Most credit cards have an option in which you can have the balance or minimum payment or even other amount you specify deducted from you checking acct monthly so that you are never late and never incur late charges.
As an apartment dweller myself--and one who would like to own a house--I'm totally down with the fairness issue of having everyone else subsidize people who bought houses they couldn't afford.
I'd support changes that removed roadblocks to renegotiating mortgages, as I described in my previous article, They used to call it "loan workout". I'm much more dubious about the sort of big-gesture quick fix that the treasury is trying to arrange.
For those who shed tears for the poor homeowners, remember there are two (2) sides to this equation. The mortgages were bundled up and sliced and diced then sold as securities. Who bought all these wonderful securities (laughable called Structured Interest Vehicles)? Your pension fund, your local bank, your credit union, your insurance company, your granny & grandpa, and so on. So allowing people to renege on their pledge to pay will hurt others.
Not to mention those smart enough to wait on buying a home.
This solution would erase any vestiges of moral hazard. I've been scrimping, saving, and doing without so I can someday afford a home, and a bailout isn't fair to people like me who resisted the urge to get in on the housing frenzy and financially cripple ourselves. I find it hard to believe that everyone who signed an ARM did so because of predatory lending practices. Most did so out of pure greed, thinking that the loan terms wouldn't matter since the home would be sold for twice the purchase price once the rate reset came. Now that home prices are dropping, the people who paid ridiculous prices using creative mortgages are crying foul. Giving in to their demands removes the consequences from stupid actions, and to not punish greed when it backfires only makes it more likely that stupid behavior will continue.
How about letting persons who are in danger of foreclosure take money out of their 401k's or other retirement plans without penalty and tax consequences and apply this to their mortgage?
Thank you for the wake up call!!! We're in debt consolidation now and finding the going very rough without an emergency fund. I've decided to focus on trying to build one up as much as possible, but it's so easy to stray from that focal point when a little extra money is at hand. I'm so glad things worked out for you all, and I'm also glad you've shared your inspiring story to help others!
Oh, I wish I'd seen this before that trip to Target. Now I've got to return what I bought. This is a much better idea for both my little nieces and my daughter in high school who wants to get out there and live on her own.
There have been warnings about housing bubble, subprime lending collapse, and a foreclosure crisis right along, and they'd become quite loud in the past couple of years.
The problem is that the people suffering from the collapse are mostly not the people who were making money from the boom. Lots of people made lots of money--builders, lenders, mortgage brokers, etc. Many of those people are out of work now, but by and large they get to keep the money they made during the boom times.
well look it is simple sleep isnt one of the things i like to do becase i cant sleep but i found out a wya that helps me take a long bath then go to bed it will calm you down or tou can exersise to get you tired but the best way is to sleep an hour a day this is called a power nap i went off three days with this so let me know if this helps
Cash-back cards are preferable to points cards. A card that will refund you $38.65 at the end of the year is better than a card that will make you wait until you have 35,000 points to redeem for $35... it could take a lot longer before you have the optimal reward, and there will inevitably be points left over after redemption, so the cycle continues.
Similarly, if you want a miles card, better to find a card that will credit miles earned directly into your frequent flyer account, rather than make you earn 25,000 points before you can redeem for a free ticket. The Citibank AAdvantage card deposits accrued miles into your AAdvantage account every month. This way the miles earned from the card combine with miles earned through travel, dining, etc. and a free ticket is available much sooner.
I pay for everything with a credit card. Doesn't matter how small the purchase is it goes on the card. The rewards rack up and it is like a year long 1-5% sale on everything you buy. Within ten minutes of research on the web you can find the best rewards programs. I use one card strictly for gas. It pays 5% back but only on gas purchases but that is all I use it for.
Another tip for all of you. Business credit card programs offer superior rewards and they really don't require you to use them for a business. I've simply put my name in as the business name and my social security number in as the tax id. Never been declined and the cash back rewards are better than the standard 1% cash back everyone else is use to getting.
As the year comes to a close, this one is a sure fire winner. I sent more than 8,500 pictures to Scanmyphotos.com. They digitally archived all onto two dvds and had it back in the mail the same day; onely thing more pleasing than the service, was the same day turnaround. They actually had the whole order back the same day. Found them on the Kodak website.
