I wonder if this is a variation on the adage It is better to ask forgiveness than seek permission (or something to that effect).
We can buy badly made items that cost the price one would expect of well made items, but they only last a fraction of the time the better made product would be.
There has to be a monitary advantage to this for the companies.
I often compose letters in my head, but don't get to it. Maybe now I will go that extra step. :-)
i filed the tax return on april and got the rebate also. but i didnt had the SSN for my wife that time. so i didnt get the stimulus payment. now i got the SSN for my wife. what i need to do now to get the stimulus payament? or am i eligible for this?
Did anyone mention that the program they are talking about is sold for $3,500 - for something you can do yourself? It is an interesting idea to use a Heloc to payoff your mortgage faster - but it doesn't mention the dangers involved of defaulting on a Heloc(losing your house!) - Also doesn't mention that you must have extra income a month to pay down the Heloc- Why can't someone just open a Heloc (if a bank will even do it now - good luck in this market) write a check to the mortgage and then pay down the Heloc on their own? Why do you need fancy software to track this - a spreadsheet or simple paper and pen would do the job. Seems that someone is making alot of money on the software. To learn more I would Put a search into Google for H.E.A.P and see what his sight says about these programs. I found it very intertesing read and also 3 of my clients were being pushed into paying $3500 - I was able to save them from this expense. This HEAP guy seems to know his stuff.
Also - we would almost always suggest to our clients to invest the money over paying off your house - but that is a personal decision about debt and risk.
China will not be immune to the global recession. However, eventually domestic and regional demand will pick up and replace Western exports as a leading sector. Think about what is happening now- Asians are lending Ameicans their capital so we can buy their goods. They are losing an incredible amount of purchasing power by holding our dollars as the currency is devalued. They are doing this to maintain political stability because exports provide many jobs. We are already seeing the results of increasing Asian wealth and the declining dollar in the price of food and gas. What happens when billions of people with money increase demand for the things we take for granted like food and gas? Higher prices. As these people become even better off financially and decide that cars are better than feet for transportation and that they want more meat to eat, we will see increased pressure on the American consumer as they struggle to buy necessities.
Once Asian demand picks up, they will have no reason to continue lending us money. As in the Great Depression and the aftermath of WWII, the US replaced Europe as the center of commerce because we were the creditors and they were the borrowers. Now, the US is the greates debtor in the history of the world. Once Asia tires of financing us, interest rates will skyrocket producing defaltion in everything except necessities.
Angel Food Ministries has been a life saver for us in the last serveral months. You do not have to qualify for anything and they are all over. Check out their website
I love how people compare the old to the new and think wow we really suck today compared to the financially fit of 1776... The reality is the amount of money and purchasing power of yesteryear compared with today is what actually bred the American consumer. We consume more today because we have more expendable income.
The danger comes when people forget to save a little of that money and instead borrow to the hilt to continue their convoluted financial lifestyles.
And for those looking at China or any other country as the next "leader" of the world... you've got it all wrong. China is as dependent upon the American/European consumer as a crackhead is to crack. The moment the American consumer or European consumer scales back, the more immediate the Chinese will feel that crunch... and any savings they had will be eaten up due to that process.
We live today in a globally interconnected financial super center. The failure of one major part will be felt throughout the whole.
It's in America's as well as the rest of the world's best interest to see this "crisis" through and to see the American consumer continue to spend, yet at the same time to also increase savings, start being more financially frugal, and maintain some economic sanity.
Thanks for the advice. I accidentally scratched my van when some grit got on my cleaning cloth. I followed your instructions using some rubbing compound, wax and elbow grease and it worked great. I even used it on a scratch that had been there for months that I thought was too deep to fix without a repaint. It worked on that too. THANK YOU!
