Radical Money Saving Strategies You Can ImplementToday
82
Start Fresh, Think Green
I've been watching our economy unravel for the last year or two. In recent weeks Wall Street and the financial industry have gotten so much worse. The whole economy seems to be unraveling faster and faster. At the same time, working class people, like auto workers, have been getting the third degree and have had to listen to southern politicians harangue them for their insane wage and benefit packages.
Right...
Listen: The average starting wage for a Detroit auto worker is between $15 and $25 an hour. The $77 per hour figure you hear thrown around on the news is an imaginary number arrived at by taking all the UAW employees still living today and the total cost of all their benefit and retirement packages, and dividing that by the number of active workers. No one on the line in Detroit is making $77 an hour. $15 to $25 totals between $30K and $50K per year. If you're raising a family on that amount of money right now, you know it is no fortune, not by any stretch of the imagination.
However, Richard Fuld, the former CEO of Lehman Brothers, was making roughly $17,000 per hour the week that bank went belly up, and he kept every penny of it and defended his right to do so, straightfaced, in front of a Congressional committee.
So go ahead. You tell me who is overpaid here.
I think my personal breaking point came when, without consulting anyone, least of all the taxpayers, our federal government put itself on the hook to CItigroup for over $1 trillion, and that was just for starters. Citi has been in trouble for years and years. Huge and unwieldly, it has long been criticized even by its own stockholders for being too big and disorganized, and too prone to waste and risky decisions.
I've had a Mastercard with Citi for nearly twenty years. Seven years ago when I found myself unexpectedly facing divorce, I missed a single monthly payment to Citigroup. I had a good job I was about to start, I'd made on-time payments for twelve years and always paid more than the minimum billed. My credit rating was excellent.
But for that single month, I had no money whatsoever. I didn't even have an apartment yet--I was living with my daughter until I could move into my own place. Most of the charges on that card were from my ex's business; things I foolishly put on my personal credit card thinking I was "helping" him. I left him when he quit paying his taxes amd started drinking heavily. I took my clothes and my computer and my car and filed for divorce.
Here's what Citigroup did for me in my time of crisis: They hiked my interest rate to 29.8% and kept it there for the next three years. As a result, seven years later, I'm still paying on my ex's business debts on that Citi card AND now my tax dollars--lots of them--are going directly to Citi and its stockholders to bail them out of their own bad management decisions.
Why am I bailing out Citi when Citi couldn't cut me a single millimeter of slack after over a decade of being an ideal customer? A conservative reckoning puts my personal taxpayer share of the government Citi bailout at around $24,000. I don't know about you, but $24,000 is a lot of money in my world, more than enough money to pay off whatever debt I actually still owe to Citi many times over. (And that's over and above the many times over I've already paid that debt once I factor in their exorbitant interest practices.)
This whole financial crisis is changing my perspective radically. I'm serious: I'm turning into some kind of financial radical, and for me, that's saying something. I'm the kind of person who breaks out in a cold sweat if the utility bill isn't mailed out at least seven days before the due date.
That attitude is changing. Fast.
So, along those lines, I've compiled a list of money-saving ideas that you won't find in any financial planning book, but which do work, if you have the stomach to implement them.
Disclaimer: If you decide to employ any of these strategies, they are your own responsibility, not mine. Keep in mind that your government doesn't care about you, Citi really doesn't care about you, and I do care about you but I'm broke.
OK, let's get started!
How to Screw with the Economy & Save Yourself
Work for Cash. Do you find yourself wondering lately what paying your income taxes is doing for you personally? I'm not prone to radical thoughts along these lines, but lately, the enormous sums being pledged by our government against my empty pocketbook to bail out obscenely wealthy fat cats--all of that is getting on my last nerve.
The truth is, I'm not at all sure I personally want to participate in that kind of thing anymore. I mean, why not cut out the middle man and just find a rich guy and give him all my money? It's hard to avoid tax obligations when you have a traditional job. Technically, any work a person does for cash is also supposed to be declared to the IRS and then taxes must be paid on that income. Off the record, if the IRS can't prove you made that cash, you didn't make it. Think about that. It's worth thinking about. And barter is fair game too.
Quit Your Abusive Corporate Job. And starve? Come on, you won't starve. What you will do is rearrange your life radically. You'll live differently, you'll work differently, and most importantly, you'll withdraw your labor from something you find abhorrent and unjust, not to mention crazymaking. I'm no Ayn Rand fan, not by a longshot, but seriously, if we continue to allow these folks to abuse us financially, emotionally, and intellectually, they'll just keep on doing it. All we have is our time. Keep yours for yourself. It's your life.
Organize, organize, organize. What??? Lose even more jobs to China by unionizing the few shops we have left? The truth is, nothing will stop a company from withdrawing those jobs if they think they can shave a couple bucks an hour off their labor costs. India and China are developing fast, which means they are rapidly approaching the point where abuse doesn't feel that great to them either. We don't need fewer unions, we need global unions.
Do you think it's fine if everyone in America makes $8 an hour or less? Do you think that kind of wage will sustain a "consumer economy"? Do you think people deserve to die at their crappy Walmart job just because it's Black Friday and they were standing in the wrong place? Do you think it's OK for meat packing companies to employ children from El Salvador who lose limbs on the cutting floor and work 14 hour shifts? Do you think it's OK for office workers to be required to pee off the clock?
The choice is yours, really. Go ahead and help the South bust up the few remaining unions so they can attract more foreign manufacturing jobs with low wages and crappy working conditions, then stock up on bandaides and aspirin--or re-watch Norma Rae and get busy.
Declare Informal Bankruptcy. Recently the Bush administration made it lots harder for people weighed down by debt to discharge those debts by filing bankruptcy. That's the sort of action that makes responsible people feel smug and judgemental--until they get very sick and accrue huge medical debts, or go through a nasty divorce, or lose a job, or all of the above.
Most bankruptcies in the U.S. are filed because of medical debt--debt that no one except Richard Fuld could pay. But there are also lots of people with hideous unsecured debt (credit cards) who are paying as much as 33% interest on the debt, plus fees and other charges. If they pay on the debt for the rest of their lives, they will never pay it back. That's exactly what the credit card companies want--customers who pay pure interest on principal they never begin to pay down, no matter how hard they try.
