Originally Posted by gloopy

So few people do that though. We have collectively learned nothing from all our industry has ben though over the generations and even recently. We as a society define "affordable" as how much can we get on credit. That makes us weak and makes us our own worst enemies and puts management in charge big time. If you can't "afford" to walk away, you weaken your position significantly and will end up with much less.

Worker bees running up their "monthly nut" so they can't afford to lose the job has been one of the most powerful weapons in management's arsenal ever. With very few exceptions, if you can't (or won't) pay cash for it, you can't afford it. Period.