If you think about it, the banks who impose higher interest on what you purchase on your credit card (gas, food, etc) are only hurting themselves in the long run. They'll losing potential business if they start to tell you what you can and cannot purchase with a credit card. Seems like they're going down a slippery slope. They'll start finding other items to penalize you on. Eventually, you won't be able to buy anything. The convenience aspect of using the credit card will be destroyed. That's gonna cost them lots of transactions and interest.
Let them shoot themselves in the foot. American consumers will wise up and stop using credit so unwisely. I think it's okay to have credit cards.... to charge from time to time as long as you can pay it off.
Like anything, credit should be used in a responsible way. That being said, I don't down people who fall on hard times and then have difficulty paying off their credit cards. You do the best you can in tough times, and it's just wrong for the credit card companies to take advantage of someone who's down on their luck when the original credit card agreement stated that you would be billed a certain amount of interest monthly. I know that banks are supposedly free to change your interest rate at any time, but maybe they shouldn't put your interest rate in big bold print when you sign the card and then change on you in mid stream.
My view is that we do not precisely "own" anything. We only possess things for a limited amount of time in accordance with mutually agreed rules of property transfer. Ownership is only an illusion. We do not even own our own lives, since we are forced to give them up at the end of our alloted time on this earth. We go through life borrowing everything, sharing with each other the things we mutually agree to share, through mechanisms of price, cost and salary,,,the economy. When my mother passed away, one of my brothers through lifelong scheming, was able to persuade her to leave him almost all her property, house and land. We other siblings were pissed off about it at the time, but got over it as we realized that our relationship with one another was essentially more important than things. The realization that in a 1000 years, (or only 100), someone who never knew us or knew our names will possess the land puts the perspective of ownership on a slippery foundation.
Over a year ago huh? I was a Chihuahua rescuer ... And in one night 5 of MY chihuahuas 2 of which were my own dogs died of dog food poisoning. This was in May 2008 TWO MONTHS AGO!!!
But of course they denied this even after I had autopsies, blood work, everything done ... I'm stuck paying the medical bills for 5 dead Chihuahuas now thanks to them. And then there's the fact that my two babies are dead! What do they think that money really helps?
History is repeating itself but it never does repeat itself in the same way. America today is very close to being what the Roman Empire was in it's declining years. Will we fall to barbarians? No but only because we have 6k nuclear weapons- but thats all we have. As the Romans became lazier and more decadent, they began to debase their money by mixing lead into their gold coins. This charade continued for a time until people got wise and demanded more coins for the same goods. Our government is doing the same thing today- devaluing the dollar to bail out the banks and insolvent consumers.
Financial capital is like seed corn- when you sow it in the form of investment in ventures that produce goods of real value, the economy expands and you get more capital. The US has been eating it's seed corn for the last 40 years and now its almost gone. When the world emerges from the coming financial catastrophe, China will be the preeminent economic power. The Chinese have invested their seed corn, their people live frugally and now they are quickly gaining economic power. They will price many Americans out of critical markets like oil and high quality food. The average American will see his/her standard of living fall precipitously in the coming years as their credit gets slowly cut off completely. The average Asian will see large gains as they have captial and do not need credit. In the end, we will reap what we have sown.
If your job has any chance of becoming imperiled, expect that it will be, or you may lose it outright and a replacement may be hard to find. You need six months of cash reserves - minimum - at a time like this, and one year's worth is better. No, credit does not count - available credit is already being tightened up and is likely to nearly disappear entirely for many Americans over the next couple of years.
And yes, I do expect that things may well get that bad"
Buy a cheap sterno camping stove, a can of sterno (or a 36hr canned survival candle) and a cheap lightweight pot or camping cup and you can boil water anywhere for around $15 total. You might want to think about storing fresh water too.
Actually, you can opt out of those new terms assuming it's not because you paid late or something like that - you can carry the balance at the old rate but just won't be able to make any new charges to the account. Just write the letter asking the credit card company to close it. I've had a couple banks try that on me when I had really low fixed interest rates that I was revolving balances at. So the account is closed technically, but I'm paying off the balance over time still at the ridiculously low rate.