If you are one of these people, stop paying them. Just stop. The practice of just giving up on repaying that kind of usurious debt is being called 'informal bankruptcy'. Will it ruin your credit rating? Yes, immediately. Will they come after you for it? Yes. But there are limits on what they can do. They can't show up at your place of work, and you don't have to take debt collection phone calls. They have to go through A LOT to attach your wages or freeze your bank account, and most of the time they won't do that. If they do it, or if they file a judgement against you, you'll have to get an attorney. But about 80% of the time they will eventually just give up and write off your debt. Then, use cash. Spend less. Forget about credit cards forever.
If everyone who is in trouble with credit cards did this, it would cripple the industry overnight. They fully deserve that, and it will probably happen anyway, as more and more people find themselves out of work and unable to pay. We used to be able to at least deduct the interest paid on our debts from our income taxes, but that hasn't been an option for many years. Since we lost that, the credit card industry has lobbied for more and more exploitive practices, and in spite of making money hand over first, is now sucking up taxpayer money to boot.
Live Off the Grid. It's not easy, but chances are there are several things you could do right now that would make you more energy independent. Insulate your home. Install a wood stove or a pellet stove and dump fossil fuel as a heat source. Learn to restrict your electricity use and if you can afford it, look into solar panels or windmills to generate your own electrical power. In some parts of the country you can even sell any excess electricity you generate back to the power company, further reducing or even eliminating your utility bill. Start collecting rain water and use 'grey water' (waste water from dishwashing and clothes washing) to water your lawn and garden.
Grow Your Own Food or Start a Community Garden. You can grow a surprising amount of food in a fairly small space if you know what to plant and are willing to freeze or can what you can't eat immediately. Often, urban neighborhoods can pool resources to create a community vegetable garden on a vacant lot or unused space nearby. Even if it's absolutely out of the question to grow your own food or even some of your own food, you can usually save money by going in with neighbors or relatives on buying produce in bulk from the grower and then canning or freezing it together and splitting the results. When I was young, our family always did this. We'd get together with several relatives and can tomatoes all day, or peaches, or applesauce, then split the jars at the end of the day.
Stop Spending Money. This may sound kind of stupid, but honestly, if you've never tracked how much money you spend on incidentals you might be surprised at what you discover once you pay attention. For example, when I was working at the call center, I routinely bought iced tea, coffee, and pretzels out of the vending machine. The iced tea was $1.50 a bottle and I usually went through two bottles a day. The coffee was $1.00, and the pretzels were $1.25. That's $5.25 a day for pretzels and drinks, or $26.25 a week, or $1365.00 a year. If someone at work had approached me with this deal that they'd keep me in pretzels and iced tea all year for only $1365 I'd have laughed them right out of the building, but that is exactly what I was already spending on just those items, conservatively speaking. I immediately started bringing my own iced tea, coffee, and pretzels at a cost of pennies per day, but if you never add it all up, you never realize where it's all going.
I Only Mean Half of It
For most of my life, I've been very conservative, financially speaking. I've paid my bills on time, tried hard to be responsible, drafted budgets, and done what I was supposed to do, more or less. Watching the events of recent months, and looking at my own financial state of the moment, I have to ask myself, what good has it done me? Do I feel good about my financial life?
Not really.
I feel like I'm working harder and harder for less and less. When I see multimillionaires taking home huge bonuses for totally destroying gigantic corporations, and then when I see the U.S. government shoveling taxpayer money at these same people as fast as it can, I confess I feel like a bit of a sucker--like maybe I've had a big "Kick Me" sign pasted to the back of my pants for the past ten years or so.
I only half-mean what I'm saying here. Or maybe I mean only half of it. Or maybe I really do mean all of it, but lack the full courage of my convictions at this point in time.
Here's what I think:
I think a lot of these big corporations deserve to fail. I think the U.S. needs a major financial enema and maybe a severe recession/depression is what has to happen to cleanse the system. I think credit card companies, payday loan shops, retail banks, and investment banks are so out of control greedy right now that some people ought to be going to jail.
Oh yes. And I think Richard Fuld is an ass. May he choke on a truffle on his way to the private gym.
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Maxed Out
Price: $8.26
List Price: $14.98 |
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In Debt We Trust
Price: $10.05
List Price: $19.98 |
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i.o.u.s.a.
Price: $10.89
List Price: $24.99 |
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Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price
Price: $12.95
List Price: $12.95 |
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Comments
hot dorkage--we must have grown up in the same neighborhood. I had similar experiences both with the clothing and college. I ended up working my way through part-time, and as for clothing, I still shop at Goodwill and thrift stores. I buy jeans new though--you can't get decent jeans second hand. People wear them until they fall off their bodies.
I think, honestly, that there is a blue collar working class (or there was, once upon a time) that really does get the shaft, b asically. Even now you see the bias--people didn't get really worked up until auto workers were mentioned--as it the idea that a working still would get an extra hundred or something was worse than murder. It's totally messed up IMO. Thanks for your comment!
You are righgt on, bless your heart. Working for cash or barter is the way to go if you can. Keep up the good work.
"I feel like I'm working harder and harder for less and less."
ME TOO! And in fact I have been for most of the last 10 years in telecom. Someone remind me why those student loans that will probably never get paid off were a good idea?
Another great hub!
Hey p, I have been fighting this credit card debacle for years but my husband thinks it is fine and dandy and the right of credit card companies to charge whatever they like, which is insane. I was going to stop paying our cards a few years ago, with the help of one of those renegotiate your credit cards companies but he refused to do it. He said we created the debt so we should be responsible to pay it off. My argument was, we didn't agree to pay 29.99% on the principle AND then pay 29.99% on the interest and the late fees- which they charge if your check comes in on a weekend, etc, etc. It is a royal scam and I can't believe they can claim it is legal. Well, we could have a huge class action suit, except for the fine print, right? Sorry to rage, but this is one of my elephant peeves.
Even cutting spending altogether I'm struggling to make ends meet. I understand where you're coming from, but in the end it's tough to really be able to survive and live contentedly in our world off of less than 40k income. My wife and I combine for less than that right now, and it's tough to imagine working a job to earn more that I'll be even more miserable at than I am now... :(
A point about getting paid cash and living off the grid and taxes. Keep track of what you earn. If you live in affordable housing and you don't spend money, get very tightwad with everything, and live as much off the grid as you can -- barter really helps too -- you can keep your earnings under the taxable threshold.
There is a level at or under the poverty line where the IRS does not require you to report because you aren't actually going to pay any taxes. It was $5,000 a year in the early 90s when I was a street artist. I tracked everything and paid the city sales tax as all the other artists did -- but other than that tax I wasn't taxable and did not have to file. It's worth the research to find out where that line is and arrange your life where you are just UNDER it, even if that means being super frugal and maybe putting off getting paid for some cash work till after the year end if you're riding real close to that line.
