I believe my credit score is at 760, when last I checked. It's been pretty stable lately, as I've managed to avoid too much spending and wide variations in the amount of various debts I've taken on.
I purchased a used car this past weekend and was SHOCKED that my FICO score was pegged at 850. Again, the last time I ran it was in '06 when it was in the 700's. I pay my CC in full every month and maybe raising the credit limit when I can (though I steadily spend a few hundred every month) is helping the score.
To the people who think that Bottled water is "great and pure", THINK AGAIN. Ever heard of Globalwarming? Or, how about Global dimming? IF YOU HAVN'T WATCH THE "Inconvenient Truth" it rox.
Or here's yet ANOTHER EASY solution: BUY A METAL WATER BOTTLE Cuz the PLASTIC BOTTLES help cause cancer! METAL WATER BOTTLES are HEALTHY (unlike plastic ones) and don't waste as much! they can be used for years and years on end without any problems!
here's the key question: DO you want cancer?
Or how about this one: Do you want to totally destroy this world adn everyone in it because some of you sick jerks wrecked it all?!
THINK HARDER
First, I think a small emergency fund, say $200 or so, is a good idea. Banks CAN go under and even if they are FDIC insured, the FDIC isn't going to cut you a check the next day. Or you can have a real emergency on a weekend (some auto repairmen won't accept checks or credit cards, for example) or experience a natural disaster.
Here are a few ideas. Get a food item that comes in a canister with a lid --dog or cat food is good, because thieves won't be tempted to eat it -- clean out the can, put your cash inside and put it as far back in your pantry as you can.
Or create a fake sewer pipe cleanout, complete with screw on top, in your back yard, triple plastic bag the cash and put it in there. (Be sure to remove it if you actually ever need your sewer drain cleaned.)
Now i know why our planet is being TOTALLY ruined. THANKKS TO YOU! Some people just don't care! Your talking about Global warming and other HUGE economic problems like they have NOTHING to do with you (some people! THAT IS SO WRONG! As for "enjoying the stuff adn life even if it harms the earth" person, YOU SUCK. You think it won't affect you?! You think that it won't effect you or your little possy because you don't want it to? How about your friends or family? DON'T YOU EVEN CARE? If we continue to heat up the world with Global Warming, the sea levels will rise DRASTICALLY which means drowning out most of CHINA, INDIA, AFRICA and other small islands. MILLIONS of people will die, MILLIONS of people will be homeless and will have to move... to the countries that havn't been water logged! You OBLIVIOUS SENSLESS people who think that Global warming is some kind of joke and are sucking up Stephen Harpers words, REALLY got to see the movie "The Inconvenient Truth" and Smarten up. It's the truth, so deal with it adn take charge.
Your water tastes like Clorine BECAUSE of polution! They have to purify it with clorine so you can drink it BUT, if we all cut down on polluting and drnking bottled water, we wouldn't have to purify it!
Andrea, you rock out loud. This article has helped me so much with my project for science and taght me a TON about Bottled water and it's totally sad facts. Thank you, and keep it up!
I am so happy to find someone who says what I say. My husband and I have lived in our house for 10 years. Never missed a payment. We also bought what we could afford. Are association fee already went up because of the foreclosures. I saw this mess comming and I am not an economists. The banks want us to be at their mercy. All part of the New World Order. If we stop paying as a country, they as well as politician would be brought to their knees.
There is an alternative to living recklessly and living for the future. It's living in the moment. Greater awareness of the present moment can lead to a more more fulfilling life. There is so much beauty already present in our lives that we don't even pay attention to. Recognizing it and enjoying it doesn't require us to throw caution to the wind. We can practice it every day. I'm certainly trying to let go of some of the daily worry that accompanies me by appreciating and noticing everything wonderful that already surrounds me in the most ordinary of ways.
Oh and I think its a great plan - Obama did not "come into this" he campaigned for it, bought it and wanted it. We hardly plucked Obama off the streets and assigned this job to him, remember how badly he campaigned for it. Clinton deregulated Wall Street (Democrat.) Barney Frank (Democrat) and those like him, including Obama, supported these subprime loans for the disadvantaged or whatever the hell they were calling people with no SS number, no job, no means of paying back a house loan under the umbrella of not "discriminating. What a joke.