And History Repeats Itself...one of these days the people are going to to get so fed up with high taxes and reckless spending that we may yet have another Revolution....or Bankruptcy as a country.
My "stimulus check" gets to "stimulate" my Roth IRA...and since a Mutual Fund "buys" stocks I feel I'm doing my "Patriotic Duty" by spending my check. Sears and Wal-Mart be D**ned.
Several posts here assert that by letting the rich and businesses keep more of their money, they'll create jobs.
I'm not understanding, entirely, how that works. If I have a profitable business, and my taxes are cut, I get more money, but I might not necessarily hire anyone else.
Granted, I probably would create a job, to try and grow the business. BUT, if there's not enough demand for the service or product, I might lay this new hire off.
One problem we have these days is the decline in demand.
Maybe it's time to seriously look at Keynsian demand-side economics again. (Too bad Obama claims to be a Chicago school supporter.)
What made America confident to begin with when dealing with the world was its lack of reliance on the world--a system wherein American businessmen saw foreign businessmen as independent trading partners and the American government recognized the right to free and completely unfettered trade. This truly free economy has unfortunately been supplanted by a largely government-controlled marketplace in the United States, which is why we fear this natural consequence of other nations catching up to us in prosperity. The Federal Reserve decreases the worth of the dollar, and other countries consider the possibility of switching from reserves of U.S. dollars to reserves of gold. The national debt continues to deepen, and foreign lenders have us (as a country) in their pockets. We regulate the American oil industry, and OPEC has us crawling.
When it comes to the fall of Rome, I would more likely believe a possible future scenario of economic collapse and rebellion from within than I would destruction from a war with terrorists who are "jealous" of our "free" country.
I'd like to get my hands on a copy of that book. It sounds interesting.
P.S. If you always end up getting a refund of tax paid (not counting credits over and above tax liability), you're basically giving the government an interest-free loan for a year. A person doesn't need to cheat himself out of a larger portion of his paycheck up-front simply out of a fear of owing tax money to the IRS. It's not always perfect, but a balance can be struck between owing and receiving a large refund when it comes to Form W-4.
That last comment was directed at Paul Michael for what he said about people spending too much of money they don't have.
As for the payments being a "loan" from a credit on 2008 tax returns, that's not entirely true. Yes, the payment you receive in 2008 may very well affect your 2008 tax credit for this program, however, any money that you receive in excess of your eligible credit amount will NOT have to be repaid, and as far as I know, it will not be considered taxable income (although of this particular fact I am not absolutely certain). I am a tax professional, so I can say that if you have a question about ANYTHING related to taxes, you should rely on the straight dope from a qualified tax preparer or the IRS itself, NOT what friends and neighbors think might be the case (as well-meaning as they may be).
Bravo! Well said. I like what one person compared government initiatives like the economic stimulus payments to--an unmeployed man who spends with his credit cards, giving the appearance of wealth (but effecting the very opposite).
[...]A little advice from WiseBread on the best way to complain about defective products, something that we all know is inherently linked with our Jewish identity, Margaret Garcia-Couoh suggests to her reader that calling or emailing a complaint just doesn't cut it like sending an actual pen and ink letter would.[...] http://frumhacks.blogspot.com/2008/07/best-way-to-be-kvetch.html
I wonder if this is a variation on the adage It is better to ask forgiveness than seek permission (or something to that effect).
We can buy badly made items that cost the price one would expect of well made items, but they only last a fraction of the time the better made product would be.
There has to be a monitary advantage to this for the companies.
