Mobody’s Business – The Finance Edition

We did it last year and got a few tomatoes off of it. A few things I learned from last years attempt: The planter is very heavy but you need to fill it nearly to the top with potting soil. If not the plant gets very root bound. It needs to be watered practically every day, when you water it runs out the bottom so it needs a good soak to keep it … Read More moist. And it needs to be fertilized frequently as the planter exhausts a lot of the nutrients out of the soil in the container. We have it hanging from a metal swing frame, and can move it into the sun if needed. But it weighs probably 40 pounds when watered.

This year we already have at least 15 blooms all over the thing, so I think we will get a good yield from it. Its gimmicky and I don’t think we will get more tomatoes than if we had planted it in a pot on the deck, but it was fun to do.

My garden is actually growing. Lettuce, beans, peas, corn, peppers, cukes and tomatoes. Whooeeee!

It started last year with one of those upside down tomato planters, but it gave both my dad and I the bug to plant a big garden again. Between the economy and the need to do something that costs very little and yields a lot, it was a no brainer to do it.

I haven’t really talked much about work, but I am a Court Clerk for a small community in Ohio.  Basically it means I take the money for tickets, schedule court appearances, etc.

Today I got a Bankruptcy filing in the mail for a $10.00 parking ticket.

According to the National Foundation for Debt Management:

• The average household has 10 credit cards.
• The average interest rate is 18.9%.
• The average credit card balance is $8,000.
• The typical “minimum monthly payment” is 90% interest, 10% principal.

I saw this last night and I thought it was amazing.  Between Stewart and Keith Olberman’s earlier comments, I find it hard to believe that we still have so many who fight this basic civil right.  Some things should never be left to majority rule.

Here is a transcript of the interview:

Jon Stewart: We’re talking with Governor Mike Huckabee. His book is “Do The Right Thing”.

We talked a little bit about fiscal conservatism in the first one- I want to talk to you about social conservatism, ’cause this is really about you wanting the Republican Party to get back to those basics and respectfully speaking, the one thing I guess I don’t understand about social conservatives… I get pro life and I think that’s probably their number one issue and it’s very easy for me to understand it and it’s very  easy for me to understand that we all should work together to reduce the number, at the very least, with the goal of ending… that.

The gay marriage issue and why conservatives are against it- you write that marriage is the bedrock of our society. Why would you not want more couples to buy into the stability of marriage- why would you want that precluded for an entire group of people?

Governor Huckabee: Well, marriage still means one man one woman, life relationship. I think people have a right to live any way they want to. But even anatomically- let’s face it, the only way that we can create the next generation is through a male female relationship. For 5000 years of recorded human history, that’s what marriage has meant. 30 states have had it on the ballot and in all 30 states, it’s passed- even in states like California, that nobody would suggest are social conservatives, leading the state of California.

Stewart: 30 states had Mike Huckabee on the ballot and they went with McCain- listen, you can’t trust the voters! The voters don’t know!

Huckabee: But the point being, in those states, Jon, an average of 68% of the voters across America have affirmed traditional marriage- it’s not that they have tried to say they’re gonna ban something, as much as they’re gonna affirm what has always been-

Stewart: California did ban it, in essence they said you can’t get married-

Huckabee: Actually, they have reaffirmed what they had done before-

Stewart: But people got married in the interim and- then they went back and said you’re not- I guess my question is…

You said, reaffirming the tradition of marriage over 5000 years, which takes it back to the Old Testament, where polygamy was the norm, not a heterosexual marriage between two couples [sic] that choose each other.

Marriage has evolved greatly over those 5000 years, from a property arrangement, polygamy… we’ve redefined it constantly. It used to be that people of different races could not… marry.

It strikes me as very convenient, to go back to the Bible and say, “Hey, man… we gotta look at the way they define marriage…” Why don’t we look at the way they did slavery, in the Bible?

Huckabee: But if we change the definition, then we really do have to change it to accomodate all lifestyles. We have to say to the guy in West Texas, who had 27 wives, that’s okay. And I’m not sure that I hear a lot of people arguing that that’s a great idea.