This also gives you a smug and true answer for the $72,000 person who bugged you about it.
However, it is worth your while to file anyway because you may actually get some of the money from economic incentives and the like even though you don't have to pay any taxes.
Eliminating credit cards from your life is probably the biggest thrift point you made in this article. If they're not in that bad a situation, pay them off -- and then treat them like debit cards, which drives the companies batty because they don't get any interest if it's paid within 30 days. But that means really treating it as a debit card and not buying anything without the cash in hand to pay for it. That would drive those companies out of business.
Student loans are worse for interest and interest on the interest owed and never letting go and paying them over and over and over. College may be overrated anyway, but there are cheaper ways to go. One is saving up and doing half of it at community colleges. Another is online colleges -- and saving up before going instead of taking out loans. Another is high grades and scholarship hunts and grants, there are a lot of grants out there.
hot dorkage, what they got with all that debt was more debt, lifelong debt with worse than credit card terms. For long term planning, even someone with an aspiration like medicine that does need a degree could do better on a shorter more cost effective training program and saving up and then going. It breaks the whole social expectation of going to college right out of high school -- but it's that kind of social expectatiion that creates so many of these money sinks in "normal" life.
Great hub, pgrundy!
Thank you for your kind comment James Burnett!
dineane, I know what you mean about the student loans and the education bit. I have two degrees and I've watched my pay and benefits FALL for the past ten years. Very scary stuff I think.
t.keeley--Yes, to have a middle class lifestyle I think you do need to make $40K plus, which is why the middle class is vanishing faster than polar bears these days. It's too bad too. It will be a bumpy ride I think.
storytellersrus, you are preaching to the choir here. In fact, as I was writing this I thought, Pam, you should write a separate hub just on credit card companies. I'm with you. I'm still paying on mine, but every single month I think, I should stop this. We need this money. They've gotten theres over and over again.
Robert Sloan, thank you for your excellent advice and commentary. I fear that many of us will be living at sub-taxation level by default soon. I wouldn't mind. I'm really tired of a lot of this nonsense. And you are so right about education. It's turned into just another product. Would you like fries with that bachelor's degree? It's nuts. The correction will be difficult, but I hope we come out the other side a better society. I hope. Thanks for your thoughts!
we think a lot alike. You're one smart lady.
hey pg-- you are so prolific these days that it's getting hard to keep up with you :-) another great hub and as usual I'm with you all the way. The times they are a changin-- thank god. it's about time!!! Greed is out cash is in and so i hope are the ethics and values of a kinder, gentler world.
hi rockinjoe and robie--I probably spend too much time at HubPages these days--it's like free therapy. I have a bunch of web copy to write this week so this will probably be my last rant until next week, when I will be ready to rant anew. Thanks for the commentary!
Right now I'm really struggling with whether or not to default on my cards. I'd feel worse about doing it if I hadn't paid them many times over what I actually ever charged. Every month I'm torn, and as things get worse in the country when I send the payment off I think, if I put this under the mattress instead it might feed us in a year, or six months. It's hard to make good decisions in this climate.
some of them got need-based scholarships, essentially full rides, not student loans. I was not considered needy bcuz my old man was poor as a churchmouse, but solvent. It just burned my weenie big time that a girl who drove a car to school and didn't work and wore fashions every day and had her own room got a scholarship. I went for the same scholarship and we were told it was need based and we didn't have a big enough debt.
One silver lining though, I just laugh whenever those "Consolidate your debt" ads or phone calls come in. Once I actually played with one of those guys.
Sooooo,,,, he says, as if he knows all about me..... we can fix your credit card debt problem.
Are you from Visa?
Nooooo, but we can fix your Visa debt. BTW what balance do you currently have on your Visa?
Hang on... Lessee, my latest statement says I owe $352.34 Hang on I'm going on line. OK, paid that. Now my balance is zero. So in order to help me with that you would have to make them GIVE me money.
Click
Pam: I was thinking after watching the Suze Orman show that if I were to cancel my credit cards my FICO score will go down, one has to have a credit history; I wouldn't mind cancelling them and keeping only two, but its a catch 22 situation, as I pay my bills on time, don't want the cards but need them. I do need to raise my score which suffered after I was left without work from Citigroup and accumulating a $15,000 bill from a broken arm after being unemployed and no insurance.
You wrote another hub that one can identify with.
Yes ..I agree this is a good hub and many can relate to your feelings ..and I am sure many are doing just the things you have mentioned. I am sure you do know that the goal of our Federal Reserve is to do away with cash. Then bartering is going to have to be the top of the list.
And as for us breaking the system ..they really have a tight hold on things. We do exactly what they want us to do ..just like behaving as animals for a sale ...my heart goes out to that family.
I read once in my studies about nutrition ..that they were "dumbing down society" ..you know ..not giving what we need to allow our neurotransmitters to work or possibly giving us things that stop them from working ...all done with food additives and drugs. That is a deep subject and many do not want to believe it is possible.
Good hub and so much that can be said about the things you have mentioned and I share your anger ...but I try not to let it consume me. I get there when they try to mess with the nutrition industry. As they say they are looking out for our welfare ...I say, "Oh really" ..."how about the prescription drugs that kill people!!!"
So I will end this before I write a book on a whole different subject ....the country is hurting for sure ..we are the country and we need to take it back ...but perhaps it is too late!
My best to your health and your success! Keep on talking!!
Hi Violetsun! I struggle with having good credit and just chucking the whole idea of credit. My experience has been that it takes me a long time with decisions like this--I doubt I'll make up my mind overnight. Unless we have another job loss. That would make up my mind for me.
gjcody--I have those kinds of conspiracy ideas in my head too but I try to ignore them because they don't lead anywhere positive. All I can do is the best I can do, and like you say, keep speaking the truth as I see it. But I have to agree, it does look like what they're going for here is some kind of permanent underclass. It's very disturbing. Thank you for your thoughts!
Standing ovation to you for this hub Pam. You are 100% ON.
Another thing that makes me ill and is similar to your credit card experience...most businesses (cable, satellite, ISP's, phone companies and so on) treat customers like crap. My husband and I pay our bills on time, don't miss payments, yet when we encounter problems with our service, it's like nobody cares. I see this over and over and it makes me want to spit nails.
And you're right, medical expenses and medications often drive people to bankruptcy. I know a man who had to have heart surgery, he had insurance, but the enormous expenses he still owed after the insurance company paid their part were so huge that he came close to having to sell his property.
