Archive for category Money
Latest Happenings
Posted by Marcellus in Money, Photography, computers on September 20, 2007
Been pretty busy, hence the lack of updates lately, but everything is for a good cause. On the geek side of things, I’ve been reloading the operating system with the 32 bit version of windows vista rather than the 64. I lose a bit of performance, especially in the memory area, but at least a lot more of my applications will install now. I’m still pissed at Microsoft for the lack of 1st party support for their own 64 bit operating system though. The rest of the hatred goes out to the software developers who write software that refuses to install in a 64 bit environment. Well, at least the reload has allowed me to build some redundancy into the system.
On other fronts, I’ve been concentrating on expanding some of the photography hardware, creating strategies for building more credit history (for those that don’t know, I typically just save up for what I want and just buy it, which is good that I have absolutely NO debt, but I don’t have a credit history either), and working on dropping some pounds.
But speaking of photography, I’m finally going to get my hands on the Canon 40D slr camera. I’ve been shooting with a digital rebel for the longest, and it’s about time that I’ve started stepping up when it comes to the features that I’m now wanting in a camera. Although my trusty Rebel will still be by my side, the 40d is going to get the majority of the work. Especially in sports and low light photography. Ordered in another lens that I’ll be using for portraits as well. A Canon 85mm 1.8 to be exact. And if the budget permits and stays on track, I’ll be able to get some lighting equipment in later on this month. We’ll see how that goes. Fall season is here, so that means football, and fall portraits.
Speaking of photography, I’ve agreed to once again shoot my company’s annual party for the employees this month as well as the fundraiser for the Jellybean conspiracy foundation. For those of you not familiar with the Jellybean conspiracy, here is the link to their website
http://www.jellybeanconspiracy.org/
I got involved with these guys by accident, but I volunteer my photography resources to shoot the fundraiser as well as the occasional play. Sort of my feel good thing to do in order to offset my evilness.
On a side note, I was reading Jason’s blog and came across this little snippet when he was talking about the issue of finding a good man.
DON’T shake the box! Sometimes when you get a gift you shake the box to see what’s inside. If it sounds like something you want to keep then you open it. If it sounds like crap you give it to your little sister. The thing is that most things that are best for you in life sound like crap when you first shake the box. Or, they will be wrapped in a way that makes them less attractive to you. But, looking inside is what really matters. And that goes for people as well. When you look inside a person and you see the goodness there you realize what you have. But, most people are too busy shaking boxes and moving on to the next guy because so-n-so doesn’t have rims on his car, doesn’t wear expensive cologne or clothes, isn’t 6′+ and have a set of shark white, straight teeth..
I would suggest reading the rest of this entry as far as the finding a man bit. Good practical advice, but it was the shaking the box portion that I took special notice in. Many times I have noticed that good men are passed up because they don’t dance well enough, don’t dress flashy enough, etc…
Weekend Update
Been a bit irked at quite a few things recently. Not really angry, just irked. With some things irking me more than others. So I decided to take that energy and focus it into a few things that I’ve been wanting to do here on the site. Finally got the photo gallery set up and working the way I want it to and got a few other items done in the background. All in all, it was a productive weekend. Don’t know if I’ll be able to say the same thing for the week.
There is one thing that TRULY pisses me off though. A few of you know that my dad had passed away in April. Well, been getting things done and out the way for the past few months relating to his death, closing accounts, paying items off, undoing damage, dealing with family, etc… So anything in that general category doesn’t really cheer me up.
I had finally gotten the paperwork in to the insurance company (Thanks Pam, for your help) and found out that they didn’t pay the entire payout to the dealership because there had been interest accrued since his death, and they were only interested in paying the balance at the time of his death. It’s pretty cold hearted and blunt, but I really come to expect stuff like that from insurance companies. The general majority will screw consumers over in a heartbeat if you ask me.