No, I certainly am not ready for the Amero. I can't believe North America states are going down the road of a one continent government, which in turn will lead to a one world government, that will be in control of all of us through one currency, one military, one constitution and one capitalist corporation. Call it Nazism, communism, like them it is evil and no way do I or anybody else need it in my life, not at the moment and not ever.
I am an independent trainer and have been for the past few years. I teach computer and professional development courses...and I absolutely love it!
I get to meet and interact with so many new people, my schedule is flexible, my office is downstairs in my home, and I'm out at the clients location facilitating classes about 3 days out of the week.
@Linsey - You have a great point that I hadn't considered, and you obviously know that market well! For a small cost, AD&D just may provide some relief for farmers (and maybe other vocations?) who won't see that assistance in many other ways.
@Cash Advisor - Absolutely do your research! Even better - if you can, find an insurance agent who you like and trust and who can give you the dirt. I know we are always suspicious of being upsold or cross-sold or being pitched to by somebody who can only think of commissions, but believe it or not there are some insurance agents out there who actually work on the basis that the client comes first! Do your due dilligence, and go with your gut in the end.
This is one of the easiest to understand explanations for mortgage securitization I have ever read. I am going to point my financial management students towards this link when we talk about the sub-prime lending mess in class next week.
Back in the early to mid 90s in a Chicago suburb, one of the big grocery stores charged a quarter for cart rental. I'm not sure if they still do it today. While I was caught off guard (and without a quarter) the first time, I wasn't the least bit annoyed because I got my quarter back a little later. I even saw kids returing stray carts just to get the money.
I work at a steakhouse in Wyoming and our boss recently implemented a strange change to the menu. If somene asks for A1 or Heinz 57 or any condiment except for ketchup, we fill a one ounce plastic cup and charge them fifty cents for it. She had just gotten fed up with the people who dump an entire 12 ounce bottle on their plate and then proceed to delicately dip each bite into the wasted lake of sauce.
Lemons for water are also now a charge due to those lovely people who make lemondaide at their table* - I'm frugal as well but come on, asking for a cup of lemons and a handful of sugar packets so to avoid the $2 drink charge? Classy. So do I support the lemon charge.
The styrofoam takeout boxes will incur a charge as well. There is nothing more annoying than having someone ask for "the biggest box you have" .... for a quarter of a baked potato and two bites of steak, and then they decide they don't want it anyways. Not only did we just waste a box, styrofoam is not recycled here nor does our supplier offer decent cardboard alternatives.
Resturants are a place where people don't seem to care about waste or manners. I've seen people empty the entire lot of sugar packets into their purse, share refill drinks (which we don't mind, except we hate refilling the cup every 2 minutes), and on the extreme end, slip bottles of sauce, salt and pepper shakers and anything not nailed down into their pockets.
* We do have a couple that come in and he orders a steak sandwhich with extra lettuce and tomatoes (free), a side of mayo (.50),and bacon for his sandwhich (.50). Then she makes little BLT's out of the it all with the free rolls which she washes down with her "free" lemonaide. These are the people who increase costs for everyone.
This is spot on - I used to work for a new age bookstore, and there was a constant stream of resident psychics working their "magic" to suckers in the back room. All of the psychics were severely damaged fraudsters.... most people went to see them for fun, but there were some poor souls who sincerely believed in "Psychic Power"......
There were some fantastic ideas here. After reading this, I decided to give dollar-store baskets filled with various loose black and herbal blend teas, hot cocoa, tea balls, and cofees. Rather than giving token gifts to all of my first cousins (once removed), most of whom I have never even met, I will send baskets to all of my cousin's families. I was going to give mugs as well, but after reading some of the coments, I am probably going to rethink that.
Most credit cards have an option in which you can have the balance or minimum payment or even other amount you specify deducted from you checking acct monthly so that you are never late and never incur late charges.
As an apartment dweller myself--and one who would like to own a house--I'm totally down with the fairness issue of having everyone else subsidize people who bought houses they couldn't afford.