On a much smaller scale, I'm often appauled by the cost of medications. Last month my doctor recommended that I try a popular medication to treat migraines (I'm not going to say the name, but you often see commercials for this drug on tv), she warned me that it was expensive, so she gave me a coupon to get my first batch (like 90 days worth) for ten dollars. After picking up the medicine, I looked at the ticket to see what the original cost was, and it was $1092.00! Over a thousand bucks for medicine that covers you for a few months?? It's insane.
Thanks for a great hub Pam, and I think your ideas are sound.
Hi Pam! You are so right. My partner Bill said once that companies don't even really want to provide a service or product anymore--they just want you to hand over your money to them just because they want it. I laughed when he said this but he was serious, and as we've gone through the experiences you describe I realized it's totally true. Just give us your money and go away. Products? Services? We don't need no stinkin' products & services! lol!
Medical stuff--God, don't get me started. I look for medical and credit cards to be the next big financial collapse in this country. Just watch. It's already reached beyond the ridiculous. We are in for quite a ride. Thanks for your thoughts, and hang onto your hat!
An amazing hub - thank you! I totally disagree with Suze Orman who states that we have to pay off but keep our credit cards to preserve our credit rating. What about our sanity? I have paid off all of my cards except one and paying this one off is part of my goals for the new year. Then I will promptly cancel it and have peace of mind which is something the credit card company or a FICO score can't give me! And don't even get me started on medical expenses. After heart surgery in 1991 I was left with $8,000 in medical expenses. This was after being pre-approved by by insurance company for the procedure. I kept all of my pre-approval documentation (they later claimed pre-approval was not a promise to pay) and wrote a very convincing letter to the hospital and included all of the documentation. I was lucky and the hospital wrote it off but I was flabergasted! I played by the rules, had insurance, had pre-approval and was still left owing $8,000. I told the person I spoke with at the hospital that I had just had heart surgery and that this was stressing me out!!
Thanks again for the well written hub - it makes me feel better to know others feel as I do!
run, rabbit run.
dig that hole, forget the sun.
and when at last the work is done,
don't sit down, it's time to dig another one.
That's how it's been for a long, long time. I think maybe that's about to change.
I think all the bases have been covered. I really love the way you're laying it on these days pg. Straight talk and real, mad as hell and not gonna take it any more. Plenty of good suggestions too.
Here's another one. If anyone was crazy enough to buy some gas guzzling suv a while back, just stop making the payments. Let them repo the damn thing and get yourself a bike.
Well, Pam, I think I actually have been following the example written in this hub in some ways all my life. I go from periods of total responsibility with credit, to what I call 'survival mode,' where I basically perceive I've got to let it go. I just wrote a hub on ways to save money living frugally, and one might think by this that I'd be very careful with credit--but as you suggest, its often a game where you are damned if you do or damned if you don't.
All I can say is that if I had been 'careful and good,' with money and credit similar to one of my sisters, I probably would never have made it through and achieved an advanced degree, given my background, and never would have done a lot of things I'm glad I did do.
And even now, as much student loan debt that I have, I've got a plan for screwing over this 'lovely' little system where you are supposed to be a slave and make payments and all that your whole life and never miss a due date.... I've been moderately successful, actually, with small investments and plan to turn it all around. I want to write something about it at some point.
Another interesting little story for those who might want to try it (and it is true): One of the most successful realtors here in the area--an acquaintance of my partners'--told us that he had horrendous credit, and fixed it by going online to the three credit bureaus and constantly disputing all the red marks on his record, over and over. If you continue to do this, the agencies eventually wipe it clean, because they do not have the resources to do all that research on you. All you are to them is a loss. It's less expensive to clean your record. Anyway, this is the way he was able to start in business with just horrible credit.
There are other more valid (to me) and tried ideas, too, I am researching--such as creating an LLC holding company to buy real estate. You can get credit as a business entity if you do not have excellent personal credit, but assets....Anyway! I do not plan to be screwed by the system-- I spent a lot of time thinking about writing and art, etc., in school, and I'm happy to have had the chance to do this. I'm much less happy with the way all the rest of life has been set up, with this supposedly middle class life which is actually just selling your soul to a corporation and agreeing to be a slave, making monthly payments forever. I've decided I'm just not doing it and I'm going to be aggressive about coming out on top of the game--because a game it is. These corporations succeed because they know ALL the rules and tricks and don't take it personally--that's how I am going to approach it.
As disheartening as this economy is, I must say I find your hub and all the comments quite the opposite. What a creative group we have here on HP. I sense a revolution fomenting. Watch out, Citigroup!
Thanks, PGrundy, for leading the charge (oops -- I mean the anti-charge:-).
Susan M--I had a very similar medical experience in May of 2008. I spent two days in the hospital after having heart attack symptoms at work. It was really embarrassing and scary. I'd been hanging onto the job for the health insurance, but when all was said and done, I was still left with a four figure hospital bill (AFTER the insurance paid!!!!) and they refused to take payments and instead turned me over to collections when I sent a partial payment. I realized the job was making me sick and the insurance was a sham, so I quit, lost 20 pounds, and started to exercise every day and eat better. I have no insurance now, but I predict within the next year or two we'll see hospitals going belly up one after the other. Both hospitals here in Kalamazoo are losing money faster than they can raise rates, and one might not last through 2009, and this is a nationwide problem. Thank you for sharing your story here!
CWB-- I'm 55. I don't know how much life I have left. Maybe a lot, maybe not much, but I tell you what, I've had it. I'm done putting off my real life until retirement. I can see there will be no retirement for me. So I either do what I want now when I'm still healthy enough to do it, or I never do what I want. It really comes down to that I think. And yes, I am mad as hell. I don't understand why more people aren't. Great verse by the way--thanks!
Lita--I think it's pretty hard to play by the rules and survive right now, much less play by the rules and win. When I was in my 20s it was possible to work my way through college--it took me 9 years to get my BA but I did it--but NOW, it's not even possible. You have to go into debt, and then you get out, and you get some crap job that will make you a corporate slave for the next twenty years while you try to pay it off. That's BS and I see no reason to respect those rules. We are wasting so much talent by making college affordable only by the rich. Thanks for your comments and your own hub.
MM--I don't understand why ordinary people aren't more angry. My sense is that a lot of people are waiting to see what OBama does. I think if it isn't pretty dramatic, we could see violence in 2009. Man, that guy has so much on his plate. What a mess! Thank you for your thoughts!