Stewart: I don’t know why polygamy has an issue here. It seems like a fundamental human right. You write in your book that all people are created equal, and yet, for gay people, you belive it is corrosive to society to allow them to have the privileges that all humans enjoy.

Huckabee: Well, there is a difference between the equality of each individual and the equality of what we do and the sameness of what we do. I mean, the fact is, marriage is under our law a privelegde; it’s not an absolute defined right.

Stewart: So what if we make it that Hispanics can’t vote?

Huckabee: Well, I don’t think that’s a really good idea. I’m not sure that we should do that.

Stewart: So why can’t gay people get married?

Huckabee: Well, because marriage still means a male and a female relationship. And until the laws are overturned, it still means that.

Huckabee: There is a big difference between a person being black, and a person practicing a lifestyle and engaging in a marital relationship that-

Stewart: Okay. This is helpful. This gets to the crux of it- I think it’s the difference of between what you believe gay people are and what I do. And I live in New York City, so I’m just gonna make a suppostition that I have more experience being around them…

And I’ll tell you this. Religion is far more of a choice than homosexuality. And the protections that we have, for religion- we protect religion- and talk about a lifestyle choice! That is absolutely a choice. Gay people don’t choose to be gay.

At what age did you choose not to be gay?

Huckabee: But Jon, religious people don’t have the right to burn others at the stake; they don’t have the right to do anything they wish to do-

Stewart: You’re not being asked to marry a guy. They’re asking to marry the person they love.

Huckabee: But they’re asking to redefine the word. And frankly, we’re probably not going to come to terms. But if the American people are not convinced that we should overturn the definition of marriage, then I would say that those who support the idea of same sex marriage have got alot of work to do, to convince the rest of us, and as I said, 68% of the American population has made that decision.

Stewart: You talk about the pro life movement being one of the great shames of our nation. I think, if you want number two, I think it’s, I think it’s that. It’s an absolute- it’s a travesty that people have forced, someone who is gay, to have to make their case- that they deserve the same basic rights-

Huckabee: Jon, excuse me, I respect you and I disagree with that- I really do- and one of the things that I want to make sure that people understand is that if a person does not necessarily support the idea of changing the definition of marriage, it does not mean that they are a homophobe. It does not mean that they are filled with hate and animosity-

Stewart: I was in no way suggesting-

Huckabee: No no, you were not saying that, but I think some people would like to throw the epithets at some people, whether they’re like me, or someone else-

Stewart: But it does beg the question, I have to say, and again… is “WHY?”

You know, you keep talking about, jeez, it would be redefining a word… and it feels like semantics is cold comfort, when it comes to humanity and especially someone such as yourself, who is I believe an empathetic person who is someone who seeks to get to the heart of problems, this idea that, “Jeez, I dunno Jon, definitions and society…” I mean, marriage was not even a sacrament until the 1200s…

Huckabee: Words do matter. Definitions matter. And I think that we have to be very thoughtful and careful before we say that we are going to undo an entire social structure. I mean, let’s face it, the basic purpose of a marriage is not just to create the next generation but to train our replacements. And it is in the context of 23 male and 23 female chromosomes coming together at the point of conception to create the next human life.

Stewart: I think you are looking at sexuality and not attributes, and it’s odd because the conservative mantra is a “meritocracy”, and I think what you are suggesting is the fact that being gay parents makes you not as good as others and i would suggest that a gay, loving family with a financially stable background beats the hell out of Britney Spears and Kevin Federline any day of the week.

Huckabee: I’m not gonna defend Britney and Kevin, for sure.

Stewart: But I appreciate you having the conversation and I just, uh, it’s just, it’s just wild.

Huckabee: Well, Jon, I just want you to know I’m not going to marry you. Under any circumstances. I’m just not.

Stewart:(laughing) Fine, appreciate that. “Do The Right Thing”, is on bookshelves now. Governor, thank you so much.

Huckabee: Thank you, Jon.

*******

For me the statement about religion really stands out.  I believe that this is truly the last civil right. In 1850 if put to a vote I am certain slavery would be legal.  It does not mean the majority is right.