I often compose letters in my head, but don't get to it. Maybe now I will go that extra step. :-)
Barb C
Hi,
i filed the tax return on april and got the rebate also. but i didnt had the SSN for my wife that time. so i didnt get the stimulus payment. now i got the SSN for my wife. what i need to do now to get the stimulus payament? or am i eligible for this?
regards
Sva
Did anyone mention that the program they are talking about is sold for $3,500 - for something you can do yourself? It is an interesting idea to use a Heloc to payoff your mortgage faster - but it doesn't mention the dangers involved of defaulting on a Heloc(losing your house!) - Also doesn't mention that you must have extra income a month to pay down the Heloc- Why can't someone just open a Heloc (if a bank will even do it now - good luck in this market) write a check to the mortgage and then pay down the Heloc on their own? Why do you need fancy software to track this - a spreadsheet or simple paper and pen would do the job. Seems that someone is making alot of money on the software. To learn more I would Put a search into Google for H.E.A.P and see what his sight says about these programs. I found it very intertesing read and also 3 of my clients were being pushed into paying $3500 - I was able to save them from this expense. This HEAP guy seems to know his stuff.
Also - we would almost always suggest to our clients to invest the money over paying off your house - but that is a personal decision about debt and risk.
China will not be immune to the global recession. However, eventually domestic and regional demand will pick up and replace Western exports as a leading sector. Think about what is happening now- Asians are lending Ameicans their capital so we can buy their goods. They are losing an incredible amount of purchasing power by holding our dollars as the currency is devalued. They are doing this to maintain political stability because exports provide many jobs. We are already seeing the results of increasing Asian wealth and the declining dollar in the price of food and gas. What happens when billions of people with money increase demand for the things we take for granted like food and gas? Higher prices. As these people become even better off financially and decide that cars are better than feet for transportation and that they want more meat to eat, we will see increased pressure on the American consumer as they struggle to buy necessities.
Once Asian demand picks up, they will have no reason to continue lending us money. As in the Great Depression and the aftermath of WWII, the US replaced Europe as the center of commerce because we were the creditors and they were the borrowers. Now, the US is the greates debtor in the history of the world. Once Asia tires of financing us, interest rates will skyrocket producing defaltion in everything except necessities.
Angel Food Ministries has been a life saver for us in the last serveral months. You do not have to qualify for anything and they are all over. Check out their website
http://www.angelfoodministries.com/
I love how people compare the old to the new and think wow we really suck today compared to the financially fit of 1776... The reality is the amount of money and purchasing power of yesteryear compared with today is what actually bred the American consumer. We consume more today because we have more expendable income.
The danger comes when people forget to save a little of that money and instead borrow to the hilt to continue their convoluted financial lifestyles.
And for those looking at China or any other country as the next "leader" of the world... you've got it all wrong. China is as dependent upon the American/European consumer as a crackhead is to crack. The moment the American consumer or European consumer scales back, the more immediate the Chinese will feel that crunch... and any savings they had will be eaten up due to that process.
We live today in a globally interconnected financial super center. The failure of one major part will be felt throughout the whole.
It's in America's as well as the rest of the world's best interest to see this "crisis" through and to see the American consumer continue to spend, yet at the same time to also increase savings, start being more financially frugal, and maintain some economic sanity.
Hey Paul,
Thanks for the advice. I accidentally scratched my van when some grit got on my cleaning cloth. I followed your instructions using some rubbing compound, wax and elbow grease and it worked great. I even used it on a scratch that had been there for months that I thought was too deep to fix without a repaint. It worked on that too. THANK YOU!
sign me up.
Now here is some sage advise: Dont be extreme. Buy a house and a car. Take care of them. Pay them off. They are great investments in the long term.
If you think about it, the banks who impose higher interest on what you purchase on your credit card (gas, food, etc) are only hurting themselves in the long run. They'll losing potential business if they start to tell you what you can and cannot purchase with a credit card. Seems like they're going down a slippery slope. They'll start finding other items to penalize you on. Eventually, you won't be able to buy anything. The convenience aspect of using the credit card will be destroyed. That's gonna cost them lots of transactions and interest.
