We could rebel and not pay but I doubt big wig bankers and financiers, who expected a continual pay off from jacking people shystered with pie in the sky get everything for nothing loans, will not get sheriffs and police to start throwing people out and take back property. They also use credit ratings now to prevent people from moving up to get better jobs('records' check with job applications in small print includes credit not just the innocent criminal check), if they ever get defaulting on cards or a loan.
So it's a money shellgame economy where our politicians answer to save the shysters dangling promises of bling and easy unearned money through borrowing what you can never work or earn to pay off. It all comes from China our Daddy floating the government the cash. It's financial servitude and serfdom people! where citizens own nothing and owe their lives to the business/state - modern feudalism.
Yes you can put free books on it, I have several classics that are out of copyright on mine. Also, Amazon sometimes has free books that it gives away. It also plays audiobooks through a built in speaker or a headphone.
It is true that it is a total luxury, but it is one of the best devices I have ever bought.
To the people writing in about how much *safer* the SUV or truck is compared to a smaller vehicle: It is safer in some metrics, but not in others, and if we followed the logic to its conclusion, we'd realize: While it's probably true that the Explorer will do better in a head-on crash with a Corolla, a dump truck or a semi would do even better. Yet no one is writing in and advocating driving one of those as a daily driver. Why not? Because, most people who give that objection don't really care about safety, they just say (and think) they do.
The most important thing anyone can do about car safety is 1) drive less and 2) maintain proper awareness and calmness while driving (aggression and competition are out when it comes to your safety) and 3) learn more about driving so you can avoid accidents in the first place. Change your mental attitude to a more realistic one, becoming more aware of your surroundings while driving, and *learning to drive better*.
Do you know where you fall on the scale of driving competence/incompetence?
Do you know what a braking threshold is, and how to hold it using a standard braking system? How about with ABS? Is the first thing you asks when you get in an unfamiliar vehicle , "Does this car have ABS?". (If so, you has discovered that most car owners don't even know something that simple about their cars. It follows that they have no idea how braking works or how to do it effectively in their vehicle. And this has further implications beyond simple braking, to other accident avoidance maneuvers).
Do you know how to maintain a proper leading and following distance while driving? How often have you practiced an emergency lane change, and do you even know intellectually (leave aside your the aspect of muscle memorya and practice) how to do it in the first place? Do you know how braking, turning, and accellerating affect the contact patches on all 4 tires? Doubtful.
How about the two or three ways that ABS braking affects braking strategy and accident avoidance strategy? Did you know that you can use your brake pedal if you have ABS in order to use ABS in order to regain control of the if it slides while turning? Well, you do now. But if you don't understand why, you've got some learning to do. There are books that you can begin to get an understanding of these topics from ("Drive to Survive" by Curt Rich is a reasonable first read, followed by, perhaps, "Bob Bondurant on Police Pursuit Driving", believe it or not).
But unless you're willing to put in the effort and learn, don't pretend to yourself or others that car safety is a priority for you, because your behavior shows that it isn't.
"If you cannot live without your shows, then just remember that $480 is enough to purchase the full season DVDs of about 8 to 10 shows a year. So if you are a fan of just a few shows, then it may be cheaper to buy them on DVD."
And then resell them on Amazon for almost as much as you paid!
"Despite this, the property tax assessment for our home has gone up $40K. We're going to pay an extra $800 in taxes this year. I'd like them to send the buyer on over that would pay anything like the assessment; they can have it!"
That's when you have to demand a reduction in assessment. Find out the legally admissable methods of assessing your property for tax purposes, both on the local and state level. If the city doesn't adhere to them in your case, bring a suit at the state leve. If you don't want to do this as an individual, consider forming a citizens' committee to sue the city in your state's land court. Generally, cities get away with this kind of stuff because most citizens will "roll" and won't attempt to hold the city to the letter of the law.
The lawsuit may cost you 10,000 dollars, but if you get a group of citizens together and file it as a class action suit the cost goes way down.
A rotary tool (like a cordless Dremel) with a nylon brush attachment and baking soda would do wonders. I would use my corded Dremel tool but water and electricity are two things I don't like to mix.
I haven't seen a nylon attachment for them, though. They do have felt polishing disks that would probably do the trick (at 15,000 rpms!).
One factor you didn't bring into your discussion was that the portion of your housing costs comprised by your mortgage payment is fixed for the term of the mortgage, whereas your lease is subject to annual increases. Maybe you could do an analysis of that using a present value analysis. (I won't do it right now because I'm too busy with other stuff)
I was just rereading your post, Vicki, and realized that you and your partner are two women. So some of what I wrote about you "not being in a committed relationship" because you are not married does not apply, except in a legal sense, except in some states. My apologies.