I was really skeptical about Obama getting elected.  I had so little faith in our voting public that I didn’t believe, until I saw Jon Stewart announce it, that it had actually happened.  It was like I woke up from an eight year long nightmare.  But it was a bittersweet victory in that Obama never came out in support of gay marriage, I suppose you have to take the middle ground to win elections.  I was extremely disappointed that prop 8 passed and the other states with it on the ballot all voted it down.  Some people have actually credited the portrayal of an African-American President on the show “24″ to opening people up to the idea of a Barack Obama, much the same way Nichelle Nichols opened many doors in the 60’s with her portrayal of Lt. Uhura.

Finally, we are seeing mainstream gay couples portrayed on television and in movies, and with statements of Stewart, and Keith Olberman previously, I can only hope that a seed has been planted and in time, people will look back to this time with a little curiousity and sadness, and perhaps we can someday inaugurate a Female President with her First Lady by her side and it will be as normal as any other couple taking up residence.

Its Just an issue near and dear, as I have many friends and family that this effects. If you are offended by my diversion into political issues, feel free to skip reading;

***TRANSCRIPT***

Finally tonight as promised, a Special Comment on the passage, last week, of Proposition Eight in California, which rescinded the right of same-sex couples to marry, and tilted the balance on this issue, from coast to coast.

Some parameters, as preface. This isn’t about yelling, and this isn’t about politics, and this isn’t really just about Prop-8. And I don’t have a personal investment in this: I’m not gay, I had to strain to think of one member of even my very extended family who is, I have no personal stories of close friends or colleagues fighting the prejudice that still pervades their lives.

And yet to me this vote is horrible. Horrible. Because this isn’t about yelling, and this isn’t about politics.

This is about the… human heart, and if that sounds corny, so be it.

If you voted for this Proposition or support those who did or the sentiment they expressed, I have some questions, because, truly, I do not… understand. Why does this matter to you? What is it to you? In a time of impermanence and fly-by-night relationships, these people over here want the same chance at permanence and happiness that is your option. They don’t want to deny you yours. They don’t want to take anything away from you. They want what you want — a chance to be a little less alone in the world.

Only now you are saying to them — no. You can’t have it on these terms. Maybe something similar. If they behave. If they don’t cause too much trouble. You’ll even give them all the same legal rights — even as you’re taking away the legal right, which they already had. A world around them, still anchored in love and marriage, and you are saying, no, you can’t marry. What if somebody passed a law that said you couldn’t marry?

I keep hearing this term “re-defining” marriage.

If this country hadn’t re-defined marriage, black people still couldn’t marry white people. Sixteen states had laws on the books which made that illegal… in 1967. 1967.

The parents of the President-Elect of the United States couldn’t have married in nearly one third of the states of the country their son grew up to lead. But it’s worse than that. If this country had not “re-defined” marriage, some black people still couldn’t marry…black people. It is one of the most overlooked and cruelest parts of our sad story of slavery. Marriages were not legally recognized, if the people were slaves. Since slaves were property, they could not legally be husband and wife, or mother and child. Their marriage vows were different: not “Until Death, Do You Part,” but “Until Death or Distance, Do You Part.” Marriages among slaves were not legally recognized.

You know, just like marriages today in California are not legally recognized, if the people are… gay.

And uncountable in our history are the number of men and women, forced by society into marrying the opposite sex, in sham marriages, or marriages of convenience, or just marriages of not knowing — centuries of men and women who have lived their lives in shame and unhappiness, and who have, through a lie to themselves or others, broken countless other lives, of spouses and children… All because we said a man couldn’t marry another man, or a woman couldn’t marry another woman. The sanctity of marriage. How many marriages like that have there been and how on earth do they increase the “sanctity” of marriage rather than render the term, meaningless?

What is this, to you? Nobody is asking you to embrace their expression of love. But don’t you, as human beings, have to embrace… that love? The world is barren enough.

It is stacked against love, and against hope, and against those very few and precious emotions that enable us to go forward. Your marriage only stands a 50-50 chance of lasting, no matter how much you feel and how hard you work.

And here are people overjoyed at the prospect of just that chance, and that work, just for the hope of having that feeling. With so much hate in the world, with so much meaningless division, and people pitted against people for no good reason, this is what your religion tells you to do? With your experience of life and this world and all its sadnesses, this is what your conscience tells you to do?