Excellent read, pgrundy. You say everything we all are thinking ;)
Your Right Pam,
We all need to stop playing this silly game and start living our lives. That in and of itself will create the revolution necassary to restore sanity to our world.
TMG
Thanks for commenting Ardie & Moneyguy!
Great Hub PGrundy and I especially agree with what you think about credit card, companies, payday loans, and retail banks being greedy. And the truffle thing is priceless.
This system is so backwards-the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. I was in a financial bind a few years back and had credit card companies hawking me- so I decided I would talk to them and see if I could make some arrangements. I was not working at the time but I did have enough money to at least pay some money a month. However, the credit card companies would only work with me if they had PROOF that I could pay. PROOF! which meant that I either needed to be working or receiving some type of assistance-and I was not. And I remember thinking, if I had a job or some other means to pay, I would not need to make arrangements. Bass Ackwards!
I hate to answer comments on someone elses hub, but I just read VioletSun's comment about Credit cards for her credit Score.
First, Suze Orman is paid by the Credit Card companies just read the small print on her show. So she has a profit motive to give this advice. She gets her money from selling products. She is there for her bank account not yours her motive is to move your money to become her money.
Second, having credit cards can either raise your score or lower depending on several competing mathmatical factors. For most people particularly those on the lower end of the economic scale i.e. 95% of the population it actually hurts you.
So, by all means cut up the cards and do not allow yourself to be caught in the credit trap. Be wary of advice you don't pay for, that means someone that doesn't have your best interest in mind is paying for it.
TMG
Hi tourmaline2777--It's too bad the credit card companies take that attitude, but you can be sure they've computed the cost effectiveness of every counterintuitive strategy right down to the zillionth of a penny. My own feeling about it is that interest rates should be capped and fees tightly regulated to promote more conservative policies in granting credit and to protect poor people from predatory lending practices.
If someone has trouble making payments, the right thing to do is immediately freeze their credit line and work with them on getting the balance down--and this would include dropping the interest rate to avoid having them default--but what actually happens is they hike the interest rate, slap on lots of fees, and pump the balance up.
I think it's very irresponsible and greedy. We hear about irresponsible individuals and their abuse of credit all the time, but what about the fiduciary responsibility of Citi and BOA and MBNA? What about the credit card companies themselves? Do they have any fiduciary responsibility anymore? Or are they just bloodsucking parasites looking for any warm vein now? I think it's the second thing. If you get a chance, rent "Maxed Out" sometime. It's an eye-opener.
Hey MoneyGuy--Answer away! I don't mind. I think it's smart to always consider the source when you get any advice, but especially money advice. I'm especially wary if someone is pushing something at me really hard. I always think, why the hard sell here? What's in it for the person pushing the advice? 'Credit' is getting to be a misnomer lately. We are supposed to believe we can't live without it, but again, you have to ask yourself, why the hard sell? Why can't we live without it? Babies live without it, right? Dogs live without it. So maybe, you know, just maybe we can live without it too. (o:
Thank you,
Oh yes the banks have a fiduciary responsibility, unfortunately it is not to the people they lend money to. It is to their shareholders and the US Government.
Credit Cards are a particularly heinous racket. First, they take a percentage off of the swipe. This can be as high as ten percent. So if you charge a 100 dollar item on your card they only pay 90 dollars to the merchant. But they bill you for 100 and charge interest on 100. They, don't care if you default that is not what the business is about. It is about taking every single available dollar you have.
This is how they can capture all the available money in the market. This is the only path to max profit. Remember the stuff you buy at the store was already paid for on credit. The bank is squeezing both ends against the middle to extract all money available. They are in very stiff competition with each other do get this last bit of cash. The economic situation is a testament to this highly successful business model. This crisis is due to all capital being tied at the top. They are not losing any money they are simply not making any more as there is no more to take. Truly the banking industry is a victim of it's own success
TMG
We've been credit-card-free for many years. Involuntarily so at the beginning, but then we realized we liked it.
There are purchases and services (e.g., travel reservations) that you just can't get without a credit-card logo. So we use debit cards, tied to our credit unions' checking accounts. It's like a hyper-checkbook with privileges -- the money has to be in there before we can make a purchase. And transactions must be recorded in the checkbook, just like checks.
But with all the due diligence in the world, we're all gonna see Interesting Times. Thank you, Pam, for another deeply insightful Hub.
MoneyGuy--Youll forgive me if I don't cry too hard about the banks being victimized by their own success. I hope you are explaining that whole business plan tongue-in-cheek and that you are NOT actually crying in your beer for the poor banks. What you are describing was described over 100 years ago by Karl Marx--the logical end point of capitalism. I heard it explained by a pundit on TV in a way that made sense to me--It's like a poker game. The other players can only stay in the game so long as they can borrow from the winning player, but when the winning player gets ALL the money, the game is over.
Anyway, I think that's how it went...
Marian, lots of folks do it that way. I think it's a good system. I may be involuntarily without credit soon myself. Everything in my financial life is so tenuous right now. If one ball drops, I'm out. But I guess that describes lots of people right now. Living in Michigan doesn't help, but I love it up here. I moved here from Indiana, which is the only southern state north of the Mason Dixon line. I was such a queer duck there. Here I'm just another pinko. It's also very pretty up here, and we have some land, which is nice. Thanks for your thoughts.
Very Tongue-n-Cheek. I am most amazed at how well the media has convinced such a large number of the working class into believing their interest and the interests of the ruling class are the same. It is very bizarre to me. By reading your hubs and your comments I do feel you understand the reality of the situation very well.
Most people do not know what a wealthy person is as they are only 2 percent of the population. The people, that most people imagine as the wealthy are just the top end of the working class your doctors, lawyers, brokers, engineers, and actors. Your top end professionals.
In fact this inculcation is so complete this group is taxed the heaviest in a belief they are punishing the rich. The rich have not paid taxes in any generation since the income tax has been established. Their fortunes were amassed a long time ago and they have used the Government as their tool to ensure it stays that way.
But, Alas those who truly get it and aren't mind warped by the TV news and public education are almost as much a minority as the Wealthy, and that is the way they like it. It keeps the status quo so to speak.
So I applaud your efforts and those like you who think outside of the box and go the next step and publish your opinions so that someone somewhere will get your message.
Thank you for the great hubs. The Poker game is a very accurate analysis of the banking game. I use the craps table analogy.
TMG
Wow Money guy ..well said ..and to the others on this hub ...I applaud you for being able to "think" ...I am sure "they" do not want us to be able to think.