Perhaps some of your partner's resistance to you saving money has to do with her being unclear whether that saved money is "your" money or "both of yours' " money. Whereas money that you spend to support ongoing activities clearly supports both of you, it is not clear that money put away for future purposes is. I would consider clarifying this to yourself and to her. If she feels like money is being put aside but not for her, that will surely make her feel insecure financially.
I would also look at the issue of you putting child support money into a 529 for your son. That is a fantastic policy from the point of view of providing for his future education. But again, here, she gets no benefit from it as the money is sequestered away. If the money just went into a household fund, she would get some of the benefit of it and that may be why she's resistant. If she doesn't see the need for saving for your son's education, though, that, that would ring a bell for me.
It sounds like, from her background, she just has a widely different eduation about money and expectations for it, and little knowledge about effective financial planning and management. This is underlined by the fact that no bank will give here even the amount of credit required to operate a checking account.
You two clearly have more issues to work on, I hope that you are able to do it in a way that is fair and that gives you clarity.
You made the following statement, that you cannot use a 3 pot system because:
"Unfortunately, my partner can no longer get a checking account, so this system doesn't work for me. And I find I've inherited a lot of debt that I'm going to be paying for in addition to my own. Finances should definitely be discussed long before making committments to one another."
You can still do the 3 pot system. Your partner will have to deal in cash only, though. You could split the household pot into a cash part for her, and do your own transactions out of the household bank account (give her a monthly portion of the household pot in cash for her to use, and if she runs out of that and there's still money available for the month, she could get more cash. Just make it equal by making sure that you BOTH adhere to the monthly budget and don't go over.)For her personal money, she can get a statement savings account and a linked debit card. If she needs a paper check she can either give you the cash and have you write the check, or buy a bank check at her bank.
I'm guessing this will be a challenge for her to manage, but really being able to manage a cash budget is the foundation of personal finance and she will either be able to do so, or you will discover she cannot or will not. And then you would have to decide whether you are going to live with your commitment or not if she can't commit to managing her money effectively.
"I've tried discussing this with her, and she continues to act as though we are drowning and never going to get out of the hole, even though I've been paying off debts. She plans lavish weekends for us, and then wonders where our money goes. ...
Unfortunately, my partner can no longer get a checking account, so this system doesn't work for me. And I find I've inherited a lot of debt that I'm going to be paying for in addition to my own. Finances should definitely be discussed long before making committments to one another.
There is no such thing as an "unbreakable commitment" in human affairs.
As far as I can tell, you have made no unbreakable commitments to one another, and in fact are not even married. And, in terms of partnership, your financial partnership is one that is unclear to both parties if you have such different expectations about money.
If so, you have no legal obligation to your "partner"'s debt, even if you feel you have an emotional or personal obligation at the moment.
Sounds to me like there is a big part of you wanting to reassess this relationship, and another part that won't or is unable to--perhaps because of inherited "programming".
I would say that it is not too lateto find out if your and your partner's goals are in line with one another, and if they are close enough, work towards resolving the differences in your understanding about money. If they are not, you might want to start thinking about whether it makes sense to spend any more time in your relationship with this person.
In fact, you haven't said you are married, and if not you have not inherited any debts. Don't get married to this person unless you can work out these issues to *your* satisfaction.
The poster's stating his or her assessment of the situation is being honest. I prefer that to false "positive thinking". Positive thinking doesn't always make "bad" things go away.
Yes, Ok people, once again take a real good look at the winning pieces as no one is going to simply give you one....
Let's review..the rare unseen pieces that nobody has, expcept maybe emplyees who steal them reguarly. (this game is sooo whacked)
Please...think and stop offering up the millions of pieces everybody has and gets. Use your brain... MCdonalds, if you continue to run this stupid contest at least tell you employees and restaurunts to give pieces out as 9 time out of ten you have to ask, or they are out or some other bs..
The missinf pieces;
Golden Arches-271
Boardwalk
Pennsylvania
Ventor
Kentucky
Tennessee
Virginia
Vermont
Short Line
Mediterrranean
Water Works
I LOVE jeans. All of my friends are in shock when I don't wear them- I don't think there is a day for the past 2 years I haven't worn jeans. (or jean shorts, and occasionally a jean skirt)
So anyway, I was looking for something cool and off-beat to do for my visual arts class homework- and I decided to make a purse out of my old jeans that are too short. Originally I was going to make a backpack but 14 slim jeans don't have a big enough seat to make a backpack that can actually hold things.