With your knowledge that life, with endless vigor, seems to tilt the playing field on which we all live, in favor of unhappiness and hate… this is what your heart tells you to do? You want to sanctify marriage? You want to honor your God and the universal love you believe he represents? Then Spread happiness — this tiny, symbolic, semantical grain of happiness — share it with all those who seek it. Quote me anything from your religious leader or book of choice telling you to stand against this. And then tell me how you can believe both that statement and another statement, another one which reads only “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

—

You are asked now, by your country, and perhaps by your creator, to stand on one side or another. You are asked now to stand, not on a question of politics, not on a question of religion, not on a question of gay or straight. You are asked now to stand, on a question of…love. All you need do is stand, and let the tiny ember of love meet its own fate. You don’t have to help it, you don’t have it applaud it, you don’t have to fight for it. Just don’t put it out. Just don’t extinguish it. Because while it may at first look like that love is between two people you don’t know and you don’t understand and maybe you don’t even want to know…It is, in fact, the ember of your love, for your fellow **person…

Just because this is the only world we have. And the other guy counts, too.

This is the second time in ten days I find myself concluding by turning to, of all things, the closing plea for mercy by Clarence Darrow in a murder trial.

But what he said, fits what is really at the heart of this:

“I was reading last night of the aspiration of the old Persian poet, Omar-Khayyam,” he told the judge.

“It appealed to me as the highest that I can vision. I wish it was in my heart, and I wish it was in the hearts of all:

“So I be written in the Book of Love;

“I do not care about that Book above.

“Erase my name, or write it as you will,

“So I be written in the Book of Love.”
—
Good night, and good luck.

Long time since I posted, more on that in a later post.

I got an interesting phone call from BofA on December 8th. I have/had a line of credit with them, and they were looking for me to somehow pay more than the minimum payment each month like I used to.

I was late on a few payments the past year when my 9 months of unemployment finally caught up with me and frankly, they treated me like I was some kind of criminal. I have diligently paid them on time for months now, Called repeatedly and begged for interest rate decreases and was always told no.

They offered to lower my interest rate to 4.42% (from 16.89) if I agreed to close the account and pay it off in 60 months. They emphasized over and over, that they wanted me to consider my experience with them as being a good one and that they were aware that their reputation was not the best and were making efforts to change that. I still don’t know what to think of it.  That was on December 8th and I still have not received notification as to whether they were actually going to do this or not.  I was planning to close it anyway as soon as I pay it off it would be nice to pay less interest if I can.

UPDATE 12/16/08:  I have yet to receive written confirmation, however, when I checked my online account it registers my next payment at the lower amount promised in my conversation with BOA.  It looks like they are willing to work with me.  This will go a long way toward getting this debt paid off quickly.

This year a temporary worker got trampled to death in a NY Walmart.  Years ago, when I was in college I worked at WalMart over the holiday season (which for them is August through December). We stocked all night on Black Friday ( we came in at midnight even tho our regular shift normally began at 10 pm so WM didn’t have to pay us OT for working the Holiday)

There were several RV’s camped in the parking lot before we got there at midnight, and by 4 a.m. there were a couple dozen people in line. We were supposed to open at 6, but since some of the night stockers were register trained, they decided to open the doors at 5 a.m.

When they opened the doors, people rushed them and nearly got trampled. Bread machines were the hot item and there were only 10 in the store, so people were actually following folks around who had gotten them and if the person walked away from their carts they would grab the item out of the person’s cart and head for the checkout. I never saw people so mean, so selfish and show complete disregard for the people around them. Whatever happened to being decent?

That was the last Black Friday I ever participated in (1993). Now, I sleep in, I stay home, maybe catch clips of the parade, eat leftovers, etc.

I don’t really agonize too much over Christmas. I travel a bit and throughout the year I look for items that are a bit unique that I think the person would like. usually by October I have assembled most of what I am giving to people. This year I am making some crafty type stuff to go along with the things I have already gotten.

I was really hoping more people would sit Black Friday out and send a message.