But what really irks me is the dealership. These bastards have the gall to charge interest on an account that they KNOW the person has deceased. Not to mention that they knew that I’ve been getting paperwork together and signed by various groups in order to get sent off to the insurance company. So by the time everything was done, there was around 360 dollars of interest, which by the way, the dealership NEVER mentioned to me until they tried to bill it to the insurance company and got the finger. THEN they decide to tell me. I left them a couple of voice mails about the matter and ended up playing phone tag. Guy never brought it up either. I was so hot, but just decided to get it over with rather than start an argument about it.
But seriously, what kind of cold bastards charge interest on deceased accounts while the family is trying to get the insurance paperwork together. I don’t think that I’ll be doing business with these guys. For those of you looking for cars on the Missouri side, here’s the info. I’d go with a dealership with better morals. Most of them are shady anyway, but dang.
Jay Wolfe Honda
220 W 103rd St, Kansas City, MO
(816) 942-2200
Their finance company is called Future Finance and is located in the same location. Dirty hippies.
Not to mention that even though I paid it off, they couldn’t transfer the title or release the car in my name. So in order to get this damn thing tagged and dealt with, I have to go through the State of Missouri’s probate courts to get this crap done on a car with expired tags. No fault of theirs that they can’t sign it off into my name (hopefully, but I’ll look into it), but it was the icing on the cake
People – Get a will. Especially if you have family. If you don’t, get one so your kids will have an easier time cleaning up the mess.
The Monetary Squeeze
During a conversation with one of my coworker, there was a frightening realization concerning taxes, and why I think the future consumer is pretty much doomed in a lot of ways. When you put everything together, it really makes a lot of sense that huge debt is becoming more and more prevalent. First, a few facts.
- A lot of companies give their employees 3-5 percent raises per year.
- The average rate of inflation per year is 5 to 6 percent.
- The average amount of tax on the dollar steady increases
- The price of consumer goods increases every year with inflation
- The average American is $8000+ dollars in debt. And I don’t think that includes the house or the car. Definitely not the house
- Credit card companies are finding more and more ways to get money out of the consumer. (Multiple billing cycles per month, etc…)
- Banks are finding more and more ways to get fees and penalties out of consumers.
- We are constantly being barraged by an onslaught of instant gratification and the latest and greatest of consumer products.
There are more to list, but I’ll stop there as far as the facts are concerned. Items 1-4 go pretty much hand in hand to screw the consumer over. Why’s that you ask? Here’s why! With the consumer’s average raise being between 3 and 5 percent, the average salary is not keeping up with inflation. For those that think the rate of inflation isn’t as high as 5 or 6 percent, or who are looking at the government statistics, take note that there are some items in there that are purposely taken out in order to make the numbers lower.
To add to that, the tax on the dollar has been increasing throughout the years. Not at an alarming rate, but at the same time, it’s never lowered either. Couple that with the fact that the cost consumer goods rise with inflation, which of course will take more of your money to purchase. So the amount of dollars that you’re spending is increasing, and the amount of tax you pay per dollar has increased as well. So technically, Uncle Sam gets to double dip. I can’t take credit for pointing that out however. That credit goes to my coworker Robert.
Banks, credit card companies, etc… I can’t stand these companies. Advertising that they are out there to help the consumer. To reduce debt, to have lower fee’s etc… yet they are the main ones screwing the consumer over. Banks offer to help you save money, but how? They offer you 2-5 percent on your money in a savings account, yet the rate of inflation is 5-6 percent. They turn your money around and loan it out on high interest credit cards, or place it into securities, where they earn an average of 10% or more in stocks. When I learned the principles of banking at Jack Henry, I found out that a bank has the majority of it’s assets in securities. 70% if I remember right. Here’s another thing to think about. If the consumer did not have debt, would the bank be in business? Absolutely not. And that’s why they do the things they do and sell the things they sell. TO CREATE DEBT!
And credit card companies. Wow! Just wow! I’m not going to go too much into it, but do some research on the different types of billing cycles, (average daily balance, two cycle billing, etc..) and you will realize just how much your interest rate REALLY is.
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