So you can also listen to audiobooks on the kindle?
Can anyone here confirm if you can also load PDF files and free ebooks onto the kindle? I have personal and business documents that would be useful to have with me for reviewing in transit.
Thanks for the coupon code - if these other two options are also viable for the Kindle, them I'm likely to be getting one soon too.
I'm with Michael -- I'm all about the RSS! I also have a separate email account just for newsletters and promotional offers from companies. If you must read something at the breakfast table, try getting a book from the library.
Do you still subscribe to a newspaper that gets physically delivered to your house? Online newsfeeds are more up to date, and in many regions you can read even local news online.
Take a page from razor and printer companies: sell the Kindle for $99.95 plus shipping--i.e., come close to giving it away to make the profit on "refills"
Pyschologically, we human have three price points: FREE (dah), $19.95 and 99.95 plus S&H
This is a site I found which lets employees blow off steam when they have a bad day. It allows you to battle against others. It's very new and looks like it's going to become pretty huge! Check it out and post some crap about customers your fellow employees or customers that you have to deal with.
Nora, you have covered very important and serious issue. Really this could spoil your life if you take such a blind step. This article will help many to restrict such issues in life.Thanks for sharing
you must have gotten your degree by mailing in cereal box tops. They are bringing home 5000 troops from combat to be "re-trained" to deal with civil unrest...Announced it yesterday, the dude with the amero (Hal Turner)coin in the video said it 2 weeks ago. The aclu is suing the federal govt for separation of military and police powers. What civil unrest is coming where you might need 5000 well trained infantry troops on call? What about the national guard? you need to get your head out of you know what, and stop mentioning you have a degree. There is no degree in common sense....
Would you sell your clipped toe nails? Same thing.
We could rebel and not pay but I doubt big wig bankers and financiers, who expected a continual pay off from jacking people shystered with pie in the sky get everything for nothing loans, will not get sheriffs and police to start throwing people out and take back property. They also use credit ratings now to prevent people from moving up to get better jobs('records' check with job applications in small print includes credit not just the innocent criminal check), if they ever get defaulting on cards or a loan.
So it's a money shellgame economy where our politicians answer to save the shysters dangling promises of bling and easy unearned money through borrowing what you can never work or earn to pay off. It all comes from China our Daddy floating the government the cash. It's financial servitude and serfdom people! where citizens own nothing and owe their lives to the business/state - modern feudalism.
Hi could you please post more about perfume?
Yes you can put free books on it, I have several classics that are out of copyright on mine. Also, Amazon sometimes has free books that it gives away. It also plays audiobooks through a built in speaker or a headphone.
It is true that it is a total luxury, but it is one of the best devices I have ever bought.
To the people writing in about how much *safer* the SUV or truck is compared to a smaller vehicle: It is safer in some metrics, but not in others, and if we followed the logic to its conclusion, we'd realize: While it's probably true that the Explorer will do better in a head-on crash with a Corolla, a dump truck or a semi would do even better. Yet no one is writing in and advocating driving one of those as a daily driver. Why not? Because, most people who give that objection don't really care about safety, they just say (and think) they do.
The most important thing anyone can do about car safety is 1) drive less and 2) maintain proper awareness and calmness while driving (aggression and competition are out when it comes to your safety) and 3) learn more about driving so you can avoid accidents in the first place. Change your mental attitude to a more realistic one, becoming more aware of your surroundings while driving, and *learning to drive better*.
Do you know where you fall on the scale of driving competence/incompetence?
Do you know what a braking threshold is, and how to hold it using a standard braking system? How about with ABS? Is the first thing you asks when you get in an unfamiliar vehicle , "Does this car have ABS?". (If so, you has discovered that most car owners don't even know something that simple about their cars. It follows that they have no idea how braking works or how to do it effectively in their vehicle. And this has further implications beyond simple braking, to other accident avoidance maneuvers).
Do you know how to maintain a proper leading and following distance while driving? How often have you practiced an emergency lane change, and do you even know intellectually (leave aside your the aspect of muscle memorya and practice) how to do it in the first place? Do you know how braking, turning, and accellerating affect the contact patches on all 4 tires? Doubtful.