I'd support changes that removed roadblocks to renegotiating mortgages, as I described in my previous article, They used to call it "loan workout". I'm much more dubious about the sort of big-gesture quick fix that the treasury is trying to arrange.
For those who shed tears for the poor homeowners, remember there are two (2) sides to this equation. The mortgages were bundled up and sliced and diced then sold as securities. Who bought all these wonderful securities (laughable called Structured Interest Vehicles)? Your pension fund, your local bank, your credit union, your insurance company, your granny & grandpa, and so on. So allowing people to renege on their pledge to pay will hurt others.
Not to mention those smart enough to wait on buying a home.
This solution would erase any vestiges of moral hazard. I've been scrimping, saving, and doing without so I can someday afford a home, and a bailout isn't fair to people like me who resisted the urge to get in on the housing frenzy and financially cripple ourselves. I find it hard to believe that everyone who signed an ARM did so because of predatory lending practices. Most did so out of pure greed, thinking that the loan terms wouldn't matter since the home would be sold for twice the purchase price once the rate reset came. Now that home prices are dropping, the people who paid ridiculous prices using creative mortgages are crying foul. Giving in to their demands removes the consequences from stupid actions, and to not punish greed when it backfires only makes it more likely that stupid behavior will continue.
How about letting persons who are in danger of foreclosure take money out of their 401k's or other retirement plans without penalty and tax consequences and apply this to their mortgage?
Thank you for the wake up call!!! We're in debt consolidation now and finding the going very rough without an emergency fund. I've decided to focus on trying to build one up as much as possible, but it's so easy to stray from that focal point when a little extra money is at hand. I'm so glad things worked out for you all, and I'm also glad you've shared your inspiring story to help others!
Oh, I wish I'd seen this before that trip to Target. Now I've got to return what I bought. This is a much better idea for both my little nieces and my daughter in high school who wants to get out there and live on her own.
There have been warnings about housing bubble, subprime lending collapse, and a foreclosure crisis right along, and they'd become quite loud in the past couple of years.
The problem is that the people suffering from the collapse are mostly not the people who were making money from the boom. Lots of people made lots of money--builders, lenders, mortgage brokers, etc. Many of those people are out of work now, but by and large they get to keep the money they made during the boom times.
Thanks, Heidi, for the kind words. High praise.
I worked in a small pizza place. The owner would say over and over to us...
I would give away pizza if people would buy pop.
well look it is simple sleep isnt one of the things i like to do becase i cant sleep but i found out a wya that helps me take a long bath then go to bed it will calm you down or tou can exersise to get you tired but the best way is to sleep an hour a day this is called a power nap i went off three days with this so let me know if this helps
sally cant sleep
Cash-back cards are preferable to points cards. A card that will refund you $38.65 at the end of the year is better than a card that will make you wait until you have 35,000 points to redeem for $35... it could take a lot longer before you have the optimal reward, and there will inevitably be points left over after redemption, so the cycle continues.
Similarly, if you want a miles card, better to find a card that will credit miles earned directly into your frequent flyer account, rather than make you earn 25,000 points before you can redeem for a free ticket. The Citibank AAdvantage card deposits accrued miles into your AAdvantage account every month. This way the miles earned from the card combine with miles earned through travel, dining, etc. and a free ticket is available much sooner.
I pay for everything with a credit card. Doesn't matter how small the purchase is it goes on the card. The rewards rack up and it is like a year long 1-5% sale on everything you buy. Within ten minutes of research on the web you can find the best rewards programs. I use one card strictly for gas. It pays 5% back but only on gas purchases but that is all I use it for.
Another tip for all of you. Business credit card programs offer superior rewards and they really don't require you to use them for a business. I've simply put my name in as the business name and my social security number in as the tax id. Never been declined and the cash back rewards are better than the standard 1% cash back everyone else is use to getting.
As the year comes to a close, this one is a sure fire winner. I sent more than 8,500 pictures to Scanmyphotos.com. They digitally archived all onto two dvds and had it back in the mail the same day; onely thing more pleasing than the service, was the same day turnaround. They actually had the whole order back the same day. Found them on the Kodak website.