Obama was as much if not more a part of creating this mess then people want to hear. What a joke, he inherited this? He WANTED it. And when the truth becomes clear, his intent was and always will be to take American into Socialism and he is on a fast tract toward that end. He's moving so fast toward socialism or worse, only the 40% of the people who pay absolutely no federal income tax will ultimately benefit. Oh and yeah, the illegals he loves so much.
Let's do something responsibile. Let's vote to have ACORN and Obama who supported ACORN and the deregulation of Freedy and Fanny pay for the people these outfits strong armed others into giving loans to just beause they were minorities. That makes a hell of a lot more sense then asking ME who has never missed a house payment dispite tough financial times, to help keep them in a home they never qualified to be in.
This is Obama's idea of "spreading the wealth around." Let the minorities (whoever that is these days) and the poor and the underqualified do what they damm well want and we'll invent social programs to catch them when they fall.
Well we are well on our way to Obama's dream of spreading the wealth around, take from the responsibile and give to the irresponsible.
This will show me as a huge movie geek, but I find two quotes about this very interesting.
1) "You know, some people say life is short and that you could get hit by a bus at any moment and that you have to live each day like it's your last. Bullshit. Life is long. You're probably not gonna get hit by a bus. And you're gonna have to live with the choices you make for the next fifty years." Chris Rock - I Think I Love My Wife.
2) "I have had cancer, and believe me, during convalescence after surgery the last item on your bucket list is climbing a Himalaya. Your list is more likely to be topped by keeping down a full meal, having a triumphant bowel movement, keeping your energy up in the afternoon, letting your loved ones know you love them, and convincing the doc your reports of pain are real and not merely disguising your desire to become a drug addict." Roger Ebert, in his review of The Bucket List.
Can you please send me some info on your homemade gravity fed drip irrigation system fed by rain barrels---I would like to do this and am researching on how to set it up..Please send info to my home email. lana_calcote@yahoo.com...Thank you so much..
when I was diagnosed with cancer. When this question was a playful "what-if" game, I had always thought I would travel, have big experiences, skip the mundane tasks, etc. But when it was a very real possibility that I would die within a year, my answer was quite different. I realized that my possible impending death didn't matter to me (because I would be DEAD) but it would affect the people I loved (and who loved me) very badly. So my choice was to actually attend to all the mundane tasks that I could in order to make their life-after-me easier. Is all the insurance in order? Are the files in order? Has all my stuff been gone through and the clutter discarded? What else have I been putting off --the 529 for the kid? Is my will in good shape? Do I have any requests for memorial arrangements? Are my family's favorite recipes easily available for them? Have I told them I love them, love them, love them enough?
I guess what I am trying to say is that the "if you knew you were going to die" question has nothing to do with reality, and strikes me as self-involved navel-gazing.
It is very true about the leathery skin, i am only 21 and my friend has been tanning since she was in 7th grade. they used to have a tanning bed in their house. well now her skin is very very rough!! and she has to put lotion on herself like 5x day. So all i know is it makes your skin scaley and dry.
People always talk about the "things I'd do" if you were to learn of your impending death, but many people DO learn that their time is short and don't do anything any different. Sure, some will take the opportunity to say or do what's important to them (a la Bucket List style) but if anything, they either do nothing or they become self absorbed and ponder the afterlife (think of that bitter old Granny; we all have one).
My father was diagnosed with cancer and was told he had less than 3 months; he only lived 1 month past his diagnosis. His last few weeks were a complete and utter disappointment... which (unfortunately) aligned with his first 57 years. There were questions left unanswered and hearts that needed mending and he made no real effort to resolve anything. He never stepped up to the plate before... how foolish to think he would step up to the plate in death.
The reality is: how you behave in life is how you will behave in death.
Though it is not my intent to snip at the choice of topic selection, I am personally not a fan of this topic. If you wish to talk about values and short term pleasures or long-term goals, then talk about them. If you wish to talk about living life to the fullest, or taking care of those you care for or being fiscally (or otherwise...) responsible, then do it.
But attaching it to the "if you were to die..." question grates.
I agree with this. As a spark to get people thinking about their short-term values and long-term goals, it's not too bad. But, knowing exactly when you'd die isn't realistic (unless you intend to commit suicide at a specific point in the future, but that's a rare case). It's better to have fun while you can, save up enough that your twilight years aren't unbearable, and work to meet your goals along the way.