How about the two or three ways that ABS braking affects braking strategy and accident avoidance strategy? Did you know that you can use your brake pedal if you have ABS in order to use ABS in order to regain control of the if it slides while turning? Well, you do now. But if you don't understand why, you've got some learning to do. There are books that you can begin to get an understanding of these topics from ("Drive to Survive" by Curt Rich is a reasonable first read, followed by, perhaps, "Bob Bondurant on Police Pursuit Driving", believe it or not).
But unless you're willing to put in the effort and learn, don't pretend to yourself or others that car safety is a priority for you, because your behavior shows that it isn't.
"If you cannot live without your shows, then just remember that $480 is enough to purchase the full season DVDs of about 8 to 10 shows a year. So if you are a fan of just a few shows, then it may be cheaper to buy them on DVD."
And then resell them on Amazon for almost as much as you paid!
to the poster in the "katrina" zone who wrote:
"Despite this, the property tax assessment for our home has gone up $40K. We're going to pay an extra $800 in taxes this year. I'd like them to send the buyer on over that would pay anything like the assessment; they can have it!"
That's when you have to demand a reduction in assessment. Find out the legally admissable methods of assessing your property for tax purposes, both on the local and state level. If the city doesn't adhere to them in your case, bring a suit at the state leve. If you don't want to do this as an individual, consider forming a citizens' committee to sue the city in your state's land court. Generally, cities get away with this kind of stuff because most citizens will "roll" and won't attempt to hold the city to the letter of the law.
The lawsuit may cost you 10,000 dollars, but if you get a group of citizens together and file it as a class action suit the cost goes way down.
As far as *killing* germs on bathroom surfaces, it mostly isn't necessary. Soap and water washes them away, so you don't need to kill them.
A rotary tool (like a cordless Dremel) with a nylon brush attachment and baking soda would do wonders. I would use my corded Dremel tool but water and electricity are two things I don't like to mix.
I haven't seen a nylon attachment for them, though. They do have felt polishing disks that would probably do the trick (at 15,000 rpms!).
One factor you didn't bring into your discussion was that the portion of your housing costs comprised by your mortgage payment is fixed for the term of the mortgage, whereas your lease is subject to annual increases. Maybe you could do an analysis of that using a present value analysis. (I won't do it right now because I'm too busy with other stuff)
Thanks for the interesting article.
I was just rereading your post, Vicki, and realized that you and your partner are two women. So some of what I wrote about you "not being in a committed relationship" because you are not married does not apply, except in a legal sense, except in some states. My apologies.
Perhaps some of your partner's resistance to you saving money has to do with her being unclear whether that saved money is "your" money or "both of yours' " money. Whereas money that you spend to support ongoing activities clearly supports both of you, it is not clear that money put away for future purposes is. I would consider clarifying this to yourself and to her. If she feels like money is being put aside but not for her, that will surely make her feel insecure financially.
I would also look at the issue of you putting child support money into a 529 for your son. That is a fantastic policy from the point of view of providing for his future education. But again, here, she gets no benefit from it as the money is sequestered away. If the money just went into a household fund, she would get some of the benefit of it and that may be why she's resistant. If she doesn't see the need for saving for your son's education, though, that, that would ring a bell for me.
It sounds like, from her background, she just has a widely different eduation about money and expectations for it, and little knowledge about effective financial planning and management. This is underlined by the fact that no bank will give here even the amount of credit required to operate a checking account.
You two clearly have more issues to work on, I hope that you are able to do it in a way that is fair and that gives you clarity.
You made the following statement, that you cannot use a 3 pot system because:
"Unfortunately, my partner can no longer get a checking account, so this system doesn't work for me. And I find I've inherited a lot of debt that I'm going to be paying for in addition to my own. Finances should definitely be discussed long before making committments to one another."
You can still do the 3 pot system. Your partner will have to deal in cash only, though. You could split the household pot into a cash part for her, and do your own transactions out of the household bank account (give her a monthly portion of the household pot in cash for her to use, and if she runs out of that and there's still money available for the month, she could get more cash. Just make it equal by making sure that you BOTH adhere to the monthly budget and don't go over.)For her personal money, she can get a statement savings account and a linked debit card. If she needs a paper check she can either give you the cash and have you write the check, or buy a bank check at her bank.
I'm guessing this will be a challenge for her to manage, but really being able to manage a cash budget is the foundation of personal finance and she will either be able to do so, or you will discover she cannot or will not. And then you would have to decide whether you are going to live with your commitment or not if she can't commit to managing her money effectively.
Good luck.
"I've tried discussing this with her, and she continues to act as though we are drowning and never going to get out of the hole, even though I've been paying off debts. She plans lavish weekends for us, and then wonders where our money goes. ...