Let them shoot themselves in the foot. American consumers will wise up and stop using credit so unwisely. I think it's okay to have credit cards.... to charge from time to time as long as you can pay it off.
Like anything, credit should be used in a responsible way. That being said, I don't down people who fall on hard times and then have difficulty paying off their credit cards. You do the best you can in tough times, and it's just wrong for the credit card companies to take advantage of someone who's down on their luck when the original credit card agreement stated that you would be billed a certain amount of interest monthly. I know that banks are supposedly free to change your interest rate at any time, but maybe they shouldn't put your interest rate in big bold print when you sign the card and then change on you in mid stream.
My view is that we do not precisely "own" anything. We only possess things for a limited amount of time in accordance with mutually agreed rules of property transfer. Ownership is only an illusion. We do not even own our own lives, since we are forced to give them up at the end of our alloted time on this earth. We go through life borrowing everything, sharing with each other the things we mutually agree to share, through mechanisms of price, cost and salary,,,the economy. When my mother passed away, one of my brothers through lifelong scheming, was able to persuade her to leave him almost all her property, house and land. We other siblings were pissed off about it at the time, but got over it as we realized that our relationship with one another was essentially more important than things. The realization that in a 1000 years, (or only 100), someone who never knew us or knew our names will possess the land puts the perspective of ownership on a slippery foundation.
Over a year ago huh? I was a Chihuahua rescuer ... And in one night 5 of MY chihuahuas 2 of which were my own dogs died of dog food poisoning. This was in May 2008 TWO MONTHS AGO!!!
But of course they denied this even after I had autopsies, blood work, everything done ... I'm stuck paying the medical bills for 5 dead Chihuahuas now thanks to them. And then there's the fact that my two babies are dead! What do they think that money really helps?
History is repeating itself but it never does repeat itself in the same way. America today is very close to being what the Roman Empire was in it's declining years. Will we fall to barbarians? No but only because we have 6k nuclear weapons- but thats all we have. As the Romans became lazier and more decadent, they began to debase their money by mixing lead into their gold coins. This charade continued for a time until people got wise and demanded more coins for the same goods. Our government is doing the same thing today- devaluing the dollar to bail out the banks and insolvent consumers.
Financial capital is like seed corn- when you sow it in the form of investment in ventures that produce goods of real value, the economy expands and you get more capital. The US has been eating it's seed corn for the last 40 years and now its almost gone. When the world emerges from the coming financial catastrophe, China will be the preeminent economic power. The Chinese have invested their seed corn, their people live frugally and now they are quickly gaining economic power. They will price many Americans out of critical markets like oil and high quality food. The average American will see his/her standard of living fall precipitously in the coming years as their credit gets slowly cut off completely. The average Asian will see large gains as they have captial and do not need credit. In the end, we will reap what we have sown.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGWxBpoZtZ8
http://market-ticker.denninger.net/index.html
"I have said it before and I will say it again.
Get out of debt. Now.
Raise cash. Now.
If your job has any chance of becoming imperiled, expect that it will be, or you may lose it outright and a replacement may be hard to find. You need six months of cash reserves - minimum - at a time like this, and one year's worth is better. No, credit does not count - available credit is already being tightened up and is likely to nearly disappear entirely for many Americans over the next couple of years.
And yes, I do expect that things may well get that bad"
Buy a cheap sterno camping stove, a can of sterno (or a 36hr canned survival candle) and a cheap lightweight pot or camping cup and you can boil water anywhere for around $15 total. You might want to think about storing fresh water too.
I had no idea about the Cold War spending initiative. Now I have to go read up on it some more :)
This was a very informative post and well written. Thank you for sharing it and giving the rest of us some food for thought. Enjoy your holiday!
we take a vacation every year on credit cards.
when we get back we seal the cards in an enverlope and write a message on them...DO NOT OPEN UNTIL AUGUST
WE BOTH KEEP OUR WORD AND NO MATTER WHAT EVEN IF WE NEED THEM WE MAKE DUE. A SECOND JOB FOR A LITTLE WHILE DOESN'T HURT ANYONE.
