I wouldn't buy a Toyota, now, even though I've owned 3 of them. I don't think they have the whole problem. I have a 98' and in 2004 I was having problems with the car accelerating on it's own and also revving up w/o my foot pushed on the gas. It got fixed, but I'm concerned now that their problem could go back years more than 2002.
And tonight I listened to Charlie Rose's show (you can see it online) and really got the feeling that there is a lot more to the problem than even Toyota knows.
I would wait till all the problems have been fixed, even though buying will cost me more. Nothing more important than my safety.
40 years of driving gives you some street cred IMO. Besides, like you said, every car maker has recalls and the gov'ment doesn't make as much as a fuss. I agree with many others above. Seems like this administration is out to negatively impact Toyota so benefit GM.
Since I started driving 40 years ago, I've owned mostly American-made cars, and they were ALL subject to recalls of varying degrees. Two years ago I bought my first Toyota (Highlander) and I absolutely love it. First quality. A simple recall, even major as this one is, in the grand scheme of things should not dissuade anyone from buying Toyota.
I'm trying out that acid i put it on my arm about a week and 1/2 ago...it doesn't look like it's fading right now, but the skin is discolored and some of it's flaking off. I think it takes like a year and you gotta keep re-applying it every month. I'll let you know if it starts fading or something.
Unfortunately it is illegal to share medications. If the person for some reason got in trouble and said, Oh I got them from so and so you would be charged. It is a shame with meds as expensive as they are.
My brother works for a company that supplies the meds to nursing homes, jails, prisons etc. They do not sell to the public. If a patient in one of these facilities dies say a day after they just got a month supply of meds, these meds have to be sent back to the company my brother works for and then they have to destroy them. It is sick the amount that gets thrown away. My brother said, too bad if we here in the US cannot keep them that they could not at least be sent to other countries who are so desperately in need of these drugs. Or as in what is happening now in Haiti. But, no they are destroyed.....
Here in MN our home is set at 70 degrees across the board on our programable thermostat. When it gets into the minus degree weather, we go up to 72. Natural gas prices are low this year. We have a 3 bedroom home and to keep it nice and warm it costs all of $58 a month. This also includes our water heater and stove which are both gas. We are on a budget plan so it is the same amount each month that we pay. Come summer when we do not use much we get credit on our bill. I just cannot subject family, friends and especially our 2 year old grandson to freezing temps when they come. And yes, I do avoid going to some friends houses who insist that 60-62 degrees is fine. I will not wear a hat or gloves while I am at home. Do we layer, sure. I love my sweats and fuzzy socks in the winter. But scarves, gloves, hats and longjohns are for when I am going to be outside, not inside! Oh, and the friends who do keep their houses cold, everyone of them has perpetual colds all winter, so you will never convince me it is healthier!
if I don't think it's worth my time or effort, but it's something someone else might be able to fix, use or clean up, I'll try and find a home for it. Rummage sales (sometimes free piles), Freecycle, or charity donations (if it's not in bad shape).
Whats the big deal? So they sent a card free. I'd consider myself lucky. Netspend offers the most innocuos electronic monetary service of them all. Plus Its prettynaive of you to think in this modern age you have any type of privacy protection. At least you've got a heads up now thanks to netspend
Good post...but just to point out, you say it is unfair to the neigbhor who did not make the same mistake...the truth is that the neighbior's house was overvalued because people who bought houses who should not have...so the defaulters may be responsible for bringing the houses in your area down, but they are also responsible from lifting them up in the first place...so it is kind of a wash....
I'm currently driving a 1995 Toyota Previa van, and it is absolutely one of the best vehicles I have ever owned. It gets 34 miles per gallon and doesn't burn oil, plus it has more than 218,000 miles on it! When I want to check the oil, I don't have to get a magnifying glass to read a dipstick, I just lift the hood, look at the large oil reservoir and see if the oil has dropped to the line that says "fill." It plows through snow like a tank, and handles with precision on the highway. The rear seats flip easily to the side to add an extra 4 feet of cargo area.
A friend of ours finally sold their 1978 (yes- 1978) Toyota Corolla. Like our van, it started every time they turned the key, got great mileage and burned very little oil.
Thanks for bringing up the inflation issue because that is something that I should have touched on as well. I am of the opinion that high inflation could be on the horizon so that was another element that was in favor of me making the choice I did. Thanks!
You make a great point in that for many people they simply sleep better at night if they have X amount of debt or are taking X amount of risk in the market. If that is the case for you then by all means don't overextend yourself to the point where you always feel uneasy. Granted that kind of thinking may also be a mental block to holding you back from embarking on certain ventures that you think are too risky but its important to remember that there is risk in everything we do - even working at a safe cushy office job where we think that we could never get laid off... Just something to think about. Thanks!
