Saving versus spending

Purchasing things gives us a sense of power and especially when we use a credit card to make those buys. You walk into a retail store with $52.00 in your wallet, $364.00in checking, and $1,070.00 in savings and walk out with the exact amount of money plus whatever items or items you "just had to have" from the vendor.

You have a great rate on your credit card and the minimum monthly payment is low at 2%. With an interest rate of only ten percent, it would take one 50 years to pay off the balance at minimum if no interest was added but the balance will double every ten years (actually much less since there a probably fees involved like annual fees and special transaction fees).

You find saving money hard because for every dollar saved you have once less dollar to spend. Are yoiu forever stuck in this determintal financial lifestyle?

We spend money we never see but force ourselves to open our wallets in order to save. If we could reverse this process, saving would be much easier. We can.

I have a jug at home and each payday I put $10.00 in my jug. On the next payday, I put another $10.00 plus all the money I have left in my wallet goes into that jug. All my spare change goes into another container on a daily bases. When I can actually see and feel the money I've saved I feel better and I find it addictive, I soon begin to l,ook for ways to spend less.

Since I don't use credut cards, I have to actually open my wallet everytime I want to make a purchase. I don't use my bank card to make purchases either as that still makes one have the feeling that its not real money being spent.

Sometimes I wish I had a credit card so I can buy the things I want when I want them but that would only serve to reduce future income (by an amount much greater than the cost of the item bought) and if I can't live off what I make now or don't have any extra to save, then I certainly don't have any extra to spend.

Each week my money is deposited directly into my checking account. I stop by the bank and make a withdrawal of my allowance each payday. A certain percentage of my pay is saved in my retirement account before I get paid and a certain percentage is saved in a money market account after I get paid. If I spend all my money before next payday then I do without. I have to make spending decisions wisely.

If there is something I need and have to have it now, like a car repair, then I can take it out of the money market. If it is sometime I need but it doesn't have to be right now, I can budget for it or find alternative means. An example would be if my lawnmower quit, I could hire someone for a few weeks to cut my grass or I could just use the push mower, or I could borrow a mower from a friend or neighbor.

If one follows a sound savings and spending policy, then one doesn't need credit cards, even for an emergency. That may have been a good excuse back when we had to write checks but it certainly isn't an excuse today. The truth is, it wasn't a good excuse way back when. During my college days, I had gone to visit a friend of mine and found my the unfortunate victim of a muggler. (This was the days before most banks used computers and the smaller banks which did rented computer time from bigger banks). I went to a local Western Union and had them wire my bank for emergency funds. In a few hours I was good to go again. No credit card needed: only a good savings plan.

Changing times and righteous statements

Another blogger and I were once close and I was a strong supporter in that bloggers cause but I'm not important enough to hang with, especially after I tested a friend of that bloggers and found that friend wanting. The Asheboro paper is that bloggers second most hated publication so I'm sure the letter to the editor by Mr. Overton was missed. Too bad. That was one righteous statement he made.

747 buzzes New York

http://blog.trutv.com/dumb_as_a_blog/2009/04/air-force-dumb.html

Idol bigotry

I was reading some comments that the American Idol TV show is bigoted because so few of its contestants and finalists were black. African-Americans make up 15% of the population of the USA. Three out of the last seven winners (Jordon Sparks, Fantasia, and Ruben) were black. Just because Lil Rounds was unceremoniously eliminated wasn't because she was black. Her leaving has been a forgone conclusion . Who could American Idol stand her up with and created suspense about which one was going home?

Really?

Innovation

Lately, companies have been getting very innovative. Normally that would be a good thing but remember it was innovative financing schemes that put the world in such a financial mess. Because of the financial crisis and declining revenues, the creative juices are now flowing but instead of bringing us new products, more efficient products, or less expensive products, companies are finding innovative ways for us to pay more for the products and services we are already using.

An example of this is the new service plan for my phone. Instead of the straight 10 cents a minute phone rate, I now have to pay a $6.99 per month service charge. Another example is I reveived an e-mail that had an attachment from Kodak but in order to view the pictures Kodak required that I join their photo club. It was also true that Kodak is now requiring a certain dollar amount of their products and services be purchased by club memebers in order to continue to use their service.

I guess the big one was Time-Warner wanting to charge people by their bandwith usage. Lots of people were really mad about that one.

Is this what America has come too? Companies finding new ways to rip off their customers is not the way they should be doing business. I miss the old Mom and Pop stores were advice was free, help was plentiful, and clerks knew what they were talking about. Sure, thing seemed to cost a little more and one had to search a little harder to find what they needed, but what we have given up in order to get convenience and cheaper prices has cost us more that most of us will ever know.

Two spouses working in the same family meant only that ones kids were finally grown and life was probably getting boring. Now its necessary for survival. Think about it. Have all our innovations really improved our lives? it just doesn't sem so anymore.

