It's tough to budget when.....

So a young man who works as an apprentice in the union but is currently layed off fills out his credit application. He puts that he makes $6000/mo. Immediately, the finance manager asks him if that is correct, and if he can verify it, as it seems a hefty sum for such a young man. The customer assures him that it is correct.

When it comes time to verify the income, the customer hands in his most recent pay stub. Which is from October. And shows $7800 year-to-date earnings. "Not to worry," says he, "I have proof of my unemployment income as well." It shows $2300 year-to-date. In this particular case, I don't believe that he was lying about his income, like so many others do. I believe he really didn't have a clue how much money he makes. No shocker- his credit was awful. It would be difficult to budget when you're working under the premise that you make $72,000/yr, and you actually only make $10,000.