Thanks RJ, I agree that it all boils down to any one individual's opportunity cost. If you are currently working on starting your own side business then I would consider using some of that money that you would otherwise use to pay off your mortgage early and instead plow it into your company (if you truly believe in yourself). Of course, it all depends on how much you believe in what you are doing but I know that from the perspective of an outside investor if they came to you to invest in your company and you didn't believe enough in it to invest your own money then they would see a problem. Good luck!
Thanks Q, it really all boils down to the "personal" part that I mentioned in the article because each and every person has different goals, risk tolerances, opportunities, etc.
That being said I am a firm believer in building wealth via the accumulation of appreciating/income producing assets especially given that I believe that those who hoard cash (even in a high yield savings account) could get punished if we get hit with high inflation in the near future (a strong possibility).
There are many different types of "alternative asset classes" that could be considered but it all really depends on the individual. Hope that this helps!
Great article, but what types of appreciating and/or income producing assets would you suggest to those who don't have a side business? As far as I'm concerned, the mortgage is getting enough of my income already. My initially high-interest savings gradually dwindled to about 2%. As mentioned above, our current strategy is investing in the house itself.
"Buying a 53.00 starter pistol as a 'deterrent' from anything but false starts at a swim meet in other words, is a mistake."
That just shows your own ignorance.
Every year, people in the United States use guns to defend themselves against criminals an estimated 2,500,000 times – more than 6,500 people a day, or once every 13 seconds. Of the
2,500,000 times citizens use guns to defend themselves, 92% merely brandish their gun or fire a warning shot to scare off their attackers.(source: Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, Fall 1995)
A 1995 study not good enough?
When using guns in self-defense, 91.1% of the time not a single shot is fired. (source: National Crime Victimization Survey, 2000)
Definitely not. I was going to buy a Prius but was led to an article in a Seattle paper that covered many cases of automatic acceleration. There were no deaths, but the experiences recounted made me feel that car was unsafe. What disturbed me was the way that Toyota handled it. The company placed the blame on the driver, often claiming they must have run out of gas!
When Steve Wozniak (co-founder of Apple) tried to alert Toyota through his dealer and other sources, he was blown off until he blogged about it.
The reason I would never buy a Toyota is the way that the acceleration problems for the Prius were handled by the company. This is not a company that I feel has the safety of its customers foremost.
Yesterday the Seattle Times covered one unlucky motorist who survived:
"His complaint was one of more than 100 submitted by U.S. motorists who reported problems with Prius speed controls for model years 2004 through 2010."
I unfortunately had to turn to a payday loan and still owe them $141.00. I am a single parent of three kids and can only afford to pay them in payments. They refuse to accept a payment plan. Today I had one of the supervisors call me and say that I must have my lawyer contact them by 1pm regarding my loan or they were going to be filing fraud charges for a bounced automatic withdrawl from my bank account. Also that they had put a hold on my drivers license and he proceeded to give me my drivers license number.
I explained that my hours and pay had been cut at work and that I could only afford payments of $25.00 every two weeks, they responded that I could not pay on my own terms and that I should have thought about not being able to pay before signing up for the loan. Again I told him my circumstances had changed and that at no time had I said that I wasn't going to pay off the loan. I had every intention of paying it off, only I couldn't pay in full.
Can they put a hold on your drivers license??? How do I deal with people like this? I need your help!!!
So, so, so, so true. If you have more money at the end of each month than you did at the end of the previous month, then there is no need for a plan. This has always been my financial strategy. Personal finance sites are so big on having to have goals- but how am I supposed to know what my goals are? I want to have a baby at some point, but that's going to be planned around my life rather than my finances. I might have a baby and then buy a house. Or buy a house and then have a baby. Or never have a baby and never buy a house, etc. etc. There is no need for me to save $4273 for the baby and $4901 for the house. Spend as little as possible, save as much as possible, and you'll always be able to do what you want to do- including spending your time on other things than making financial plans!
I will say that I enjoy keeping track of my net worth and expenses using spreadsheets, but it's essentially because it's fun- not because I have to have a plan. I find my expenses fluctuate wildly, and yet I've never had a continuous downturn in net worth except for the odd unemployed summer or the financial crisis.
I have key for gun..................///////////but what a nice gme
I like very much
I wouldn't buy a Toyota, now, even though I've owned 3 of them. I don't think they have the whole problem. I have a 98' and in 2004 I was having problems with the car accelerating on it's own and also revving up w/o my foot pushed on the gas. It got fixed, but I'm concerned now that their problem could go back years more than 2002.
And tonight I listened to Charlie Rose's show (you can see it online) and really got the feeling that there is a lot more to the problem than even Toyota knows.
