Money Matters - Part 10

I try to always use cash unless I buy something online or make a payment on line or I write a check. Using credit cards costs the vendor money which means he must raise prices to cover the credit card fees. I'm thinking that even debit cards cost the vendor a fee.

It is so easy to put down a card and harder to pull out cash - so I think it helps me budget. The one exception is the Vet where even though I save $20 a week - it is never enough - so I give them what cash I've saved and then plunk down my card and carefully avoid looking at the amount when I sign. (Guess I should be looking at it to make sure they deducted my cash from the total . . . )

Credit and debit cards both cost the vendors... I try to have cash, but that's hard to keep in my wallet. Never thought to ask for a discount for cash, but then my purchases are usually small.

What do they charge?

Not sure Victor, probably less than PayPal, which is about 2.5% for most transactions.

Ours are bundled through one credit processing company at a fixed rate 3.0 %. The processor does charge extra fees for everything out of the ordinary however so the rate can be higher.

American Express normally charges a higher rate to the businesses that accept it.
Debit cards are also higher through some processing companies.

Sad thing is, the rate is on the total sale amount which includes sales tax.
The sales tax amount is remitted (not discounted) to the state which means the fee is actually larger as it comes out of the merchandise only... if that makes sense.

It is the cost of doing business and we've seen that we do less in sales when we don't provide the option of accepting credit/debit cards.

That is a ripoff to include sales tax. Yes, people want that convenience. I am one of them!

I agree, there are times I want that convenience also.
When traveling, there is no way I'd carry money or flash it.
Also to document purchases made for business use, far easier to keep track of...
But I really love the cashback bonuses which are mine to spend as I wish.... fun, fun, fun!

Yes, that's a biggie. I use the Sierra Trading Post card and earn gift cards to use with them. That is where I was already buying most of my clothes so it worked out nicely.

Plants... I buy plants and fertilizers and fungicides and pots... you get the picture.
When I can buy green stuff, who needs clothes.
I actually take advantage as we use the card for business purchases which allow the cashback bonuses to add up fast.
I consider it a gratuity for this employee (me) seeing as it is only the two of us.

The only thing good about NH is no sales tax. Thats all I have to say about NH.

Texas ~ no income tax... oh yes and darn little snow. lol

I'll gladly pay sales tax. IMO it is the fairest of all taxes.
It does need to be excepted from necessities like food and medicines.

Sales tax, we got! 6 % And income tax (state of Maryland) And talking about increasing gas tax.

no sales tax in NH sherrie is true - however, the property tax is out of control to make up for it - i live in MA on the NH border and my property tax would be 4X for the same home across the border, the home price may have been slightly higher although that difference was made up in a couple years (i do shop in NH from time to time or is that day to day?, to take advantage of the no sales tax) and then NH towns have the local "view" taxes - so if you have a view of say mount monadnock from your home you get get charged a view tax - hard to believe and true.

in the end everybody pays one way or another

Our sales tax (in this county) is 6.5%, except groceries are only 2.5%. Fast foods VAT are 10-12%. Virginia has a state sales tax and then each county adds their own sales tax, so sales tax varies everywhere. The closest big city for shopping is 75 miles, down in Tennessee. I try not to go there, as their sales tax is 10%. Might be okay for the locals since there's no TN income tax. I plan my shopping trips a little farther away, but in Virginia, so I use more gas to get there but pay less sales tax, probably making it a wash.

Most of my non-food shopping is all online, and even a bit of food shopping for things I cannot get locally.

Very true, Bill. They have to bring in the tax money somehow. Of course, here in NY, you get killed in every direction. Sales tax over 8.5%. High income tax. Out of control property tax. Goes on and on.

Encouraging jobs number this AM, but again the number of people in the labor force has fallen to a 30 year low. Of course Wall St just reacts to the headline number.

I just overheard that a major shoe manufacturer is bringing some of it's manufacturing BACK FROM CHINA to the US! And this is the new trend! Seems that if the construction can be automated - there are not people in China with the skills to handle the automation so the manufacturing has to come back to the US because we have that skill set. Best news I have heard - like - forever!

That is good news, but a trend? I'll believe that when I see it - as in hundreds of thousands of new jobs from it.

