Finance/Children

Hi Taylor - My husband and I are in a bit of bind. He recently got laid off and is receiving Taylor unemployment, Kovar but he has a $700/mo car payment that we can no longer afford. What are our options? We don’t want to have the car repossessed and take a credit hit (his credit is already subpar), but I don’t know how we can cover the payments. – Tracy

Hey Tracy - So sorry to hear about the situation. These unforeseen financial problems can really be the pits.

You should, of course, do your best to avoid defaulting. You certainly don’t want to take on another loan that might make the situation worse. There’s also the question of transportation - could the lack of transportation prevent your husband from making his scheduled job interviews?

There’s a possibility that you’ll be able to rework the terms of the loan. Your best bet is to work with the lender and/or dealership; it’s not in anyone’s interest for your husband to stop making payments and take a hit on his credit score. If your husband can make some form of monthly payment until he gets back to work, you might be able to refinance and get terms that will help you avoid creditors. The only way to find out is by asking your lender.

Another option would be to trade this car in for a cheaper model. If that’s a possibility, it would certainly be preferable to losing the car and taking a hit on your credit score. Most dealerships will allow for that type of trade, assuming the vehicle is in good shape and still under some type of warranty.

The steps you take depend in large part on your current financial situation and prioritizing your expenses. If you have a budget, plug in your numbers for each outcome to determine which decision is better for you. Your husband may be eligible to receive additional unemployment benefits. If he is, then add this income to your budget to see whether you can still afford your car or if you should reallocate his benefits to other categories.

Keep your head up and investigate all your options. Ask for advice from friends, family and on forums like this one.

There’s no easy answer I can give right now, but if you put in the effort and exhaust all options, things will be okay.

Legal Disclaimer: Information presented is for educational purposes only and is not an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any specific securities, investments, or investment strategies. Investments involve risk and, unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed. Be sure to first consult with a qualified financial adviser and/or tax professional before implementing any strategy discussed herein. To submit a question to be answered in this column, please send it via email to Question@GoFarWithKovar.com or via USPS to Taylor Kovar, 415 S 1st St, Suite 300, Lufkin, TX 75901.

Ephesians 6:10—6:20 Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

In his November 1863 address at Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln proclaimed that the men who lost their lives on that battlefield had done so in order that “government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from the earth.” Lincoln was restating a principle first set forth in the Declaration of Independence, a principle essential to the preservation of our historically unique form of government. Then and now, American political and cultural tensions have boiled down to an ever-escalating tug of war between those who believe in the power of government and those who believe in the Founders’ original vision. Exemplary of the former is Harvard law professor Elizabeth Bartholet, quoted in a Harvard Magazine (May/June 2020) article titled “The Risks of Homeschooling.” Bartholet’s animus toward homeschooling is palpable. She believes it exposes children to abuse, not to mention inferior educational standards, not to mention undemocratic values, not to mention “authoritarian control” exercised by parents who largely believe in female subservience, white supremacy, and a biblical view of creation. She wants it outlawed. Bartholet opines, “I think it’s always dangerous to put powerful people [parents, that is] in charge of the powerless [children], and to give the powerful ones total authority.” Yes, well, so do I. Every feature and expression of democracy is fraught with potential danger. Human nature is not a pretty thing, and the ugliest expressions of human nature are almost always committed by people in positions of power. But history teaches that the greatest abuses are perpetrated by those who deny the realities of our nature and harbor utopian visions. Supreme Court Justice Lewis

Brandeis put it best: “The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding.” Bartholet essentially advances the John proposition that government is a Rosemond more trustworthy caretaker of children than their parents. It is “dangerous,” she says, for a child to spend his entire day, day after day, with his parents. With that absurd notion, she qualifies as a well-intentioned person of zeal who is dangerously lacking in understanding. On the basis of an uber-small number of homeschooling parents who abuse the right to direct their children’s education, she would assign all children to the vagaries of a government-run bureaucracy that is – as are all bureaucracies, ultimately – more interested in self-preservation than the preservation of our flawed but unsurpassed system of self-rule. In a rebuttal to Bartholet, Focus on the Family president Jim Daly asks, “Can fair-minded people not acknowledge that parents have every right to choose their child’s educational route?” Indeed, fair-minded people can acknowledge what fair-minded jurists have affirmed, but people who believe in “government of the bureaucracy, by the bureaucracy, and for the bureaucracy” are not fair-minded. Their well-meaning zeal so narrows their point of view that, as in Bartholet’s case, the big picture ultimately disappears. When all is said and done, the best regulator of the homeschooling parent is other homeschooling parents, motivated by desire to preserve their own and everyone else’s freedoms. Long may they run. Family psychologist John Rosemond: johnrosemond.com, p arentguru.com.

John Rosemond has worked with families, children, and parents since 1971 in the field of family psychology. In 1971, John earned his masters in psychology from Western Illinois University and was elected to the Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society.

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