Show I B ABSON s 's 1 INDEBTEDNESS A STATUS SYMBOL Babson Park Mass 1 A sur sur- surprisingly large section cross of citizens today are living and even planning futures that will willbe willbe be permanently in debt Credit men who study this ph- ph phenomenon ph claim that many of these families are only two to four weekly pay envelopes ahead of total insolvency Consider the state of our con can consumer sumer economy if a recession should suddenly plunge these people into a swamp of Old Hat To Be Thrifty hike the federal government numbers of oC men and women have adopted the concept of perpetual personal Indebtedness with their creditors holding an endless lien on their future in in- in income come come Millions of our people re re- re replace place their cars every year or two trading in the old for the new while still paying for the theold theold old They count their auto bills as just as regular and basic basica a monthly responsibility as their rent or grocery bills Owning a car and putting money away every payday toward another has become old hat to more and more buyers Another such development Is the tendency of a great many J fam families es never actually to own their homes When they have built up some equity they and use the money for new cars boats luxury va va- va vacations or even to pay off out standing debts so they can take on more In this latter regard loan companies declare that by far the greatest number of oC applications coming to their desks today are arc from those who want to consolidate their debts Some offices report that per cent of their loans are for renewal or enlargements of existing accounts Many Who Could Pay Dont Don't Time was when a luxury was what you couldn't afford unless you saved up for it by consistently putting something aside until you had enough to splurge Today however the standard of oC living has climbed to such a high level that luxuries are arenow arenow now which bor bor- bor borrowers rowers refuse to give ive up in or or- or order del der to settle their bills There are lots of oC smart cookies who see to it that they pay their Installments on larger items such as cars TV sets pianos refrigerators and anything else that might be repossessed if they fell feIl behind But they will hold out forever if possible on bills they owe th the doctor the grocer the dentist the department store or the druggist Such un secured creditors suffer tally lally heavily if the matter comes to personal proceedings Somewhat of a paradox Is the case with which most purveyors of goods and services grant credit Many of oC I them virtually beg potential customers to become their cre- cre creditors creditors flit far too often re- re reI I nr nn awl Ing only nominal credit Investigations Bankruptcy A Way Out For Fifty years alO aco was the last resort for buc i concerns unable to make the grade financially Rut But today it Is almost a war of life for a good many individual consumers ers Out of a breaking ps filed in inCi Ci fiscal cal 1967 fended ended Jun 30 dose close to were wre petitions from wage and salary workers cocking to get rid of their debts by way of the courts Case analyses reveal that al al- al almost most half of such employee could if thEY had bad the coura courage e and Int to try pay y off their debts in two or three years and without I their fa families milies or selves Into undue hard hiD even more revealing are the statistics statistic's which show how four out of five of those thoc delinquent debtor debtors will he be right back In the same financial scrape within three years I One thing is certain With this tendency gaining gainin amon among the country's eon con i corners umers credit security must he heI I tightened and must be increased rather than eased and consumers must practice at l least ast reasonable re re- re regulation of their lr urge e to over over- overextend extend A lax company can lose loe Its shirt If It takes on Its debtor lists too many risks and a compulsive buyer will prove to be bet bea t a liability rather than an as as- as asset s set t to himself and the econ omy |