I hope so. We sell manufacturing equipment where I work - so hopefully we get the advance information. A good career choice for the future might be robotics.

I can tell you from the college hunt that mechanical engineering is by far the most popular engineering major, with new specializations within still popping up. I doubt the current climate of development will be able to offer work to all those grads. Not to mention the number of kids going into computer software work which can be suddenly routinized with successful software products. It's clearly hard to be starting out with the uncertainty. The First robotics contests have been pretty successful at stimulating some of the interest. Let's hope there will be a new generation for manufacturing.

Yes but it will be robots. No wages, taxes, labor unions or crying. Just the people that program and maintain them.

Like commercials. If you notice you will see more commercials with animations. Why? Because they dont have to be in the actors guild and get paid a percentage of every commercial that has ran.

This message was edited Feb 3, 2012 3:55 PM

And here, for years of my kids growing up, I hoped they'd go into engineering, a 'sure thing'. Now my DD is talking graphic arts- gotta admit, its a graphic world out there, everywhere. Animated movies have huge lists of animators and artists in the credits. - though I expect they are contractual and have to work movie to movie unless they get very good or lucky.

My guess is mechanical is popular now due to the new sub-fields of nanotech and micro electromechanical systems. Can't remember which discipline had the most students when I was in college. Way more dropped OUT of EE than any other one.

Technology, including software, will be in demand for years and years. Who foresaw the need to write software for apps just a few years ago?

My DS investigated graphic arts. Then he investigated architecture. Now he hopes to do mechanical design. It seemed so cool to be able to work on animation projects, but once you ask the colleges about jobs and wages after their degree, it suddenly doesn't seem as much fun anymore. I posted his website about how to use public domain 3-D animation software a month ago, but here it is again. Maybe Sally's DD will be interested:

useblender.com

Podster, speaking of the government keeping track of our dollars spent via electronic purchases, and thus taxed, and the fact that you mentioned sales tax as being the fairest of all taxes, brings to my mind what I fervently wish the government would do: institute a fair tax and eliminate the IRS. If people paid a federal sales tax, there would be no need for the IRS, as there would be no way for people to avoid it. And it's fair, because people would only be paying tax on how much they spend on consumer goods and services.

Sally, I have to agree with you, 18 lbs. of change is way more than a little loose change. I can't imagine having that much change in my wallet.

A dollar menu loaded with mayo would not fill you up for long. I think you'd be hungry again in just a few hours.

Memory, you're right about vendors having to pay a fee for credit/debit purchases. I use mine anyway, as I get cash back when I do, and the vendor already accepts, them, so they've accepted the fact that they will be paying a fee and have already raised their prices accordingly.

So Rosemary, what are they paying for animation jobs these days? I had wanted to get into it back in 1999, but I was not able to continue in the graphic design school I was in due to financial troubles.

Karen

Well, Karen, it may depend upon the college's success in placing kids. One well regarded college we looked at reported less than 50% success in placing any job, and those that did ended up primarily doing things like architectural drafting for a large firm in Canada, for maybe around $20,000 to $30,000 tops starting salaries. The open house to that particular college was standing room only for animation majors. Compare that to a major in engineering likely to start at closer to $40,000 with a higher rate of employment, and perhaps still doing similar work, although more math, with more autonomy.

needing to add to my above post:


We, as consumers, also pay a business' returned checks and shoplifting losses.

So if we think a business' prices are 'scalping' us, they truly are not pocketing the excess.


now, off my soapbox and off to work.

My problem with a federal sales tax is the additional control that would give them over each state's piece of the pie.

I try to be on both sides of most issues. ^_^

Podster, I agree, I would not want a federal sales tax instituted unless the federal income tax was abolished at the same time. Get rid of the IRS. Would be nice to get rid of state income tax, too, for that matter, and they can just raise our state sales tax accordingly. I don't mind paying more sales tax if I don't have to have a tax taken out of my pay before it's even spent.