Unfortunately, my partner can no longer get a checking account, so this system doesn't work for me. And I find I've inherited a lot of debt that I'm going to be paying for in addition to my own. Finances should definitely be discussed long before making committments to one another.
There is no such thing as an "unbreakable commitment" in human affairs.
As far as I can tell, you have made no unbreakable commitments to one another, and in fact are not even married. And, in terms of partnership, your financial partnership is one that is unclear to both parties if you have such different expectations about money.
If so, you have no legal obligation to your "partner"'s debt, even if you feel you have an emotional or personal obligation at the moment.
Sounds to me like there is a big part of you wanting to reassess this relationship, and another part that won't or is unable to--perhaps because of inherited "programming".
I would say that it is not too lateto find out if your and your partner's goals are in line with one another, and if they are close enough, work towards resolving the differences in your understanding about money. If they are not, you might want to start thinking about whether it makes sense to spend any more time in your relationship with this person.
In fact, you haven't said you are married, and if not you have not inherited any debts. Don't get married to this person unless you can work out these issues to *your* satisfaction.
The poster's stating his or her assessment of the situation is being honest. I prefer that to false "positive thinking". Positive thinking doesn't always make "bad" things go away.
Yes, Ok people, once again take a real good look at the winning pieces as no one is going to simply give you one....
Let's review..the rare unseen pieces that nobody has, expcept maybe emplyees who steal them reguarly. (this game is sooo whacked)
Please...think and stop offering up the millions of pieces everybody has and gets. Use your brain... MCdonalds, if you continue to run this stupid contest at least tell you employees and restaurunts to give pieces out as 9 time out of ten you have to ask, or they are out or some other bs..
The missinf pieces;
Golden Arches-271
Boardwalk
Pennsylvania
Ventor
Kentucky
Tennessee
Virginia
Vermont
Short Line
Mediterrranean
Water Works
I LOVE jeans. All of my friends are in shock when I don't wear them- I don't think there is a day for the past 2 years I haven't worn jeans. (or jean shorts, and occasionally a jean skirt)
So anyway, I was looking for something cool and off-beat to do for my visual arts class homework- and I decided to make a purse out of my old jeans that are too short. Originally I was going to make a backpack but 14 slim jeans don't have a big enough seat to make a backpack that can actually hold things.
Thanks for these cool ideas!!!
So you can also listen to audiobooks on the kindle?
Can anyone here confirm if you can also load PDF files and free ebooks onto the kindle? I have personal and business documents that would be useful to have with me for reviewing in transit.
Thanks for the coupon code - if these other two options are also viable for the Kindle, them I'm likely to be getting one soon too.
Debbie
We only get the Sunday paper. We use the coupons :) The rest goes to supplement our heating bill (i.e. put on top of the kinding in our wood stove.)
Good article, Xin!
I've seen a couple of them before, but its always a good reminder for those who say but don't do ;)
Good advice!
I'm with Michael -- I'm all about the RSS! I also have a separate email account just for newsletters and promotional offers from companies. If you must read something at the breakfast table, try getting a book from the library.
My favorites are those who come forward stating that they have the non-rare codes and want to trade or share for a rare piece.
Do you still subscribe to a newspaper that gets physically delivered to your house? Online newsfeeds are more up to date, and in many regions you can read even local news online.
Take a page from razor and printer companies: sell the Kindle for $99.95 plus shipping--i.e., come close to giving it away to make the profit on "refills"
Pyschologically, we human have three price points: FREE (dah), $19.95 and 99.95 plus S&H
This is a site I found which lets employees blow off steam when they have a bad day. It allows you to battle against others. It's very new and looks like it's going to become pretty huge! Check it out and post some crap about customers your fellow employees or customers that you have to deal with.
http://www.cistam.com
"Can I Speak to a Manager?"
Nora, you have covered very important and serious issue. Really this could spoil your life if you take such a blind step. This article will help many to restrict such issues in life.Thanks for sharing
you must have gotten your degree by mailing in cereal box tops. They are bringing home 5000 troops from combat to be "re-trained" to deal with civil unrest...Announced it yesterday, the dude with the amero (Hal Turner)coin in the video said it 2 weeks ago. The aclu is suing the federal govt for separation of military and police powers. What civil unrest is coming where you might need 5000 well trained infantry troops on call? What about the national guard? you need to get your head out of you know what, and stop mentioning you have a degree. There is no degree in common sense....