I agree with Mighty Mom ..I think we here on HP are really getting it and not afraid to speak out in a professional way...and I believe there are a lot of angry people out there ..but you can bet that "they" have a plan and are pushing to the end for all the money at the poker table. You see the poker table used to be just in USA ..but no ..now it has to be the world ..so are we being sold out?
Then where will we be? ...getting pennies on a dollar in exchange for a new currency? Does make me wonder???
Hi MoneyGuy & gjcody,
I have to think a lot of people are angry but don't feel like there's much they can do about any of it. I also think quite a few people really don't understand what is happening, because if they did, we'd see protests and riots and what have you--but we don't. The only clue we have about how upset people might be was the huge turnout in both parties to elect Obama, and the huge celebration when he got in--but I don't know, this is a pretty big mess, I don't see how any one guy can fix it. I think no matter what happens next we are in for a tough five or six years, maybe longer. For Japan it was an entire lost decade.
I might be seeing things more bleakly because I live in the rust belt. But I doubt it. It looks to me like GM is going to go down whether they get that government money or not, and if that happens, or I should say when that happens, watch out. I think 2009 will make 2008 look like a nice day at the park. Thanks for your thoughts!
Credit is good in every respect other than bank-speak!
Allowing banks to refer to cards that accumulate debt as 'credit cards' is just plain criminal. It's a mind trick perpetrated by the banks on unsuspecting people and it should be outlawed.
The sooner we realise that credit cards are debt cards, the sooner we'll understand the dangers of all consumer credit.
But it's also short-sighted not to benefit from the leverage sensible business debt affords. The operative word being "sensible".
I like the way you think Pgrundy.
Thanks Shaun & Parse for your comments.
'Debt Cards' really is a better term than 'credit cards', but I guess that would be a hard sell. Anyway, if people really understood what they were getting into it would be a hard sell--but usually they don't.
thanks for info
I have long complained about credit card companies and their usurious ways (except legally, it's not usurious because the government says they can do it), and when you look at the way they operate and really boil it down, it's loan sharking, plain and simple. Seriously. They throw a lot of money around to politicians to pass laws that allow them to do it, but it is barely any different from getting a loan from Bennie "the bat" Bernucci. I'm sure they'd break kneecaps too, if they could get away with it.
Thanks for another great hub, Pam!
Hi Christophe!
Thank you for stopping by! I think that knee-cap breaking thing is one of those last minute policy bits that Bush is pushing through on the way out. Bald eagles for dinner and Citi can break kneecaps during normal collection procedures.
Hey, he's got his legacy to think of, you know--No rest for the wicked! lol!
Very good hub, Please checkout mine I have some related to saving money
You've stirred up the Hub. Everybody's talking. Love it. You speak for the masses. Only wish someone out there with clout was listening. Blessings, Debby
Great discussion here! 35 years ago, I saw the writing on the wall and dropped out of the rat race as much as I could. And now the time has come, I see, when many - yes even more than many - will be dropping out. And the first step in dropping out is dropping the illusion that a good credit rating is a necessary ingredient of life. If enough indebted people just simply stopped paying down their credit cards - as those who just stopped paying on their mortgages - something interesting might happen to our so-called free market economy [another faulty name...eh?] When enough people stop paying own so-called debt, a quiet rebellion will be happening, more devastating and less bloody than an uprising...let's call it a downsizing.
Hi Debby & vitaeb!
Thank you for your thoughts! I like your "downsizing" idea, vita! A quiet but effective downsizing. I think that yes, that would have a dramatic effect, and I see it happening, and soon too.
Pam, I read your line about labor costs(mention about china/India). I am not advocating a purely free market economy but narrating a small incident that happened to my friend in California. She usually wears Indian dresses and once in the public bus was approached by a guy who asked her- are you from India? She said yes. Then he went about telling her that his company laid him off and sent the project offshore to India. My friend asked him do you do online banking? When he said yes then next time when you login 2$ would be deducted from your account would you be Ok with it and he said no. Then she said when you want companies to provide the best services at the lowest cost and still be competitive(with respect to other banks) how do you expect everything to happen without any cost associated with it.
Most of the times we see things only from one perspective and think that this could be the reason for our issues. Regarding the Automobile sector if some one has a family member or friends working in it they feel the pain and others think why should we bail out these people who just were not following good business practices (like investing in technology or vehicles with more fuel economy, lower maintenance cost in parts and higher reliability boosting the resale price for the car owner). Our perspectives change based on who we are and what issues/people we associate with.
By the way yodlee.com is a good way to keep a track of all our credit cards and bank accounts in one place through a single logon (and it is free)so that by mistake we don't skip any payments. Also gasbuddy.com is a good site to get information about the cheapest gas available in our vicinity.
Pam- By the way I do feel for the thousands of blue collar people who have nothing to do with these decisions taken by top management and feel even if the bail out money comes to the Big 3 Auto companies how much of it is retained by those top honchos and how much will percolate to the thousands of blue collar workers who live on pay check to pay check.
Also incentives like people who buy vehicles from auto makers who make more than a certain percentage of their manufacturing in US get a tax incentive like 5000 deduction on their tax returns (like environmental vehicles credit).
I totally agree with you that people like Richard Fuld who made their respective companies go bankrupt don't deserve the money and more ever their personal assets like their mansions, yachts, RV's and so on should be attached too.
Great hub and nice tips to save money. As my mother always used to say "Money saved is money earned"
Hi Countrywoman,
I don't blame the loss of our industry on China & India--Every country has to make money and every person has to make money--but I do think that conditions in overseas factories are often not good and the workers are not adequately paid. In China there are factories where people make $5 a day and work 12 hour shifts. That is fine for now because $5 is so much more than they made before the factory was built, but from a human perspective, not even an American one, just a human being one, that is an exploitive wage--that is, those people are being used in a bad way. At some point their standard of living will get higher, they will want cars and air conditioned houses and good schools for their kids, and when their country gets to that level, they will not accept abuse from their corporate owners anymore and they will demand higher wages.
That's all I was trying to say. But I know a lot of people feel like the woman you mentioned--don't expect good pay, accept lousy pay so your company can 'be competitive'. The trouble with that argument is that it produced a two tier society--the very rich who barely work and the very poor who work all the time. When labor unions started in the U.S. we had children working 14 hour days in factories without windows and men dying on the job. To live modestly in the U.S. you need to make at least 30K a year, and if you have a family you'd better both make that. If our leaders want people to all make $8 an hour, they'd better be ready for more street people, because that is how it will be.