As for what you wrote on the other stuff, about how the businesses have to pass on the extra cost to the consumer, well, it's to be expected. I do understand that they have a lot of overhead, and they aren't trying to scalp on on their prices. I understand how difficult it is to keep a business running and still make money, especially when places like Walmart are undercutting them. I can't argue about it too much, not being a business owner myself and having to deal with that makes me not knowledgeable enough put forth a good argument. I've thought about turning my hobby of selling plants into an official business. My mother had done it at one time. But then there's a lot of headache that goes with it, and really I don't make all that much in sales. What I do make goes straight back into plants and gardening supplies. I would have to have a lot of upfront money to really get it off the ground, and I just don't have it, so it will remain a hobby.

Thanks for answering that question, Rosemary. That's a small amount for a starting salary, though I have to admit my current salary is rather small, so for me it wouldn't be any different, only that I would have a degree and possibly make more money in the future. As things stand now, I don't stand to make anymore money in the future, as I am not management material, nor would I want all the stress and headaches management in my field entails. I had thought about it several years ago, but when I found out everything that was involved, I realized it wasn't something I could do.

Darius, I'm not sure how the feds would have more control over each state's share of the pie. If it's a federal sales tax, it should go all to the federal pot. That state has their own sales tax (except certain ones), so they have their own piece of the pie already. Isn't that how it works. Please excuse my ignorance. Just trying to understand.

Karen

Karen, you might get some good information from a placement counselor at the local junior college. They tend to do a lot to guide people who already have work experience, and they are getting state support to do that in Massachusetts, with more anticipated. You might find you can raise your sights higher than you realize.

Karen, I'm not too educated on how each gets a piece of the federal pie even now. For example, I know that to get some of the federal highway money, states have to issue a certain amount of tickets on the interstates. To be sure, interstate-posted Troopers tend to impede speeders, but I believe there's a LOT more to highway safety than just that...
which begs the question of "is the safety important, or the money from tickets"??

I suspect what little is known would only scratch the surface but all federal funding assistance has strings attached, be it schools, roads, etc.

An example is regulating speed limits. Over the years, a few states had the gumption to set their own speed limits and tell feds to butt out. The feds then cut off funding for new highway construction and repairs. It is rather like jerking a chain on a dog to get their attention.

Oh, I see what you mean now. The states get funding from their own sources, plus funding from the feds. Gotcha. That's crappy when the feds do that to keep the states in line. Reminds me of something, though it's not the same thing. What I'm thinking of is how in CA they have legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes, and people are allowed to grow it up to a certain amount. However, it is still illegal with the feds, so while the state will allow you to grow it and sell it and use it (with a prescription), the feds can still bust you. Something to think about it. I'm not a marijuana smoker, but if it were ever legalized in the same way here, then I would be growing some myself. With my experience growing all kinds of plants, I imagine marijuana would be a breeze. I could make a killing.

Rosemary, I'm not meaning to say I'm looking for another job now. I have to stick with what I have. I like it, for one, and it's only the second job in my life that I ever really liked enough to stick with (9 1/2 years now). Two, it has really great benefits, which is hard to find in many companies. I can't work in as a manager because it's just too much for me. I hate paperwork for one, and managers in my job have a lot to do. I have paperwork myself and I struggle to keep up with it. We don't have time built into our shifts to get our paperwork done, so I end up doing in on my own time. It's something I've always resented, but one of the few things I don't like about my job. I'm the kind of person who just likes to do my job at work, and leave it all behind when I go home. I don't want to have to take it home with me. Plus I'm so forgetful all the time, and I've been in trouble many times at work because of it. I've tried everything, reminders, notes, etc. It all helps to some extent, but I still forget too much. I just get distracted so easily, and I'll forget something that was on my mind all day at the drop of a hat. I've been diagnosed with ADD. I suppose if I really wanted to I could really play it up and collect disability, but I don't want to play that card, so I do the best I can.

Karen

Karen, sounds like you're doing fine. I don't like what's involved with being management either, even though it would be neat to have real authority to manage well. You're not alone wanting time at work for paperwork, either. Marijuana extracts a huge price from the user, especially if there's any kind of attention thing going on, so I'm glad for you that it's off the table.

Yes, I would not want to smoke marijuana. I've been there, done that, and just not into it. But growing it is another story. The only reason I don't is that it's illegal.

Karen

My cousin is a licensed marijuana grower in AZ.

Nice. Didn't know it was legal there.

Karen

I am sure he helps himself too. ;)