Money Matters - Part 9

Take the bananna and make one peel down and then hold the bottom and peel the whole skin up. That way you wont have the hairs/strings left. :-)

Did I miss something???

LOL



We are going to be bidding on a county job that the former contractor got thrown out of(still have to find out why)
now on top of all the fees and payments for licenses applications blah blah blah for the company and being a contractor they now want more $ for another equal opportunity report even though we already have a certificate for that.

I would include Sherrie's banana tip. You never know...

Well, I thought we were going bananas, but figuratively only. LOL!

We use two credit cards. One gives 1 or 2 percent cash back, up to a 300$ refunded per year. No fee. The other gives hotel points, which we do use, and the rate works out to 1 or 2 percent also, I think.

More stores are refusing AMEX lately, here.

I did read a Christmas club thing last year that I thought said 3 % earnings...but couldn't imagine why they would. How do Xmas clubs work and why wouldn't we all use them? Small balance allowed? Fees? My MIL did have one, and was getting hit with fees after taking her money out and not putting more in

It was food for thought and no strings attached.

hahahaha


My mom used to do that Christmas club thing when I was little

Think I am having a rare day.

When I still had credit cards, I quit using my AMEX because so few places took it.

When I was young and worked in the OR at Johns Hopkins, a laundry supervisor had a good scam going with a Christmas club. She collected monies every payday from the workers in the OR laundry, noted them in a book, and deposited them in her CC account. The workers all got their Christmas money at the end of the year but she got all the interest. I doubt any of the mostly uneducated workers knew they should have received interest.

the fee the charge the companies is higher than what visa/mc/discover charge
We don't even except it but I use it when I can(post office, some gas stations, most retailers) cause the % is higher for cash back than our m/c

oh and I like their statement layout better...LOL

wow, Darius. what nerve.
I've considered gas station CCs too for their incentives.

shickenlady- maybe thats a vintage tip and will go for 127$ on eBay

I wish

I hate that some gas stations charge less if you pay cash.

Year is starting off to be a killer. First the $500 deductible for my wife's hit and run. Today I was hit with a $900 dental bill to replace a crown. Then a $190 bill at the vet's!!! I'm crawling under a rock until '13.

Some of the Paki stations up here give 5 cents off on gas Tuesdays. Have no clue why.

Victor - you only have some 354 more days to go. I would imagine it will get cold under there.

Yikes, Jen. So far in California we don't allow deductibles that large but we were certainly headed that way. When we first started approving the high deductible plans the highest of the high were around $2,500 a year but we've steadily crept up well past $5,000 now. And of course the health plans are starting to do things like $2,500 per family member or $7,500 for the family whichever comes first (or something like that anyway). And that doesn't even take into account the co-payments, co-insurance amounts, non-covered expenses (like specific brand name drugs when generics are available), etc.

It is just INSANE...the only thing we have is regular medical coverage doesn't include dental. $892 a month for a family plan

Wow - that is crazy.

Ugh.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-10/sept-11-bracelets-come-from-china.html

For Pete's sake!!!!!!!!!!

Jen does your plan pay 100%? Not really a bad price.
My Cobra is 580 just for me, no dental or scripts but pays 100%. Aetna was at 80%, 1,500$ deductible started out at 375 before they new about my back...didn't even finish filling out the forms since I figured it would have doubled or not even got picked up. Figured between my back and women's problems it was cheaper in the long run to keep the Cobra for a while.

I have back and women problems too. I sympathize.

LOL...Oh what the Mrs. Victor must put up with!

Jen, that Platinum debit Mastercard is a debit card only, not a credit card, so there is not monthly bill. You just use your money in your account. There are no fees, no interest, no credit check (wouldn't be needed, cause, like I said, it's not a credit card, you're not borrowing money). You get the 5%, 2% or 1% back on every debit purchase that is a non-PIN purchase (i.e. using it as a credit purchase so you're not putting in your PIN). You can use it for just about anything wherever Mastercard is accepted (most places), such as for gas, paying bills, buying groceries, and making just about any purchases, even at garden centers, HD, Lowes, etc., etc., etc. You only get the 2% back on purchases if your account balance is $5,000 or more. Below that you get 1% back, and then you get 5% back on different things each month. Like this month it's on Turbotax, sports and athletic clubs, and art supply, craft and fabric stores. That 5% cash back is limited to $250 per household annually, starting on the day you open your account. The amount of cash back you can earn on other purchases remains unlimited.

I look at it this way. I use my debit card a lot. Why not get some cash back for using it? I know it's not a lot, but it's sure better than nothing. Why not get rewarded for something I already do on a regular basis?

Here is a statement they made in their fine print: *Making $601 in weekly non-PIN purchases will earn you $625 in perks annually (when you maintain a balance of $5,000). According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American household spends $601 per week on purchases that could be put on a debit card, including stuff like utility bills or rent. According to the Federal Reserve paper 'Household Switching Behavior at Depository Institutions' (2002), the average lifespan of a checking account is ten years, which would make the average family's lifetime earning $6,250.

Here's one of their FAQs:
"Does this account pay interest?

We pay rewards rather than interest. While many people choose a checking account based on interest rate, the truth is, without a ridiculously high balance it's nearly impossible to earn anything meaningful.

For example, let's say you keep $5,000 in your checking account. If you're lucky enough to find an account that pays 1.5% interest on that amount you'd only earn a measly $75 per year. But if you spend more than $330 a month using your debit card you'd earn more with PerkStreet."