I appreciate all your thoughts and comments. I always like hearing your perspective Countrywoman .Thank you for commenting.
We (the 2 Patricias) regularly discuss our latest ideas to save money. We both gave up jobs to try to make a living outside the system. Sometimes it feels hard, but mostly we are much happier. Reading your Hub, I see that you have suffered along the same financial theme as we have, although the details are different: almost all of the time, you have done everything right, for sound moral reasons. And the outcome is that you have been battered financially! It would be easy to feel very bitter (and sometimes I do) but it is more fun to try to forge ahead, so your suggestions to save money are appreciated, even if we don't agree with all of them. This afternoon we met in our local library to plan features for our website for January (saves on heating bills to meet there), and our key theme is going to be 'money saving' - but our Feb theme will be having fun! We all need to keep a balance.
Another comment: even though we both need to save money, we refuse to buy really cheap clothes because we are so concerned about labour conditions and wages. Why contribute to worker exploitation when it is possible to buy good as new (and sometimes unworn) clothes in charity shops?
Thanks for the Hub, and best wishes for the holiday season.
smart ideas keep informing us,Check out my hub with some other ideas
Thank you for your comments 2Patricias and lgali! I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts here. All the best to you. (And stay warm!)
Pgrungy, I have one word for you and that word is BRILLIANT!
Thanks Gwendymom!
Pam- Even in India we have lots of Unions and they make it very difficult for the manufacturing industries(I mean consumer durable goods like clothes/toys..etc) to make profits or be competitive. We have the China markets in almost every major city in India and whom no domestic manufacturer can compete with in terms of their prices (although quality sometimes is a doubtful factor). That's why educated Indians tend to go in services industries as they are better paying and relatively stable
When I studied my under grad in India I always thought everybody finished what they joined in after 4 years but I feel sad to say this since I used to assist my Prof in Grading I have met some under grad students who don't know even as a sophomore what they want to major in and keep changing their minds. And the drop out rate was staggeringly high not just from a course enrolled but sometimes even from the university (which my prof says is normal). In India even with Graduate Degrees their are no jobs I don't think anybody would risk dropping out.
When my brother was 16 he wanted to go for a party with his friends out of station which my dad didn't allow because his 11th class exams were really close and he wasn't really matured enough to handle himself. My Dad said "If you work hard at sixteen till sixty you can enjoy and if you enjoy at sixteen then till sixty you have to work hard"
One has to acquire the necessary life skills (be it education or experience) to succeed in life. If we don't put in the necessary efforts when it was needed but some how hope things work out eventually it doesn't happen that way. Today where we are is due to something we did yesterday and today what we do will decide where we will be tomorrow.
Young people need to understand the virtue of staying in schools and finishing their education (and it is the only investment that pays over a period of a life time). Nothing great has been achieved without focus and determination. Working in Fast food joints or other places does give us some customer service skills and all but it should not be at the expense of education. I agree here parents may not support their children's education and partly also that the education burden must be too hard on the youngsters to continue any furhter. But if one perseveres in every situation some solution will arise. I guess governments should have better need based loans(without too much interest rates)/sufficient number of grants for students with a good track record.
In India it is the question of basic survival hence people have no choice but to complete but even when things appear ok (like dropping out and working in fast food) but if one looks at the long term picture it may not be the same. One has to do the right things at the right time. If not we can't some how expect to be in the right place later.
I hope I am not hurting any one with my words these are totally my personal opinions and I will be fine with any flak that I get for saying it.
Hi Countrywoman,
I think I understand where you are coming from. I think it is a cultural difference, and I also think the U.S. has a history with manufacturing that India and China do not have, so from your perspective, my comments must indeed seem strange. We are looking at the issue from very different angles I think.
My own family has been involved in organized labor for generations, and I've seen the results of union busting and the injuries and injustices that happen in non-union shops. I know the history of organizing various unions and how people gave their lives so that others could have union representation. My own father was a union steward, and my partner only make the decent money he does (he is not in a union) becaue the Teamsters set the standard for his industry. Without the Teamsters, he'd be making half of what he does--Yes that would make his industry more competitive. It would also make us very poor.
I do still believe we need global unions. I understand though why you might not feel this way, and I really appreciate you taking the time to express your own view of things. It makes it very interesting for everyone to read.
BTW, even here it is hard to use a degree or multiple degrees. I haven't been able to use my education in a job setting for at least 15 years. The next ten dont look too hopeful either! (o:
Pam - India follows the ILO regulations and also all the Indian acts (Indian Factories Acts, Workmen Compensation Acts and so on). Indian Consumer Durables industry has sought relaxation of the standards or stop these Chinese imports but neither is going to take place(BTW we have the unions for over a hundred years in India even during the British rule) http://labourbureau.nic.in/TU%202k2%20Chapter%201.
There are many labor courts which levy strict penalties for any variance in implementation of these acts. I guess as far as manufacturing is concerned India can't be clubbed with China (I am not sure if they have a legal redressal system like in India). Hence in India(educated Indians) to create a niche for itself has focussed on value addition services like IT, Banking, Insurance, BPO, Medical/Legal Transcription and so on.
I agree every sort of education can't guarantee everyone a job. But a relevant education would certainly give some one a foot in the door (at least get them an interview). When I was in 9th class I used to read a lot of English Novels and wanted to major in English but by the time I finished my 10th class I realized one has to pursue certain things for career and certain things as a hobby. If someone's career also happens to be a hobby than that person is very lucky but most of the cases that doesn't happen and one has to be realistic with the prospects with the course one pursues.
Once I was doing a project as part of my course and didn't find the relevant material in our University library then my prof used his account took couple of books from an inter library for me to finish the project. I was so touched with his gesture and sincerity to assist me in my research. US has got the best education system on earth and it's a pity when some of their own residents take it for granted. I guess some of these people who drop out should study in other countries to realize how lucky they are to study in the best of the universities with such dedicated faculty and lab facilities.
I guess you and me have a different take on these things. But never the less I hope we can disagree and still be friends.
Hi Countrywoman--Of course we can be friends! We are bound to see some things differently coming from opposite sides of the world. What is amazing is how many things we have in common. Thank you for sharing your thoughts! I always appreciate hearing what you are thinking.
Pam- That is the mark of a great person who always looks at a common ground rather than the differences. I guess if we are a little different that makes life interesting to talk about (I surely would feel bored if some one thinks exactly like me)...LOL
This is great. We have begun to do many of those including changing jobs, cutting our spending, and doing more ourselves. Great advice. You've got to take it in your hands and not sit back and let others dictate it all. Begin the small changes if it is too overwhelming and then take on the big ones.
