Michael "Dog3" wrote:

> Our house is paid for. We took out a 15 year mortgage on it and paid
> double payments. We paid it off in just under 8 years. Now we're
> sinking a bunch of money into a remodel of it. Our financial guys are
> complaining that we should take out a mortgage for the tax deduction
> and to pay for the remodel.

So if you're in the 25 percent bracket, you can pay $100 to
save $25. What a deal!

> one way or the other. I know nothing about finance but I tend to lean
> with the financial advisors and I think we should probably do it. My
> father also says to do it.

It's a nice feeling to have the place paid for, but if you are better
off leaving your dough in investments rather than using it to pay
for the renovations, what the heck. You'll pay it off fast, don't
sweat it.

nancy

Michael "Dog3" wrote:

> "Nancy Young" > news:vFCil.16527$Nn6.10080
> @newsfe03.ams2: in rec.food.cooking
>>
>> It's a nice feeling to have the place paid for, but if you are better
>> off leaving your dough in investments rather than using it to pay
>> for the renovations, what the heck. You'll pay it off fast, don't
>> sweat it.
>
> The current economy makes for nervous decision making sometimes. We
> both know we'll never lose the house and we can certainly afford a
> mortgage on it but it's the whole idea of it with the current
> political and financial climate in the country. Strange isn't it?
> Any other time a 4 3/4% mortgage would sound incredibly attractive,
> wouldn't it?

Absolutely. Sometimes when I see people saying they are
waiting for the rates to drop, I think People! How spoiled
have we become?? Under 5%, that's great, you're not
going to find much better!

Of course, the low rates are not good for people trying to
live off their savings. Ahem.

nancy

On Wed, 4 Feb 2009 21:30:18 +0100, Giusi wrote:

> "George" ha scritto nel messaggio >
>> Sure, they will just schedule your operation for 18 months ahead instead >
>> of the usual 9.
>
> That also is not happening here.
>
> It isn't perfect, but it's damned good.

it's just another tired, right-wing boogyman.

the great thing about being uninsured is that it's re-scheduled for never.

your pal,
blake

On 05 Feb 2009 14:02:47 GMT, Michael "Dog3" wrote:

> blake murphy >
> : in rec.food.cooking
>
>> On 03 Feb 2009 15:50:28 GMT, Michael "Dog3" wrote:
>>
>>> "Nancy Young" > news:fKLhl.2195$jz5.601
>>> @newsfe09.ams2: in rec.food.cooking
>>>
>>>> Michael "Dog3" wrote:
>>>>> "Nancy Young" > news:UbHhl.5998$aJ3.4674
>>>>
>>>>>> I saw that guy on tv! Man, do they have a list of stores so I
>>>>>> know where not to use my card?? Crazy.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Oh, right, there is no such list. Way to go.
>>>>>
>>>>> Gawd. I knew this type of thing went on with insurance companies
>>>>> and other companies but I'd never dream of AMEX doing this type of
>>>>> thing. Sheesh... I refuse to walk into a Walmart so I'm safe on
>>>>> that one but what about other retailers I might shop at? I might be
>>>>> on THELIST (TINL)
>>>>
>>>> (laugh) TINL included car repair places. Like ... if you get your
>>>> car fixed, you're one foot into deadbeatland?
>>>
>>> Worse yet, I don't know if I've ever used a credit card at Shop 'n
>>> Save or Aldi's. Here in St. Louis they are the discount type grocers
>>> in my area. I'm sure they are not on the "good list" (TINGL).
>>>
>>> Michael
>>
>> all i can say is that it's a good thing my crack dealer accepts only
>> cash.
>
> It's a vicious cycle. If you pay cash to the crack dealer you don't build
> a credit rating. If your crack dealer would take MC/VISA it would help to
> build said credit rating. However, since your crack dealer is most
> likely on "THE LIST" your newly established credit rating would be
> blemished ;-)
>
> Michael

it's a rocky situation.