*AN: This post is an expansion of several comments I have made regarding the credit industry and my personal experiences with American Express at Consumerist.com

I have an American Express Blue card. It used to have a $25K limit. I was laid off for 9 months and was not late and missed no payments. I missed a $13 gas card payment that got reported to my credit report. Shortly after, Amex pulled my credit, lowered my credit line to around $200 above the balance I am carrying and raised my interest from around 9% to 17%. For several months I have tried to get this bill paid down. Every time I would pay it down by $500, they would lower my limit by another $500. It’s been frustrating but since I am aggressively trying to pay this off I feel like I am hitting my head against the wall and getting nowhere.

I have had recently had trouble with this card. I was setting up automatic payments through their website so that the payment would be deducted from my checking on the due date each month. I thought, this way, it would never be late. What a nightmare it turned out to be. A payment was due on the 2nd of May, I checked my bank to see if it had posted, or was pending on the 5th, and there was no record of it. I went on Amex website to see why it wasn’t paid. Somehow, when I went into the bill pay area it processed a second payment. It clearly said there were two payments in process. There was no way to reverse it online so I called them. For over an hour I was on the phone with them. No way could they reverse the second payment. The CSR advised me to cancel it with my bank, so I did. The next day the second payment was processed, and the first one disappeared into thin air with no record that it had ever existed, and the one remaining payment was reversed by the bank I went back to the website, scheduled payment, and it went through the next day with no problems. I called them, told them what happened, they reversed my late fees.

The following month I again scheduled a payment for the due date. I checked the bank, no money deducted, no payment made. I called customer service, and they told me I never scheduled the payment. I went back on the computer, scheduled the payment again, and it went through the next day with no problems.

In July, I scheduled a payment for the due date, and the payment did not get made. Amex suggested that I sign up for direct debit to avoid any further problems. I signed up and was told it might take two billing cycles for the direct debit to take effect and I should just pay the monthly bill. I paid the $375 due with a phone payment. I asked them if any direct debit would include that past due amount. I was told it would be deducted from my next payment due.

Two days later I get my statement asking for $988. This statement included the $375 I had already paid. I called customer service and yes direct debit would start with the August 2nd payment. I was also assured that only the current amount of $613 would be deducted from my account.

On July 28 American Express deducted $988 from my bank account, overdrawing it by more than $700. First, it was deducted four days before the due date. Second, it was $375 more than I owed. I called American Express customer service again. They are always nice and understanding but unwilling and unable to do anything to help. Yes, they were wrong to take the more money than the current payment I owed them. But again they were powerless to do anything on their end to reverse their mistake. Again the advice was to stop the ACH at the bank. I was able to stop the payment, but then Amex put it through a second time on the actual due date and left me with $42 in the bank for the weekend till I could go back to the bank and put another stop payment on the ACH.

The end result of all this, my payment was deemed “late”, I was charged a fee for that, then they re-assessed my account and lowered my limit to $300 below my current balance, advising me that no over limit charge would be assessed and increased my interest rate to 27%. When I told them what happened at the website, they all but called me a liar. However, they told me that they will not charge an over limit fee the first month since they were the ones who lowered the limit. Nice.

I have been fighting a losing battle with them for 4 months. It has resulted in my bank account having $988 deducted twice from my bank account, even though I only owed them $613. They are always nice at CSR, but the answer is the same. Can’t lower the interest rate they boosted because of their mistake, nor the ding to my credit by lowering my limit to less than the balance I am carrying.

I really do hope that there will be some serious credit reform and that the candidates and congress are not just blowing smoke. Even if it is a small percentage of credit users these laws would affect it would make the idea of actually paying one’s debt more realistic and manageable. But I am not getting my hopes up too high. My feeling is that the first thing that should go is the 30% + interest rates. There was a time when there were caps on how much interest could be charged. Any thing over that was called loan sharking. These days its standard business practice. Look to our lawmakers. Hillary calls for a cap of 30% interest. Obama so far won’t commit to a number. I don’t know what the future will bring, but one way or the other I will pay what I owe.