Would much rather see higher sales tax than income tax! At least then I have more control over how much tax I'm paying out!
Actually, you can opt out of those new terms assuming it's not because you paid late or something like that - you can carry the balance at the old rate but just won't be able to make any new charges to the account. Just write the letter asking the credit card company to close it. I've had a couple banks try that on me when I had really low fixed interest rates that I was revolving balances at. So the account is closed technically, but I'm paying off the balance over time still at the ridiculously low rate.
And History Repeats Itself...one of these days the people are going to to get so fed up with high taxes and reckless spending that we may yet have another Revolution....or Bankruptcy as a country.
My "stimulus check" gets to "stimulate" my Roth IRA...and since a Mutual Fund "buys" stocks I feel I'm doing my "Patriotic Duty" by spending my check. Sears and Wal-Mart be D**ned.
~ Roland
Several posts here assert that by letting the rich and businesses keep more of their money, they'll create jobs.
I'm not understanding, entirely, how that works. If I have a profitable business, and my taxes are cut, I get more money, but I might not necessarily hire anyone else.
Granted, I probably would create a job, to try and grow the business. BUT, if there's not enough demand for the service or product, I might lay this new hire off.
One problem we have these days is the decline in demand.
Maybe it's time to seriously look at Keynsian demand-side economics again. (Too bad Obama claims to be a Chicago school supporter.)
What made America confident to begin with when dealing with the world was its lack of reliance on the world--a system wherein American businessmen saw foreign businessmen as independent trading partners and the American government recognized the right to free and completely unfettered trade. This truly free economy has unfortunately been supplanted by a largely government-controlled marketplace in the United States, which is why we fear this natural consequence of other nations catching up to us in prosperity. The Federal Reserve decreases the worth of the dollar, and other countries consider the possibility of switching from reserves of U.S. dollars to reserves of gold. The national debt continues to deepen, and foreign lenders have us (as a country) in their pockets. We regulate the American oil industry, and OPEC has us crawling.
When it comes to the fall of Rome, I would more likely believe a possible future scenario of economic collapse and rebellion from within than I would destruction from a war with terrorists who are "jealous" of our "free" country.
I'd like to get my hands on a copy of that book. It sounds interesting.
P.S. If you always end up getting a refund of tax paid (not counting credits over and above tax liability), you're basically giving the government an interest-free loan for a year. A person doesn't need to cheat himself out of a larger portion of his paycheck up-front simply out of a fear of owing tax money to the IRS. It's not always perfect, but a balance can be struck between owing and receiving a large refund when it comes to Form W-4.
That last comment was directed at Paul Michael for what he said about people spending too much of money they don't have.
As for the payments being a "loan" from a credit on 2008 tax returns, that's not entirely true. Yes, the payment you receive in 2008 may very well affect your 2008 tax credit for this program, however, any money that you receive in excess of your eligible credit amount will NOT have to be repaid, and as far as I know, it will not be considered taxable income (although of this particular fact I am not absolutely certain). I am a tax professional, so I can say that if you have a question about ANYTHING related to taxes, you should rely on the straight dope from a qualified tax preparer or the IRS itself, NOT what friends and neighbors think might be the case (as well-meaning as they may be).
Bravo! Well said. I like what one person compared government initiatives like the economic stimulus payments to--an unmeployed man who spends with his credit cards, giving the appearance of wealth (but effecting the very opposite).
[...]A little advice from WiseBread on the best way to complain about defective products, something that we all know is inherently linked with our Jewish identity, Margaret Garcia-Couoh suggests to her reader that calling or emailing a complaint just doesn't cut it like sending an actual pen and ink letter would.[...]
http://frumhacks.blogspot.com/2008/07/best-way-to-be-kvetch.html