your pal,
blake

Michael "Dog3" wrote:
>
> It's a vicious cycle. If you pay cash to the crack dealer you don't build
> a credit rating. If your crack dealer would take MC/VISA it would help to
> build said credit rating. However, since your crack dealer is most
> likely on "THE LIST" your newly established credit rating would be
> blemished ;-)
>


Yep. That's how they get ya. (THTGY)

gloria p

blake murphy wrote:

> On Wed, 4 Feb 2009 21:30:18 +0100, Giusi wrote:
>
> > "George" ha scritto nel messaggio >
> >> Sure, they will just schedule your operation for 18 months ahead
instead >
> >> of the usual 9.
> >
> > That also is not happening here.
> >
> > It isn't perfect, but it's damned good.
>
> it's just another tired, right-wing boogyman.
>
> the great thing about being uninsured is that it's re-scheduled for never.
>


Yup, another right-wing shibboleth "socialized" health care is, "But
everybody has to WAIT in a LINE...!!!". Natcherly *without* insurance you
are spared those pesky "lines"...


--
Best
Greg

blake murphy wrote:

> On Tue, 3 Feb 2009 11:13:09 -0500, Nancy Young wrote:
>
> > Michael "Dog3" wrote:
> >> "Nancy Young" > news:fKLhl.2195$jz5.601
> >> @newsfe09.ams2: in rec.food.cooking
> >
> >>> (laugh) TINL included car repair places. Like ... if you get your
> >>> car fixed, you're one foot into deadbeatland?
> >>
> >> Worse yet, I don't know if I've ever used a credit card at Shop 'n
> >> Save or Aldi's. Here in St. Louis they are the discount type grocers
> >> in my area. I'm sure they are not on the "good list" (TINGL).
> >
> > I just realized ... I got a couple of prescriptions filled today,
> > now AMEX knows I have bronchitis! One foot down
> > deadbeat road!!
> >
> > I really don't know what a discount store is. To me that's like
> > a dollar store or something? How about Marshalls and TJMaxx.
> > Whatever. I think they are reviewing their policies as we speak.
> > At the very least let us know what behavior is a problem with
> > them so the consumer can avoid the trap. Not asking too much?
> > Let us know what the rules are?
> >
> > Honest, I thought the rules were Get your bill and pay it on
> > time according to the agreement. And don't mess up on any
> > other bills, either. Silly, naive me.
> >
> > nancy
>
> see, now they have these computer algorithms to assess risk and whatnot.
> that's how they discovered that bundling up shaky mortgages and re-selling
> them was absolutely no-risk. step three: profit!


Korporations are largely "extra-territorial" when it comes to the law (let
alone basic decency)...if you or I as individuals ran amok like these
corporate entities do we'd stand trial for being bunco artists and quickly
be sent up the river.


--
Best
Greg

blake murphy > wrote in
:

> On Wed, 4 Feb 2009 21:30:18 +0100, Giusi wrote:
>
>> "George" ha scritto nel messaggio >
>>> Sure, they will just schedule your operation for 18 months
>>> ahead instead > of the usual 9.
>>
>> That also is not happening here.
>>
>> It isn't perfect, but it's damned good.
>
> it's just another tired, right-wing boogyman.
>
> the great thing about being uninsured is that it's re-scheduled
> for never.

well, unless you have some savings, or you talk to the
clinic/hospital financial aid folks...
i had cancer. if i *had* had insurance, my cancer would have
progressed to a much more serious point before the insurance
company would have quit dicking around & agreed to deal with it. as
it was, i went to my PC doc, said "i have this lump", & had the
ultrasound & MRI the next week & surgery 2 weeks later.
with insurance, i'd have had to get "permission" for the
ultrasound, then waited for "permission" for the MRI, then waited
some more to see if they would "allow" surgery & what type...
ofcourse now i'll *never* be able to get health insurance, but oh
well.
lee

