least two cars.

You immediately have a negative net worth because you owe more then you own.

-- -- so this study is nothing really new.

The only thing that's new about it is the severity of the negative net worth and a lot of that has the just do with people's homes.

Home values going down trees and of course with the unemployment they're not able to attack or -- yet you know one of the problems Dave is the fact that.

You know you figure all right if I can't afford -- the credit card company is he gonna give me that next credit card but they will and you'll be even further in debt.

They don't even check to see if you're breathing before you give your credit card debt there they issue them the dead people we've got -- -- for the have been issued to dogs and a couple even the cats and so it means nothing that they will give you credit card.

You don't -- had to -- it actually means nothing that there will give you a mortgage arthritis still qualify for a mortgage that you can't pay.

And so you've got to use your own common sense and say I'm not gonna borrow myself into oblivion because I will then owe more than I own.

-- meaning I have a negative network like this study show.

Pilots get to the people Leslie writes is from Georgia and says I'm a single mom with only 37000 dollars in retirement funds I've been unemployed for fourteen months for the mortgage today.

And backed up bills should -- take 101000 from my retirement all we over we think Dave.

Allows one is exactly -- we're talking about the unemployment has driven her particular situation.

And Leslie yes you can cash out your 401K you're going to have penalties and taxes associated -- that they're going to take almost half your money they being the government.

When you do that and so I try to avoid doing that if at all possible your problem is not gonna go away.

Just because you pay off a couple of bills your problem is the unemployment so you've got to work on the job side of this equation.

-- -- let's -- California Jacqueline writes I'm 28 and have 161000.

He credit card debt should I get a personal long true credit union or withdraw thirteen thousand.

I -- my 41 -- and -- -- to pay up my dad that would leave me with less than 5000 to pay off.

What are your -- It's.

Well once again when you try to -- thirteen thousand from your 401K.

You're only going to get home with about 7500.

Dollars -- that the government is going to take the rest of it.

And so don't do that.

-- -- if you borrow the money from the credit union the -- didn't go away you just moved it.

And so what we've got to do is crank the extra job up deliver some pizzas throw some papers frozen pizzas deliver some papers.

And not cut the budget down we're gonna go to scorched earth beans and rice rice and -- And work our way through this -- start attacking that that I wouldn't try to borrow my way out of that it doesn't work yeah -- charity.

A lot of us have had many many.

Meals -- Rama noodles so that's probably good advice all right and Dave -- during his -- from Nashville thank you much.

Good to be with you guys thank --

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Does your household have a negative net worth?

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