Electric roads

Instead on electric cars, wouldn't it be cheaper and safer to make electric roads. Sort of like bumper cars?

Susan Boyle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxPZh4AnWyk&NR=1 (cut and paste)


You've got to listen to this. WOW!

more pain

Writing with crippled hands is hard enough. Now I have tendonitus in my right shoulder. ouch!

credit card myths

I think it is absolutely preposterous to believe that the solution for this ailing economy is to begin using our credit cards again. Somnehow we have been sold a bill of goods that the way our fathers lived (pay as you go) keep this country from growing and we have accumulatyed so many things now because we purchase on credit.

I believe we have less because we purchase on credit. Someone else has more but not us. Really.

For example, let's say I make have a take home paycheck of $400.00 per week. I just purchased a new home and now I have to cut the grass everyweek. It's hard with a push lawn mower so I want to buy a riding mower but the one I want cost $1,200.00. I can either save for it or buy it now on credit. The hardware store has a deal on it. Get their crdit card and save $10.00 and buy the mower for just $48.00 a month. (You figure it out-if I make just the minimum payment at 16% interest, just how much is that mower going to cost me when I get it paid for?)

I also want a china cabinet yo display my beautiful dishes. I find a great bargin for only $1389.00 so I put it on my Visa (13.9% interest) and only have to pay %59.00 per month. I also charge the labor to install a water pond in my back yard since i don't feel like digging the big hole. The $800.00 bill goes on my Discovery card.

I could have waited a year or so and saved up the money and paid cash. The drawbacks to that is the price may have increased, I might have missed a once-in-a-lifetime sale, and I have lose the interest I would have made if that money had remained in the bank.

What if instead I took out a whole life insurance policy with the idea that I wanted a huge reserve to to borrow money from not not for the death benefits. I would draw interest on the face value of the policy even if I borrowed the cash value so I would not lose the interest, I would have a savings plan that would allow me to take advantage of those once-in-a lifetime deals, I can buy it now and I would also know the income accumulating in my policy was tax free income.

Wow. I can have it now, not accumulate debt, and still make interest on my investments.

Go ahead, Get yourself another card. I like my way better.

dtwd

Don't text while driving (please).




"Shasta County prosecutor Stephanie Bridgett said the 49-year-old woman had paid several bills by cell phone in the moments before the crash.

She was in the middle of one of those transactions when she struck a vehicle that burst into flames, killing 46-year-old Petra Winn.

Defense attorney Jeffrey Stotter said he will appeal."



I think if a lawyer appeals a conviction and loses, the client should receive a longer sentence and.or the attorney should forfeit pay. Some appeals should be automatic to ensure proper procedures were followed but to tie up the court system just because one doesn't like the outcome is getting out of hand. I'm sure, in this case, the dead woman would like a do over too but her fate is final.

firefox

I tried firefox and was pleased by the limited number of adware added to my computer but was irratated to have to enter my info to log into my e-mail every time I wanted to check my mail. If they could fix that problem I would use firefox but it was too much of an irratant. On a happier note, somebody finally beat Villanova.

Pet Peeves

This is the time I like to take to rant about things that bug me. I have been keeping this rant under my hat for quite a while because some of my co-workers read my old blog so I wasn't free to express myself. You see, this rant involves them.

I take pride in my work, striving to produce the best quality I can while still doing my best to be a productive employee. One of my co-workers believes his value to the company lies in the fact that he can out-produce everyone else. He does that by using methods that makes things harder on his fellow co-workers, producing inferior products, and skirting company policies on dating.

A good example of this is in the making of some of our specialty items. I take the time to measure the ingredients according to the recipes provided us while the other guy eyeballs his ingredients. I could write twenty or thirty pages on the irritating things this guy does and the short cuts he takes just so he can brag about how fast he is but I won't. sometimes I get so frustrated with some of the things this man does wish I could afford to quit.

In case one of you may be thinking I am just expressing my dislikes because he is the number one guy and I am his back-up, suffice it to be know that all of my co-workers feel the same about his work as I do and everyone assistant that has come through our market (we are the training store so that number is quite substantial) has attempted to talk the manager into making me the number one guy. No "because the other guy is faster" is the reply.

I suppose the way the manager looks at things, he is the more profitable cutter.

Suppose he cuts $2000 worth of product of which 10% gets marked down and I cut $1600.00 worth of product of which only 4% gets marked down, I actually made more net profit for the company but he put more dollars through on the sales side and our bonuses are figured on % of sales and not profit dollars.

I guess he cuts enough passable meat so everyone can find a descent piece for their family and the bagin hunters can always get their discount. But I look at the long range picture and believe the key to building a business is customer satisfaction and doing a good job consistently.