enigma wrote:
>
>
> well, unless you have some savings, or you talk to the
> clinic/hospital financial aid folks...
> i had cancer. if i *had* had insurance, my cancer would have
> progressed to a much more serious point before the insurance
> company would have quit dicking around & agreed to deal with it. as
> it was, i went to my PC doc, said "i have this lump", & had the
> ultrasound & MRI the next week & surgery 2 weeks later.
> with insurance, i'd have had to get "permission" for the
> ultrasound, then waited for "permission" for the MRI, then waited
> some more to see if they would "allow" surgery & what type...
> ofcourse now i'll *never* be able to get health insurance, but oh
> well.

You gotta love health care for profit. Thank goodness we have government
health care. My sister in law went in for an MRI to look for the cause
of her back problems. The MRI showed a "spot" on her liver. She went
back for more test and a biopsy, and that determined that the "spot" was
a cancerous tumour. She has been taking and experimental chemotherapy
to treat it. She had another MRI the other day and it showed that the
tumour has shrunk by 20%. Unlike some chemotherapy, this one has not
made her ill or caused hair loss. She just feels a little tired after
it. No haggling and arguing with insurance companies who don't want to
part with the money that they took for premiums.

On Thu, 5 Feb 2009 10:05:29 -0500, Nancy Young wrote:

> Michael "Dog3" wrote:
>
>> "Nancy Young" > news:vFCil.16527$Nn6.10080
>> @newsfe03.ams2: in rec.food.cooking
>>>
>>> It's a nice feeling to have the place paid for, but if you are better
>>> off leaving your dough in investments rather than using it to pay
>>> for the renovations, what the heck. You'll pay it off fast, don't
>>> sweat it.
>>
>> The current economy makes for nervous decision making sometimes. We
>> both know we'll never lose the house and we can certainly afford a
>> mortgage on it but it's the whole idea of it with the current
>> political and financial climate in the country. Strange isn't it?
>> Any other time a 4 3/4% mortgage would sound incredibly attractive,
>> wouldn't it?
>
> Absolutely. Sometimes when I see people saying they are
> waiting for the rates to drop, I think People! How spoiled
> have we become?? Under 5%, that's great, you're not
> going to find much better!
>
> Of course, the low rates are not good for people trying to
> live off their savings. Ahem.
>
> nancy

the interest rates for savings offered by banks are close to insulting.

your pal,
blake

blake murphy wrote:
> On Thu, 5 Feb 2009 10:05:29 -0500, Nancy Young wrote:

>> Of course, the low rates are not good for people trying to
>> live off their savings. Ahem.

> the interest rates for savings offered by banks are close to
> insulting.

Tell me about it. I opened a couple of short term cds today
because they offered 2.6 ... there was a line at the bank.

Unfortunately, if they can only lend out money at 5%, they
sure aren't going to borrow it for much more than 2%.

nancy

On Fri, 6 Feb 2009 14:38:07 -0500, "Nancy Young"
> wrote:

>blake murphy wrote:
>> On Thu, 5 Feb 2009 10:05:29 -0500, Nancy Young wrote:
>
>>> Of course, the low rates are not good for people trying to
>>> live off their savings. Ahem.
>
>> the interest rates for savings offered by banks are close to
>> insulting.
>
>Tell me about it. I opened a couple of short term cds today
>because they offered 2.6 ... there was a line at the bank.
>
>Unfortunately, if they can only lend out money at 5%, they
>sure aren't going to borrow it for much more than 2%.
>
>nancy

I need to put some more into CDs. My SS goes into a savings account
with almost no interest. 2% would be a great increase.

Fortunately we managed to get all of our IRAs and CDs into fairly
decent interest last spring. All for 5 years.
--
Susan N.