George Kinder, founder of the life planning movement, asks three questions designed to narrow the responses to what is really important:
1. Imagine you are financially secure, that you have enough money to take care of your needs, now and in the future. How would you live your life? Would you change anything? Let yourself go. Don’t hold back on your dreams. Describe a life that is complete and richly yours.
2. Now imagine that you visit your doctor, who tells you that you have only 5-10 years to live (guaranteed 5, no more than 10 years). You won’t ever feel sick, but you will have no notice of the moment of your death. What will you do in the time you have remaining? Will you change your life and how will you do it? (Note that this question does not assume unlimited funds.)
3. Finally, imagine that your doctor shocks you with the news that you only have 24 hours to live. Notice what feelings arise as you confront your very real mortality. Ask yourself: What did you miss? Who did you not get to be? What did you not get to do?
Note that his "24 hours to live" question doesn't ask what would you do, rather what did you not get to do.
I think these questions end up being more helpful in defining an actionable answer for you than the two extremes you asked at the beginning of your post.
You may well be right. Until actually faced with the circumstance, there's no way to know what one would choose. But as a tool to guide my thinking, what I'd really do doesn't matter as much as what I might imagine I'd do.
I'm all for any little trick or tool that helps people balance their short-term and long-term plans and choose when to grab a little short-term pleasure and when to defer it in favor of longer-term rewards. I just find that these particular tools don't do the trick for me. If they work for you, use them!
I have never heard of credit karma before but I sure as hell signed up! I have no debt outside of my mortgage and the two car leases we carry. My credit score came in at a solid 769. That is not too bad considering a year ago I was carrying $150K on credit cards for some 0% interest credit card arbitrage. Once those pesky credit requests drop off I figure I'll be over the 800 mark.
I believe my credit score is at 760, when last I checked. It's been pretty stable lately, as I've managed to avoid too much spending and wide variations in the amount of various debts I've taken on.
I purchased a used car this past weekend and was SHOCKED that my FICO score was pegged at 850. Again, the last time I ran it was in '06 when it was in the 700's. I pay my CC in full every month and maybe raising the credit limit when I can (though I steadily spend a few hundred every month) is helping the score.
I'll keep them up, as often as I find books worth talking about.
Great article. I agree.
To the people who think that Bottled water is "great and pure", THINK AGAIN. Ever heard of Globalwarming? Or, how about Global dimming? IF YOU HAVN'T WATCH THE "Inconvenient Truth" it rox.
Or here's yet ANOTHER EASY solution: BUY A METAL WATER BOTTLE Cuz the PLASTIC BOTTLES help cause cancer! METAL WATER BOTTLES are HEALTHY (unlike plastic ones) and don't waste as much! they can be used for years and years on end without any problems!
here's the key question: DO you want cancer?
Or how about this one: Do you want to totally destroy this world adn everyone in it because some of you sick jerks wrecked it all?!
THINK HARDER
First, I think a small emergency fund, say $200 or so, is a good idea. Banks CAN go under and even if they are FDIC insured, the FDIC isn't going to cut you a check the next day. Or you can have a real emergency on a weekend (some auto repairmen won't accept checks or credit cards, for example) or experience a natural disaster.
Here are a few ideas. Get a food item that comes in a canister with a lid --dog or cat food is good, because thieves won't be tempted to eat it -- clean out the can, put your cash inside and put it as far back in your pantry as you can.
Or create a fake sewer pipe cleanout, complete with screw on top, in your back yard, triple plastic bag the cash and put it in there. (Be sure to remove it if you actually ever need your sewer drain cleaned.)
C. Sykes
moneytospare.net
btw, i really like the book reviews. they're often of books i've never heard of.
Now i know why our planet is being TOTALLY ruined. THANKKS TO YOU! Some people just don't care! Your talking about Global warming and other HUGE economic problems like they have NOTHING to do with you (some people! THAT IS SO WRONG! As for "enjoying the stuff adn life even if it harms the earth" person, YOU SUCK. You think it won't affect you?! You think that it won't effect you or your little possy because you don't want it to? How about your friends or family? DON'T YOU EVEN CARE? If we continue to heat up the world with Global Warming, the sea levels will rise DRASTICALLY which means drowning out most of CHINA, INDIA, AFRICA and other small islands. MILLIONS of people will die, MILLIONS of people will be homeless and will have to move... to the countries that havn't been water logged! You OBLIVIOUS SENSLESS people who think that Global warming is some kind of joke and are sucking up Stephen Harpers words, REALLY got to see the movie "The Inconvenient Truth" and Smarten up. It's the truth, so deal with it adn take charge.