Hi RGraf,
I agree. I was so miserable at my corporate job, but it was always, "Oh I have to have it for the insurance and the 401K" and blah blah blah, but it was literally making me sick. And all the time I was trying so hard to be a responsible employee, the bank I worked for was not being responsible. My 401K lost 33% my final year there, mostly because of the financial irresponsiblity of the financial institutions I was slavishly trying to satisfy.
I do think we will all have to become more self-sufficient and frugal, but it isn't all bad. There's a lot of satisfaction that comes with doing work you can about and taking care of ourselves. There is for me anyway. Thank you for your comments.
Pam -- You rock! So many good points here. I enjoy your verve and courage. The less we plug into the consumer status quo, the more freedom we have. You are right on with doing the math on those incidentals. The expenditure list is a tool I use periodically to see where the money is going -- as with your iced tea and pretzel realization, it often gives me information for new strategies. I carry a water bottle, protein powder, nuts and fruit in the car, and usually pack a salad when I'll be out for the day -- this saves me a lot of money, and helps keep my healthy eating program on track.
I've been able to do a primarily cash and barter economy at many times during my life. I worked as an independant contractor in college without realizing that I'd end up with a tax bill... and once the IRS seized a bank account, I had to watch out for my own survival. My compromise has been to keep a checking account with a debit card (so I can rent a car or book a hotel room etc... and I like the convenience of being able to pay for gas at the pump). I simply keep a low balance in that account.
I'm considering you a kind of guardian angel today -- I was sitting here in my local wifi cafe with your hub, musing on how to create more cash flow to leave a recent disaster corporate job (my latest waiting tables gig got cut early when the restaurant cut the dinner shift for the winter -- I took a job for $11.25 an hour as an act of near desperation after being out of work (without so much as a call from any of the restaurants I applied to) for a month. I'm in CA, so this wage is far below subsistence. I wanted to be sure to get some money coming in before resigning (several employees in my dept. are in physical therapy, and 2 have been out on disability for months, due to the ergonomically insane working conditions). Just now one of the baristas came up and offered me a job cleaning the place 2 nights a week -- for cash. Blessed be. Thanks for your inspiration!
Best, Trent
Hi Trent! Good luck to you. I think so many people are struggling right now just to get by, and so many employers are abusive and exploitive. After leaving the bank, I got a $10/hr job as a merchandiser. I like the job, but they ask for dozens of things 'off the clock' every week, and I won't do it. I mean--I do it, but I make sure they pay me, even if I have to add it to my in-store time.
In ten years I've had three jobs, and at each of them the biggest issue with the employees has been working off the clock. All of these employers publicly claimed not to require it and all of them required it. You'd complain, and they'd say, "We don't require that. You should stop doing work off the clock." But then if you stopped, you'd lose raises, get reprimands, fall below quotas, and so forth.
It is technically illegal--if you work for an hourly wage--to be required to do work for no wage in addition to your regular work, and yet every job I've had for the last ten years required that.
Over the past ten years I've watched my wages and benefits fall to the point that I think pretty soon corporations will be asking for volunteers to work for them. It would be more honest if they would! lol! Hang in there, and thanks for your thoughts!
Pam you are a woman's woman with great courage and spunk. In a perfect world life would b so perfect. I enjoyed your convers. with contrywoman. Great Hub, who said you can't get nuttin' for nuttin'.Keep your spirits up. i was a little crazy about being 56 and then figured I have another 20 yr.s or so (Maybe) and that's a whole new career. I am reinventing myself in the gambling world and there is alot of moolah there. Stop by my hub and fly over to my blog sometime. Maybe I should introduce you to the casino business. They are even messin' that up. The biggest single mogol of Las Veags was the first to implement a split tips rule at The Wynn, in Las Vegas. He had the dealers turn in there tips and have them split with an even share for the floor manager. Taxes then come out of that money. The wealthiest man in the casino business and he didn't want to pay his mng., rather have the the dealers pay them because they were being tipped heavily. So he reached into the pockets of the dealers and he made history by doing this in the craps pit. Being a dealer, we didn't start claiming tips until the early 90's.
I pay cash for everything. I'm used to havingt hetip cash everyday. If we want something major, we save up for it. I used to clip coupons when only one of us was working so now have gone back to that. Cutting out resaurants (my favorite treat), has saved us alot and thank God gas prices went down. I am making the same money in tips that I made in then 70"s with more coming out in taxes and a $3 an hour raise in the past 30 years.
Your Hubs rock and so do you. May the force b with u...
Thanks for stopping by Denise! I will definitely check out your hubs and you blog. What an interesting life you have--We actually have a lot of casinos here too. The Indians build them. There's a big one scheduled to go up not to far from here in the coming year.
I don't think I'd be good in a casino. I'm VERY introverted and have this squeaking little tiny voice in person. I did wait tables when I was younger. Hated it. Ugh. Thanks for posting your thoughts here and for all the kind words. Good luck to you!
it seems odd that there are companies too big to fail, if the failure of a single entity can adversly effect the whole economy, that business is a threat to national security - you are right, the hell with those people
Well if people knew how the system works and the lie behind they should not be trapped so easily watch this video zeigeist addendum
http://tinyurl.com/zeigestaddendum tohttp://tinyurl.com/zeigest2007
and if you want to change the world :)
http://thevenusproject.comthere is an interview of the founder in fact in first video above
Very timely indeed considering the economic situation right now. I enjoyed reading your hub!
hot dorkage says:
12 months ago
I've been doing a lot of these things my whole life Pam. Musicians often get paid cash. Someone who made $72,000 called me criminal for not reporting my gigs. Yeahh like 2 $100 gigs in a month is gonna break the IRS? I told them that when I started making $72K a year like they did I'd report it sure enough. And barter is just a way of life for us. 3 years ago I computed the cost of a daily latte 5 lattes a week @ $3 = $15 x 50 weeks = $750 NOT!!
And I've also been thinking it will take something drastic to cure our national piggie behavior. I noticed it when I was a kid, We were probably right on the mean when it came to income. The rich kids and more surprisingly, kids waaaaay poorer than me always had the latest whatever, and we were told (a) we didn't need it and (b)couldn't afford it.
Then when it came time to go to college kids way richer than us who family got a new car every 2 years and had private tennis lessons and lived in houses that were mortgaged way beyond the neck claimed they didn't have any money and got financial aid, and meanwhile we had paid off our 2 bedroom 1 bath and had no debt so I couldn't get anything.