I would wait till all the problems have been fixed, even though buying will cost me more. Nothing more important than my safety.
40 years of driving gives you some street cred IMO. Besides, like you said, every car maker has recalls and the gov'ment doesn't make as much as a fuss. I agree with many others above. Seems like this administration is out to negatively impact Toyota so benefit GM.
Since I started driving 40 years ago, I've owned mostly American-made cars, and they were ALL subject to recalls of varying degrees. Two years ago I bought my first Toyota (Highlander) and I absolutely love it. First quality. A simple recall, even major as this one is, in the grand scheme of things should not dissuade anyone from buying Toyota.
In NY, NJ area. Always looking for long hair to buy.
If local feel free to contact me.
I'm trying out that acid i put it on my arm about a week and 1/2 ago...it doesn't look like it's fading right now, but the skin is discolored and some of it's flaking off. I think it takes like a year and you gotta keep re-applying it every month. I'll let you know if it starts fading or something.
Unfortunately it is illegal to share medications. If the person for some reason got in trouble and said, Oh I got them from so and so you would be charged. It is a shame with meds as expensive as they are.
My brother works for a company that supplies the meds to nursing homes, jails, prisons etc. They do not sell to the public. If a patient in one of these facilities dies say a day after they just got a month supply of meds, these meds have to be sent back to the company my brother works for and then they have to destroy them. It is sick the amount that gets thrown away. My brother said, too bad if we here in the US cannot keep them that they could not at least be sent to other countries who are so desperately in need of these drugs. Or as in what is happening now in Haiti. But, no they are destroyed.....
http://twitter.com/cmouse01/status/8709781787
Here in MN our home is set at 70 degrees across the board on our programable thermostat. When it gets into the minus degree weather, we go up to 72. Natural gas prices are low this year. We have a 3 bedroom home and to keep it nice and warm it costs all of $58 a month. This also includes our water heater and stove which are both gas. We are on a budget plan so it is the same amount each month that we pay. Come summer when we do not use much we get credit on our bill. I just cannot subject family, friends and especially our 2 year old grandson to freezing temps when they come. And yes, I do avoid going to some friends houses who insist that 60-62 degrees is fine. I will not wear a hat or gloves while I am at home. Do we layer, sure. I love my sweats and fuzzy socks in the winter. But scarves, gloves, hats and longjohns are for when I am going to be outside, not inside! Oh, and the friends who do keep their houses cold, everyone of them has perpetual colds all winter, so you will never convince me it is healthier!
if I don't think it's worth my time or effort, but it's something someone else might be able to fix, use or clean up, I'll try and find a home for it. Rummage sales (sometimes free piles), Freecycle, or charity donations (if it's not in bad shape).
Please send me a copy of my policy
Please send to
Mr Abdullah M. Saaba
1224 Ellsworth Street
Philadelphia, PA 19147
Whats the big deal? So they sent a card free. I'd consider myself lucky. Netspend offers the most innocuos electronic monetary service of them all. Plus Its prettynaive of you to think in this modern age you have any type of privacy protection. At least you've got a heads up now thanks to netspend
Good post...but just to point out, you say it is unfair to the neigbhor who did not make the same mistake...the truth is that the neighbior's house was overvalued because people who bought houses who should not have...so the defaulters may be responsible for bringing the houses in your area down, but they are also responsible from lifting them up in the first place...so it is kind of a wash....
I'm currently driving a 1995 Toyota Previa van, and it is absolutely one of the best vehicles I have ever owned. It gets 34 miles per gallon and doesn't burn oil, plus it has more than 218,000 miles on it! When I want to check the oil, I don't have to get a magnifying glass to read a dipstick, I just lift the hood, look at the large oil reservoir and see if the oil has dropped to the line that says "fill." It plows through snow like a tank, and handles with precision on the highway. The rear seats flip easily to the side to add an extra 4 feet of cargo area.
A friend of ours finally sold their 1978 (yes- 1978) Toyota Corolla. Like our van, it started every time they turned the key, got great mileage and burned very little oil.
I would definitely buy another Toyota!
@ Len
Thanks for bringing up the inflation issue because that is something that I should have touched on as well. I am of the opinion that high inflation could be on the horizon so that was another element that was in favor of me making the choice I did. Thanks!
@Anthony
You make a great point in that for many people they simply sleep better at night if they have X amount of debt or are taking X amount of risk in the market. If that is the case for you then by all means don't overextend yourself to the point where you always feel uneasy. Granted that kind of thinking may also be a mental block to holding you back from embarking on certain ventures that you think are too risky but its important to remember that there is risk in everything we do - even working at a safe cushy office job where we think that we could never get laid off... Just something to think about. Thanks!