Your water tastes like Clorine BECAUSE of polution! They have to purify it with clorine so you can drink it BUT, if we all cut down on polluting and drnking bottled water, we wouldn't have to purify it!
Andrea, you rock out loud. This article has helped me so much with my project for science and taght me a TON about Bottled water and it's totally sad facts. Thank you, and keep it up!
I am so happy to find someone who says what I say. My husband and I have lived in our house for 10 years. Never missed a payment. We also bought what we could afford. Are association fee already went up because of the foreclosures. I saw this mess comming and I am not an economists. The banks want us to be at their mercy. All part of the New World Order. If we stop paying as a country, they as well as politician would be brought to their knees.
There is an alternative to living recklessly and living for the future. It's living in the moment. Greater awareness of the present moment can lead to a more more fulfilling life. There is so much beauty already present in our lives that we don't even pay attention to. Recognizing it and enjoying it doesn't require us to throw caution to the wind. We can practice it every day. I'm certainly trying to let go of some of the daily worry that accompanies me by appreciating and noticing everything wonderful that already surrounds me in the most ordinary of ways.
Oh and I think its a great plan - Obama did not "come into this" he campaigned for it, bought it and wanted it. We hardly plucked Obama off the streets and assigned this job to him, remember how badly he campaigned for it. Clinton deregulated Wall Street (Democrat.) Barney Frank (Democrat) and those like him, including Obama, supported these subprime loans for the disadvantaged or whatever the hell they were calling people with no SS number, no job, no means of paying back a house loan under the umbrella of not "discriminating. What a joke.
Obama was as much if not more a part of creating this mess then people want to hear. What a joke, he inherited this? He WANTED it. And when the truth becomes clear, his intent was and always will be to take American into Socialism and he is on a fast tract toward that end. He's moving so fast toward socialism or worse, only the 40% of the people who pay absolutely no federal income tax will ultimately benefit. Oh and yeah, the illegals he loves so much.
Let's do something responsibile. Let's vote to have ACORN and Obama who supported ACORN and the deregulation of Freedy and Fanny pay for the people these outfits strong armed others into giving loans to just beause they were minorities. That makes a hell of a lot more sense then asking ME who has never missed a house payment dispite tough financial times, to help keep them in a home they never qualified to be in.
This is Obama's idea of "spreading the wealth around." Let the minorities (whoever that is these days) and the poor and the underqualified do what they damm well want and we'll invent social programs to catch them when they fall.
Well we are well on our way to Obama's dream of spreading the wealth around, take from the responsibile and give to the irresponsible.
This will show me as a huge movie geek, but I find two quotes about this very interesting.
1) "You know, some people say life is short and that you could get hit by a bus at any moment and that you have to live each day like it's your last. Bullshit. Life is long. You're probably not gonna get hit by a bus. And you're gonna have to live with the choices you make for the next fifty years." Chris Rock - I Think I Love My Wife.
2) "I have had cancer, and believe me, during convalescence after surgery the last item on your bucket list is climbing a Himalaya. Your list is more likely to be topped by keeping down a full meal, having a triumphant bowel movement, keeping your energy up in the afternoon, letting your loved ones know you love them, and convincing the doc your reports of pain are real and not merely disguising your desire to become a drug addict." Roger Ebert, in his review of The Bucket List.
Can someone help to unlock Sony DVP-NS775V? Seems lke no onewas successful with it. PLEASE HELP!!!