Anyhow, I've read all the fine print and am now going through all the FAQs. Sounds pretty on the level to me.

And yes, Bill, there is cash back on gardening purchases, as long as they're non-PIN debit purchases.

Karen

LOL@ Sherrie's banana comment!

Won't be buying gas at the cheaper for cash stations if I'm earning cash back on my debit purchases.

Sick of everything being made in China. I don't mind paying a little more for made in USA.

Karen

"will earn you $625 in perks annually "
so this is seperate from the 'max of 250$ annually on the 5 percent' thing?
How long have you had this card?


Our cash back card had a special, bonus points for a time period UNTIL you read the fine print that tho you're earning faster during that period, it still counts towards your annual max cash back. Pfft. Just trying to make us spend more money.

I don't have this card yet. Still checking it out.

Yes, that's separate from the $250 max annually that you can earn on the 5% thing. There is no limit on how much you can earn in the 2% and 1% category, from what I understand. That $625 is based on if you spent $601 a wk in non-PIN purchases at the 2% rate, and you would have to keep a balance of $5,000 or more to get that rate. Under that balance you get 1%.

And remember, it's a debit card only, not a credit card, so you're not running up a bill, just spending what you would normally spend out of your monthly income.

Karen

The cost of my company's share of my medical insurance was listed on my W-2 this year and it was a little over $10k. I also paid a share - I think about $120 a month - so medical and dental insurance cost for 2011 was $ 11.5k. That is with a $5k deductable, $30 doctor visit co-pay and $50 co pay for non-generic meds and not everything else medical even quailfies - eye exams for example - not covered. Good thing I am reasonably healthy!
My Sister in AZ lost her health insurance as the result of a bankruptcy and she says she can't get any because she recently had cataract surgery - she used to pay $ 1,000 a month for what she had prior to the bankruptcy. She has already put her family on notice - any major medical issue comes up - do not treat. I would think at least twice about treating myself for anything major. As long as my pets have care - I do not need to have my life extended. (But since Wallingford is such a pill - no one will take him - so I have to out live him and he is only 6 or 7!)

DH recently had a routine physical. The total 'charges' came to hundreds of dollars. (insurance still TG) One example, an EKG in office. DH has no heart complaints that he knows of, age 58, good build, not overwieght, no meds for cholesterol, nothing. Just an example of how easy it seems to be for doctors to tack on extra services that may or may not be needed, and bill the insurance. When we have to pay directly we would be more careful. Whether that is good in all cases is a big ?

Sally asked earlier why people don't use credit unions more. I suspect they remember the credit union defaults some years ago. Also, for larger amounts of money, conventional banks are insured, which I don't think credit unions are. They are good for Christmas clubs, and they are good for a kid to start to develop a credit rating in their own name, in my opinion.

I feel I have really good health insurance with Tufts. Covers a lot. Has a deductible around $3K. Copay for primary is $35, for specialist is $50, for emergency is $200. Covers eye exams. I pay around $130 a month. Seems rather cheap compared to what others pay. I thank God I have good insurance. Good dental, too, through Aetna.

Karen

This is insane and shows what a mistake it was to let this 'movement' get out of hand. The US Coastguard has to be called in to protect ships from the Occupiers and labor unions. What a country.

http://tdn.com/news/local/protest-planned-for-first-ship-to-dock-at-egt-grain/article_e9b1d6e0-38d7-11e1-aac5-001871e3ce6c.html?oCampaign=hottopics

Anytime there is some kind of be-in like that, the crazy people come. Local public safety isn't highly funded in most areas, and the Coastguard is spread thin. Who knows where the next "event" will be, either?

Crazy people were in from the beginning.

Solyndra, the failed, fraudulent solar company that got over 1/2 billion of our money before going bankrupt, still wants to give out 1/2 million in bonuses.

Anyone surprised by this??

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-13/americans-clueless-paying-wall-street-20-billion-for-bad-swaps.html

Occupiers, occupied a city row house here last week to keep it from being foreclosed. Why this house? Was there knowledge that this one was unfair? Who knows? Nothing meaningful reported for justification.

Bonuses- AAGGG. How bout You have a job be happy?!

lol Victor something sure has you at high revs this Friday the 13th!

China needs our "grain" because they do not grow enough food to feed their population. These "raw materials" from here are sent to China to drive the engine of economic growth there by converting the "grain " to products that are in turn shipped back to us consumers to consume with our Chinese debt supported dollars, maintaining the "imbalance of trade". Who (if you consider corporations/bankers to be "persons") profits along the way? And which real live flesh and blood people of the planet knowingly or unknowingly continue playing a losing economic game?

To tie a few more things together, port improvements and sport stadiums/complexes ( along with other "scams" like big box stores, cassinos and office complexes to name a few) have promised "boom" for local economies and jobs for locals (like the trans Canada pipeline currently) but Longview/Seattle and New Orleans see that on the ground it doesn't work out the way it was promoted . Hello, Honda, 50 mpg? Or ask London how well the Olympic thing is working out and if they still think, er hope this event will be any help at all in the Euro crisis? And Solyndra may have an undetermined cause of death having more to do with the powers to be deighning China as the worlds producer of solar panels, not some upstart company with US funding, as in "It's okay if you use the money we lend you, just not on solar, And, by the way where is our wheat?"


the old Chinese saying is "If we don't change course soon, we're likely to arrive where we're now headed..."

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