Here's the link:
http://www.kodak.com/US/en/dpq/site/TKX/name/StoryScanMyPhotosCom
They charged just $50 for each 1000 pictures.
What I still don't understand is that it does not take a large brain to see this coming. Was absolutely no one prepared for what was going to happen?
No, I certainly am not ready for the Amero. I can't believe North America states are going down the road of a one continent government, which in turn will lead to a one world government, that will be in control of all of us through one currency, one military, one constitution and one capitalist corporation. Call it Nazism, communism, like them it is evil and no way do I or anybody else need it in my life, not at the moment and not ever.
I am an independent trainer and have been for the past few years. I teach computer and professional development courses...and I absolutely love it!
I get to meet and interact with so many new people, my schedule is flexible, my office is downstairs in my home, and I'm out at the clients location facilitating classes about 3 days out of the week.
@Linsey - You have a great point that I hadn't considered, and you obviously know that market well! For a small cost, AD&D just may provide some relief for farmers (and maybe other vocations?) who won't see that assistance in many other ways.
@Cash Advisor - Absolutely do your research! Even better - if you can, find an insurance agent who you like and trust and who can give you the dirt. I know we are always suspicious of being upsold or cross-sold or being pitched to by somebody who can only think of commissions, but believe it or not there are some insurance agents out there who actually work on the basis that the client comes first! Do your due dilligence, and go with your gut in the end.
This is one of the easiest to understand explanations for mortgage securitization I have ever read. I am going to point my financial management students towards this link when we talk about the sub-prime lending mess in class next week.
Back in the early to mid 90s in a Chicago suburb, one of the big grocery stores charged a quarter for cart rental. I'm not sure if they still do it today. While I was caught off guard (and without a quarter) the first time, I wasn't the least bit annoyed because I got my quarter back a little later. I even saw kids returing stray carts just to get the money.
I don't, I'm afraid.
If you end up getting the scoop, do come back and let us all know what the story is!
I work at a steakhouse in Wyoming and our boss recently implemented a strange change to the menu. If somene asks for A1 or Heinz 57 or any condiment except for ketchup, we fill a one ounce plastic cup and charge them fifty cents for it. She had just gotten fed up with the people who dump an entire 12 ounce bottle on their plate and then proceed to delicately dip each bite into the wasted lake of sauce.
Lemons for water are also now a charge due to those lovely people who make lemondaide at their table* - I'm frugal as well but come on, asking for a cup of lemons and a handful of sugar packets so to avoid the $2 drink charge? Classy. So do I support the lemon charge.
The styrofoam takeout boxes will incur a charge as well. There is nothing more annoying than having someone ask for "the biggest box you have" .... for a quarter of a baked potato and two bites of steak, and then they decide they don't want it anyways. Not only did we just waste a box, styrofoam is not recycled here nor does our supplier offer decent cardboard alternatives.
Resturants are a place where people don't seem to care about waste or manners. I've seen people empty the entire lot of sugar packets into their purse, share refill drinks (which we don't mind, except we hate refilling the cup every 2 minutes), and on the extreme end, slip bottles of sauce, salt and pepper shakers and anything not nailed down into their pockets.
* We do have a couple that come in and he orders a steak sandwhich with extra lettuce and tomatoes (free), a side of mayo (.50),and bacon for his sandwhich (.50). Then she makes little BLT's out of the it all with the free rolls which she washes down with her "free" lemonaide. These are the people who increase costs for everyone.
This is spot on - I used to work for a new age bookstore, and there was a constant stream of resident psychics working their "magic" to suckers in the back room. All of the psychics were severely damaged fraudsters.... most people went to see them for fun, but there were some poor souls who sincerely believed in "Psychic Power"......
fuck you guys...........
There were some fantastic ideas here. After reading this, I decided to give dollar-store baskets filled with various loose black and herbal blend teas, hot cocoa, tea balls, and cofees. Rather than giving token gifts to all of my first cousins (once removed), most of whom I have never even met, I will send baskets to all of my cousin's families. I was going to give mugs as well, but after reading some of the coments, I am probably going to rethink that.