Can you please send me some info on your homemade gravity fed drip irrigation system fed by rain barrels---I would like to do this and am researching on how to set it up..Please send info to my home email. lana_calcote@yahoo.com...Thank you so much..
when I was diagnosed with cancer. When this question was a playful "what-if" game, I had always thought I would travel, have big experiences, skip the mundane tasks, etc. But when it was a very real possibility that I would die within a year, my answer was quite different. I realized that my possible impending death didn't matter to me (because I would be DEAD) but it would affect the people I loved (and who loved me) very badly. So my choice was to actually attend to all the mundane tasks that I could in order to make their life-after-me easier. Is all the insurance in order? Are the files in order? Has all my stuff been gone through and the clutter discarded? What else have I been putting off --the 529 for the kid? Is my will in good shape? Do I have any requests for memorial arrangements? Are my family's favorite recipes easily available for them? Have I told them I love them, love them, love them enough?
I guess what I am trying to say is that the "if you knew you were going to die" question has nothing to do with reality, and strikes me as self-involved navel-gazing.
It is very true about the leathery skin, i am only 21 and my friend has been tanning since she was in 7th grade. they used to have a tanning bed in their house. well now her skin is very very rough!! and she has to put lotion on herself like 5x day. So all i know is it makes your skin scaley and dry.
People always talk about the "things I'd do" if you were to learn of your impending death, but many people DO learn that their time is short and don't do anything any different. Sure, some will take the opportunity to say or do what's important to them (a la Bucket List style) but if anything, they either do nothing or they become self absorbed and ponder the afterlife (think of that bitter old Granny; we all have one).
My father was diagnosed with cancer and was told he had less than 3 months; he only lived 1 month past his diagnosis. His last few weeks were a complete and utter disappointment... which (unfortunately) aligned with his first 57 years. There were questions left unanswered and hearts that needed mending and he made no real effort to resolve anything. He never stepped up to the plate before... how foolish to think he would step up to the plate in death.
The reality is: how you behave in life is how you will behave in death.
Though it is not my intent to snip at the choice of topic selection, I am personally not a fan of this topic. If you wish to talk about values and short term pleasures or long-term goals, then talk about them. If you wish to talk about living life to the fullest, or taking care of those you care for or being fiscally (or otherwise...) responsible, then do it.
But attaching it to the "if you were to die..." question grates.
For me.
Worth every penny paid, of course.
Thought provoking as usual, Philip!
My credit score just jumped from 670 to 694. I thought i would get if up to 700 by fall but it seems like it will be this spring or summer :-D
I agree with this. As a spark to get people thinking about their short-term values and long-term goals, it's not too bad. But, knowing exactly when you'd die isn't realistic (unless you intend to commit suicide at a specific point in the future, but that's a rare case). It's better to have fun while you can, save up enough that your twilight years aren't unbearable, and work to meet your goals along the way.
George Kinder, founder of the life planning movement, asks three questions designed to narrow the responses to what is really important:
1. Imagine you are financially secure, that you have enough money to take care of your needs, now and in the future. How would you live your life? Would you change anything? Let yourself go. Don’t hold back on your dreams. Describe a life that is complete and richly yours.
2. Now imagine that you visit your doctor, who tells you that you have only 5-10 years to live (guaranteed 5, no more than 10 years). You won’t ever feel sick, but you will have no notice of the moment of your death. What will you do in the time you have remaining? Will you change your life and how will you do it? (Note that this question does not assume unlimited funds.)
3. Finally, imagine that your doctor shocks you with the news that you only have 24 hours to live. Notice what feelings arise as you confront your very real mortality. Ask yourself: What did you miss? Who did you not get to be? What did you not get to do?
Note that his "24 hours to live" question doesn't ask what would you do, rather what did you not get to do.
I think these questions end up being more helpful in defining an actionable answer for you than the two extremes you asked at the beginning of your post.
More in this 3 minute video on youtube.
@Greg:
You may well be right. Until actually faced with the circumstance, there's no way to know what one would choose. But as a tool to guide my thinking, what I'd really do doesn't matter as much as what I might imagine I'd do.
I'm all for any little trick or tool that helps people balance their short-term and long-term plans and choose when to grab a little short-term pleasure and when to defer it in favor of longer-term rewards. I just find that these particular tools don't do the trick for me. If they work for you, use them!
I have never heard of credit karma before but I sure as hell signed up! I have no debt outside of my mortgage and the two car leases we carry. My credit score came in at a solid 769. That is not too bad considering a year ago I was carrying $150K on credit cards for some 0% interest credit card arbitrage. Once those pesky credit requests drop off I figure I'll be over the 800 mark.