American Express is not evil, but the credit card companies that use predatory practices, like double cycle billing – which charges interest on money you already paid off, changing due dates to trip you into late payments, boosting interest rates because you are maxed out on a different credit card, etc. are evil practices that must stop. They prey on the ignorant, and make money hand over fist, and when they get in trouble, they go to congress for a bailout. When I get in trouble, they are like sharks smelling blood in the water. They hijack my bank account, call me a liar, and jack my interest rates to usury levels. Thanks Amex. So as soon as I pay this pig off, I am done with credit cards for good.

Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end. Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.

~ Denis Waitl ~

Since I started this journey of financial enlightenment, I have looked for ways to consolidate my high interest debt into a lower rate. As it stands I currently cannot qualify for any credit card that is worth having – low limits, high interest rates, fees on top of fees and the systematic throttling by every card I hold has kept me at a standstill. Progress is slow and frustrating and there have been many setbacks. Every time I get $500 in my emergency fund it is needed for “something”, mostly car repairs. Then add into the mix the price of gas and my 36 mile one way commute and its pure disaster. So at the 7-month mark I feel no better off than I was when I began all this in January. But that is not entirely true. I have caught up all but one of my lagging payments, paid off two very small credit cards, about $1000 combined, and that for me is a small victory. But the problems continue. Right now, each and every one of the cc’s I hold has raised my interest rates, and lowered my available credit to just above or just below my current balance on each card. This makes my credit report look like I am maxed out on every card. But when you owe 2100 on a card with a balance of $5000, then they lower my limit to $2200, times 5 cards is making my score drop like a lead balloon. Then the card companies pull the credit react to the changes, dropping my score even lower and begin the process again. It’s a vicious cycle. I wish I did not have to deal with them, but for now, there are few alternatives if you are not a homeowner, even that might not get you any relief.

Since I started reading personal finance blogs I keep hearing a lot about peer-to-peer lending. Prosper.com, Lending Club, Zopa.com are all P2P lenders in one form or another. I like the grass-roots notion of taking the loan process back to the people so I decided to check them out.

Lending Club is not currently accepting new applicants and there is no timeline for them to resume business.

My credit score is too low for Zopa, so that was a dead end for me.

I went to Prosper’s site and had a look around. Signing up was pretty easy. Getting verified was rather annoying. I was asked for the same items over and over again. Even though I sent .pdf scans of the requested items they for some reason could not be opened or read. I had to fax things and there was no alternative to faxing (my workplace records all faxes sent out and we have to put in a password to use the fax machine) So I ended up having to pay to have items faxed over and over again. They would not accept my passport as a valid ID. They would not accept my pay ordinance (which is a legal contract) as verification of my employment. But in the end I got verified. I am glad that they make a painstaking effort to verify your information. It may be anal, but perhaps that is why they are so successful.

Prosper is a bit like ebay in that you list your request for a loan, people bid on it, and it either funds or it doesn’t. In all, I listed 4 times before I got a loan funded. I had hoped that by getting a lower interest loan I could make some actual progress in paying off my debt.

In the first listing I asked for $2500.00, probably too much for a first time borrower. Even though I read the tutorials and looked to other people’s ads in similar predicaments, I was still in a learning curve. The listing ran for a week and got 4 bids. I didn’t go too much in detail, tried to be honest, short and sweet but it didn’t get the job done.

The second and and third listing I asked for $7500. I jumped up the amount of the loan because again, I was trying to make a serious dent in the interest rates I was paying. I expanded my information, pretty much laying everything on the line in the hopes of something coming of it. But for a first time loan, it was too much to ask for with the credit rating I had. I got one bid.

For the fourth listing I decided that I would just experiment. This time I listed for the $1000 loan minimum. It funded easily but the amount is so small it really only bailed me out of a short-term crisis and did nothing to help toward my real debt. So for now, I am paying the loan, paying extra each month. I plan to pay it off in 6-9 months. I think I have to wait 9 months before I can list for another loan that might actually help me. I am also hoping to demonstrate my ability to pay my bills, keep my promises and establish a history with Prosper.

I feel that my overall experience with Prosper is positive. I believe in what they are trying to do. I have no regrets going down this path as nothing worth attaining comes easily.