Thanks RJ, I agree that it all boils down to any one individual's opportunity cost. If you are currently working on starting your own side business then I would consider using some of that money that you would otherwise use to pay off your mortgage early and instead plow it into your company (if you truly believe in yourself). Of course, it all depends on how much you believe in what you are doing but I know that from the perspective of an outside investor if they came to you to invest in your company and you didn't believe enough in it to invest your own money then they would see a problem. Good luck!
Thanks Q, it really all boils down to the "personal" part that I mentioned in the article because each and every person has different goals, risk tolerances, opportunities, etc.
That being said I am a firm believer in building wealth via the accumulation of appreciating/income producing assets especially given that I believe that those who hoard cash (even in a high yield savings account) could get punished if we get hit with high inflation in the near future (a strong possibility).
A few ideas to consider:
1. Businesses
2. Real Estate
3. Gold
4. Domain Names
5. Websites/Online Businesses
There are many different types of "alternative asset classes" that could be considered but it all really depends on the individual. Hope that this helps!
My husband and I relocated 2 states away (from NJ to MD). We were both offered a large relocation bonus as well as a very nice relocation package.
There was no reason for us not to relocate. We still live within 2 hours of his family.
Great article, but what types of appreciating and/or income producing assets would you suggest to those who don't have a side business? As far as I'm concerned, the mortgage is getting enough of my income already. My initially high-interest savings gradually dwindled to about 2%. As mentioned above, our current strategy is investing in the house itself.
"Buying a 53.00 starter pistol as a 'deterrent' from anything but false starts at a swim meet in other words, is a mistake."
That just shows your own ignorance.
Every year, people in the United States use guns to defend themselves against criminals an estimated 2,500,000 times – more than 6,500 people a day, or once every 13 seconds. Of the
2,500,000 times citizens use guns to defend themselves, 92% merely brandish their gun or fire a warning shot to scare off their attackers.(source: Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, Fall 1995)
A 1995 study not good enough?
When using guns in self-defense, 91.1% of the time not a single shot is fired. (source: National Crime Victimization Survey, 2000)
Don't be led around by fear and ignorance.
Thanks so much for including my post, you guys. Happy Super Bowl!
Definitely not. I was going to buy a Prius but was led to an article in a Seattle paper that covered many cases of automatic acceleration. There were no deaths, but the experiences recounted made me feel that car was unsafe. What disturbed me was the way that Toyota handled it. The company placed the blame on the driver, often claiming they must have run out of gas!
When Steve Wozniak (co-founder of Apple) tried to alert Toyota through his dealer and other sources, he was blown off until he blogged about it.
The reason I would never buy a Toyota is the way that the acceleration problems for the Prius were handled by the company. This is not a company that I feel has the safety of its customers foremost.
Yesterday the Seattle Times covered one unlucky motorist who survived:
"His complaint was one of more than 100 submitted by U.S. motorists who reported problems with Prius speed controls for model years 2004 through 2010."
I unfortunately had to turn to a payday loan and still owe them $141.00. I am a single parent of three kids and can only afford to pay them in payments. They refuse to accept a payment plan. Today I had one of the supervisors call me and say that I must have my lawyer contact them by 1pm regarding my loan or they were going to be filing fraud charges for a bounced automatic withdrawl from my bank account. Also that they had put a hold on my drivers license and he proceeded to give me my drivers license number.
I explained that my hours and pay had been cut at work and that I could only afford payments of $25.00 every two weeks, they responded that I could not pay on my own terms and that I should have thought about not being able to pay before signing up for the loan. Again I told him my circumstances had changed and that at no time had I said that I wasn't going to pay off the loan. I had every intention of paying it off, only I couldn't pay in full.
Can they put a hold on your drivers license??? How do I deal with people like this? I need your help!!!
Sincerely,
Lourdes
So, so, so, so true. If you have more money at the end of each month than you did at the end of the previous month, then there is no need for a plan. This has always been my financial strategy. Personal finance sites are so big on having to have goals- but how am I supposed to know what my goals are? I want to have a baby at some point, but that's going to be planned around my life rather than my finances. I might have a baby and then buy a house. Or buy a house and then have a baby. Or never have a baby and never buy a house, etc. etc. There is no need for me to save $4273 for the baby and $4901 for the house. Spend as little as possible, save as much as possible, and you'll always be able to do what you want to do- including spending your time on other things than making financial plans!
I will say that I enjoy keeping track of my net worth and expenses using spreadsheets, but it's essentially because it's fun- not because I have to have a plan. I find my expenses fluctuate wildly, and yet I've never had a continuous downturn in net worth except for the odd unemployed summer or the financial crisis.