"Moral indignation is in most cases two percent moral,
48 percent indignation, and 50 percent envy."
Vittorio De Sica, Italian movie director (1901-1974)

The Cook wrote:
> On Fri, 6 Feb 2009 14:38:07 -0500, "Nancy Young"
> > wrote:

>> Tell me about it. I opened a couple of short term cds today
>> because they offered 2.6 ... there was a line at the bank.

> I need to put some more into CDs. My SS goes into a savings account
> with almost no interest. 2% would be a great increase.
>
> Fortunately we managed to get all of our IRAs and CDs into fairly
> decent interest last spring. All for 5 years.

That's good. I hesitate to take out longer term CDs because
the interest rate isn't worth tying up money for long.

nancy

blake murphy wrote:


> the interest rates for savings offered by banks are close to
> insulting.

Currently I'm getting 2% on my checking and 2.4% on money market.
They're both online banks, American Bank and Emigrant Direct
respectively.

There are various deals for higher rates that I get, but all require
using their check card some fairly high number of times per month to
maintain it. Not worth it.





Brian

--
Day 3 of the "no grouchy usenet posts" project

In article >,
blake murphy > wrote:

> On Thu, 5 Feb 2009 10:05:29 -0500, Nancy Young wrote:

> > Of course, the low rates are not good for people trying to
> > live off their savings. Ahem.

> the interest rates for savings offered by banks are close to insulting.

Think that's bad? There were government securities offered recently
with an interest rate of zero.

--
Dan Abel
Petaluma, California USA

Nancy wrote on Fri, 6 Feb 2009 14:38:07 -0500:

> blake murphy wrote:
>> On Thu, 5 Feb 2009 10:05:29 -0500, Nancy Young wrote:

>>> Of course, the low rates are not good for people trying to
>>> live off their savings. Ahem.

>> the interest rates for savings offered by banks are close to
>> insulting.

> Tell me about it. I opened a couple of short term cds today
> because they offered 2.6 ... there was a line at the bank.

> Unfortunately, if they can only lend out money at 5%, they
> sure aren't going to borrow it for much more than 2%.

If you can get 2.5%, just remember that inflation is over 3% and you
will have to pay income tax on the miserable interest.

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

blake murphy wrote:
> On Thu, 5 Feb 2009 10:05:29 -0500, Nancy Young wrote:

>>
>> Of course, the low rates are not good for people trying to
>> live off their savings. Ahem.
>>
>> nancy
>
> the interest rates for savings offered by banks are close to insulting.
>
> your pal,
> blake




I vaguely remember banks in the 50s paying 3% for regular savings
accounts and charging 3.5% for G.I. mortgage loans and around 4-4.5%
for others.

Recently there's been uch a huge delta between what they pay and what
they charge.

RE credit card charges of 29%: where are the usury laws when you
need 'em?

gloria p

On Fri, 6 Feb 2009 15:02:39 -0500, Nancy Young wrote:

> The Cook wrote:
>> On Fri, 6 Feb 2009 14:38:07 -0500, "Nancy Young"
>> > wrote:
>
>>> Tell me about it. I opened a couple of short term cds today
>>> because they offered 2.6 ... there was a line at the bank.
>
>> I need to put some more into CDs. My SS goes into a savings account
>> with almost no interest. 2% would be a great increase.
>>
>> Fortunately we managed to get all of our IRAs and CDs into fairly
>> decent interest last spring. All for 5 years.
>
> That's good. I hesitate to take out longer term CDs because
> the interest rate isn't worth tying up money for long.
>
> nancy

c.d.'s make me nervous because theoretically you can lose some of the
principal. i did park some money with ING:

<http://home.ingdirect.com/open/open.asp>

your pal,
blake

On Fri, 06 Feb 2009 18:17:13 -0700, Gloria P wrote:

> blake murphy wrote:
>> On Thu, 5 Feb 2009 10:05:29 -0500, Nancy Young wrote:
>
>>>
>>> Of course, the low rates are not good for people trying to
>>> live off their savings. Ahem.
>>>
>>> nancy
>>
>> the interest rates for savings offered by banks are close to insulting.
>>
>> your pal,
>> blake
>
> I vaguely remember banks in the 50s paying 3% for regular savings
> accounts and charging 3.5% for G.I. mortgage loans and around 4-4.5%
> for others.
>
> Recently there's been uch a huge delta between what they pay and what
> they charge.
>
> RE credit card charges of 29%: where are the usury laws when you
> need 'em?
>
> gloria p

long, long gone. the credit card companies are putting loan sharks out of
business.

your pal,
blake

On Sat, 07 Feb 2009 20:12:59 GMT, blake murphy
> wrote:

>On Fri, 6 Feb 2009 15:02:39 -0500, Nancy Young wrote:
>
>> The Cook wrote:
>>> On Fri, 6 Feb 2009 14:38:07 -0500, "Nancy Young"
>>> > wrote:
>>
>>>> Tell me about it. I opened a couple of short term cds today
>>>> because they offered 2.6 ... there was a line at the bank.
>>
>>> I need to put some more into CDs. My SS goes into a savings account
>>> with almost no interest. 2% would be a great increase.
>>>
>>> Fortunately we managed to get all of our IRAs and CDs into fairly
>>> decent interest last spring. All for 5 years.
>>
>> That's good. I hesitate to take out longer term CDs because
>> the interest rate isn't worth tying up money for long.
>>
>> nancy
>
>c.d.'s make me nervous because theoretically you can lose some of the
>principal. i did park some money with ING:
>
><http://home.ingdirect.com/open/open.asp>
>
>your pal,
>blake


As far as I know, if you cash it in before maturity you will probably
have to forfeit some of the interest. Of course if you bank goes
belly up you may lose more if you have more than the FDIC insured
amount.
--
Susan N.

"Moral indignation is in most cases two percent moral,
48 percent indignation, and 50 percent envy."
Vittorio De Sica, Italian movie director (1901-1974)

blake murphy wrote:
> On Fri, 6 Feb 2009 15:02:39 -0500, Nancy Young wrote:

>> That's good. I hesitate to take out longer term CDs because
>> the interest rate isn't worth tying up money for long.

> c.d.'s make me nervous because theoretically you can lose some of the
> principal.

That's a theory I'm unfamiliar with.

I did lose some interest when IndyMac failed because I held
CDs through a brokerage account.

nancy

Dave Smith > wrote in
m:

> You gotta love health care for profit. Thank goodness we have
> government health care. My sister in law went in for an MRI to
> look for the cause of her back problems. The MRI showed a "spot"
> on her liver. She went back for more test and a biopsy, and that
> determined that the "spot" was a cancerous tumour. She has been
> taking and experimental chemotherapy to treat it. She had
> another MRI the other day and it showed that the tumour has
> shrunk by 20%. Unlike some chemotherapy, this one has not made
> her ill or caused hair loss. She just feels a little tired after
> it. No haggling and arguing with insurance companies who don't
> want to part with the money that they took for premiums.

yeah, it's so great that, after paying premiums for years, your
insurance company can *cancel your policy* if you develop, say,
breast cancer... so they don't have to pay for treatment.
my mom died last Valentine's Day, after a botched attempt by the
hospital to put in a feeding tube... the last conversation i had
with her was about how totally evil for profit health care in the
US has become. my mom was an RN, grasduated in the mid-40s, so she
saw the rise of the insurance "industry" & what it did to destroy
real health care.
lee

On Sat, 07 Feb 2009 15:22:06 -0500, The Cook wrote:

> On Sat, 07 Feb 2009 20:12:59 GMT, blake murphy
> > wrote:
>
>>On Fri, 6 Feb 2009 15:02:39 -0500, Nancy Young wrote:
>>
>>> The Cook wrote:
>>>> On Fri, 6 Feb 2009 14:38:07 -0500, "Nancy Young"
>>>> > wrote:
>>>
>>>>> Tell me about it. I opened a couple of short term cds today
>>>>> because they offered 2.6 ... there was a line at the bank.
>>>
>>>> I need to put some more into CDs. My SS goes into a savings account
>>>> with almost no interest. 2% would be a great increase.
>>>>
>>>> Fortunately we managed to get all of our IRAs and CDs into fairly
>>>> decent interest last spring. All for 5 years.
>>>
>>> That's good. I hesitate to take out longer term CDs because
>>> the interest rate isn't worth tying up money for long.
>>>
>>> nancy
>>
>>c.d.'s make me nervous because theoretically you can lose some of the
>>principal. i did park some money with ING:
>>
>><http://home.ingdirect.com/open/open.asp>
>>
>>your pal,
>>blake
>
> As far as I know, if you cash it in before maturity you will probably
> have to forfeit some of the interest.

with c.d.'s my recollection is - and i asked the bank - that if you cash in
at a (very) early date, you will lose some of the principal, not just
interest. i bought one anyway, but still was a little nervous.

> Of course if you bank goes
> belly up you may lose more if you have more than the FDIC insured
> amount.

unfortunately, i don't have the kind of money to worry about the $100,000
($200,000?) limit.

your pal,
blake

blake murphy wrote:

> with c.d.'s my recollection is - and i asked the bank - that if you
> cash in at a (very) early date, you will lose some of the principal,
> not just interest. i bought one anyway, but still was a little
> nervous.

There's your problem, you're not supposed to take money
out of CDs early. You put money in there with the knowledge
that you can't touch it for whatever length of time.

Long ago and far away, I was a bank teller. If people insisted
on breaking into their CDs, we would offer them a passbook
loan against them, at least you didn't have to pay harsh
penalties. Just interest a percent over what you were getting.
I don't know if those are offered any longer.

nancy

On Sun, 8 Feb 2009 12:17:30 -0500, Nancy Young wrote:

> blake murphy wrote:
>
>> with c.d.'s my recollection is - and i asked the bank - that if you
>> cash in at a (very) early date, you will lose some of the principal,
>> not just interest. i bought one anyway, but still was a little
>> nervous.
>
> There's your problem, you're not supposed to take money
> out of CDs early. You put money in there with the knowledge
> that you can't touch it for whatever length of time.
>
> Long ago and far away, I was a bank teller. If people insisted
> on breaking into their CDs, we would offer them a passbook
> loan against them, at least you didn't have to pay harsh
> penalties. Just interest a percent over what you were getting.
> I don't know if those are offered any longer.
>
> nancy

well, yes. i did not intend to cash in early, but i was apprehensive that
my wheelchair would blow up or something and i'd need the money. but it
didn't and i didn't. when it matured i moved it to ING (less return, more
liquid).

your pal,
blake

In article >,
says...
> On Sun, 8 Feb 2009 12:17:30 -0500, Nancy Young wrote:
>
> > blake murphy wrote:
> >
> >> with c.d.'s my recollection is - and i asked the bank - that if you
> >> cash in at a (very) early date, you will lose some of the principal,
> >> not just interest. i bought one anyway, but still was a little
> >> nervous.
> >
> > There's your problem, you're not supposed to take money
> > out of CDs early. You put money in there with the knowledge
> > that you can't touch it for whatever length of time.
> >
> > Long ago and far away, I was a bank teller. If people insisted
> > on breaking into their CDs, we would offer them a passbook
> > loan against them, at least you didn't have to pay harsh
> > penalties. Just interest a percent over what you were getting.
> > I don't know if those are offered any longer.
> >
> > nancy
>
> well, yes. i did not intend to cash in early, but i was apprehensive that
> my wheelchair would blow up or something and i'd need the money. but it
> didn't and i didn't. when it matured i moved it to ING (less return, more
> liquid).
>
> your pal,
> blake
>
Place I get mine (Credit Union), the most you lose is about 2 month's
interest.

HB