How big are you willing to gamble with your home, health, or life?
The biggest crisis most of us face these days is an insurance crisis -- whether we realize it or not. Indeed, the whole world of insurance, whether we're talking whole life insurance, term life insurance, health insurance, or homeowners insurance, is the world's biggest legalized gambling operation.
Maybe you've never thought of insurance as gambling, but that's exactly what it is: The insurance company is gambling that they'll make more money off your premiums than they'll pay out in claims. And, it involves personal gambling, too -- namely YOU make a gamble that 1) your insurance needs are covered by the money you're spending, 2) the company you have insurance with will be reliable, and, 3) you'll never or rarely ever need to use the insurance you're paying for.
I recently quit a job as a transcriptionist at a large auto and homeowners insurance company. I spent most of four years transcribing mostly insurance denial letters. I learned this lesson which I want to share with you regarding the gamble you're making with insurance. Think very carefully about your experiences and those of your family and friends and you'll realize this is true. Here it is:
Insurance companies exist to make money and they do that primarily by denying or "low balling" insurance claims while raising insurance premiums.
If you think the insurance claims people are working to help you with your insurance loss/claim, you just aren't paying attention. I cannot count the thousands of letters I sent out which denied claims or offered very minimal claims payouts.
Ah, well, what can you do? If you're rich enough, you can enjoy the luxury of being self-insured. But for the rest of us, we have to face paying for insurance. Just think it through carefully and buy the best you can. Then work hard and pray hard not to need it.
[tags]insurance, gambling on insurance, just a guy who reads the papers[/tags]
Is it possible to ‘repair’ bad credit? Here’s an ebook that looks helpful
All over the Internet you see websites and companies that offer you promises of "Credit Repair Now," but immediate questions arise -- is it possible to "repair" bad credit, and how would a person do that?
Here's a useful website -- actually it directs you to a useful "ebook" -- which gives detailed information about credit repair, bolstering your credit, etc. The ebook information page offers good information about all that's involved in repairing or improving your credit. It looks worthwhile. Check it out if you're at all interested in what's involved in improving your credit score.
[tags]credit repair, improving your credit, credit scores, ebook about credit, just a guy who reads the papers[/tags]
‘Retail therapy’ to cure the blues? The government’s relying on you to spend
I guess I thought people on TV and the Internet were joking when they used the phrase "retail therapy" for those people who go shopping a lot when they're feeling down. Now I find there are studies done on the issue and that the term "retail therapy" really is used.
Boy, all along I thought the word for going out to shop till you drop was just "stupid."
Since a major factor producing the "blues" for many Americans these days is the lame economy, lost jobs, lost investments, lost wages, and other economic downers -- whipping out the credit card to shop or buying more stuff you really don't need and further depleting the check book just doesn't sound right to me.
On the other hand, our nation's leadership seems to see "retail therapy" as a wise move. That's why Congress approved and the president will sign (or has signed already?) that multi-billion dollar economic "stimulus bill." They hope those of us getting our "free money" from the federal government will apply a little retail therapy to the national economy.
Here's my best suggestion for you if and when that check arrives in the mail: Use it to pay off some of those credit card debts, left over holiday debts from Christmas, then go have a nice pizza for the family with what's left.
That's roughly our plan for any retail therapy from the big bail out.
[tags]retail therapy, shopping trips, economic stimulus, just a guy who reads the papers[/tags]
Now we’re going to have to pay the tab — Bush’s ‘tax-cut-and-spend’ legacy
The president submitted a $3 trillion budget to Congress yesterday which, I'm told, cuts domestic spending and boosts defense spending.
Not really a big surprise, is it, that a Republican president would make domestic cuts and boost defense spending? Isn't that what Republican presidents traditionally do.
What really has been the big surprise in this Republican president, however, is the "tax cut and spend" nature of his presidency -- a legacy that the next president must deal with.
For decades, conservative Republicans have chanted as their "mantra" the phrase "tax and spend Democrat." During his entire presidency, Bush has brought a new twist to things: He has cut taxes while spending like a drunken sailor.
So here we have a $3 trillion budget offering with a possible budget deficit of around $400 billion. I'm not all that good with money and budget numbers myself, and I would be the last to claim that I have answers to all this tax-cut and spend silliness -- but that seems like a heck of a bunch of money to me.
I can take the "Old Bald Guy's Escape Clause" when it comes to the national debt and humongous budget deficits -- I'll be dead and gone before the bills really come due. Sorry about leaving such a mess behind for my kids and grandkids, though.
On the other hand, to echo that popular bumper sticker: "Don't Blame Me, I Didn't Vote for Him."
Ah, well, what do I know? I'm just a guy who reads the papers.
[tags]federal budget, budget deficit, tax-cut-and-spend politics, President Bush, just a guy who reads the papers[/tags]
Does anybody REALLY understand the stock market? I don’t pretend to
I'm sitting here watching CNN coverage of early Super Tuesday voting and voter turnout. I'm also seeing on CNN that the Dow Jones Industrial Average has dropped 250+ points, the has fallen NASDAQ 41+.
Which leads to the obvious question in the title of this post: Does anybody REALLY understand the stock market?
Wouldn't you think the market might show either a boost or a steady, level trading trend on an election day? Are traders or others who move and shake "the Market" really that pessimistic about big primary election days? If so, why would that be?
I certainly don't pretend to understand what makes the Market rise and fall. (If I did, I'd be writing these words from a laptop on a beautiful beach somewhere while contemplating a day of fun in the ocean sun. Any ocean sun.) If it were up to me, I probably would require the stock market to close on major election days. Yeah, I know, that's probably way to impractical and too harsh to ever implement.
Ah, well, what do I know? I'm just a guy who reads the papers.
[tags]primary elections, stock market trends, elections and the stock market, just a guy who reads the papers[/tags]
Ouch! Lost jobs for January could be another sign of U.S. going into recession
Remember that R-word none of us wants to utter regarding the U.S. economy? We just got another disturbing sign it could be right around the corner -- the Labor Department reports that the U.S. economy lost 17,000 jobs in January. That was the first monthly decline in four years.
However you want to spin that, it isn't good news for any of us. (In this super-politicized election year, it could be downright fatal news for the GOP. But that's another story.) Seems like a good time to be successfully SELF-EMPLOYED. On that note, I urge everyone reading this to go to the many product and shopping links I have on this blog and buy something immediately. Really. In fact, I urge you to get your list ready and buy TWO of whatever you were going to buy.
Seriously, though, our country will survive this. I've been through many recessions in my lifetime, and the U.S. economy always comes back strong. Always. And, no, I'm not so old that I went through the Great Depression -- that was my parents' problem.
So hang in there. If you're out of work, you have my sympathy and best wishes. If you're doing all right, I encourage you to hang in there. Oh, all right, go ahead and spend some money. It'll stimulate that lagging economy. (And if you're going to spend some money online, remember my product links.)
[tags]jobless report, economic recession, economic stimulus, online shopping, just a guy who reads the papers[/tags]
Will the ‘free money’ deal fall apart in the Senate? Will it all come too late? We’ll see
Some of the more politically astute out there in blogging land are starting to get restless -- they're realizing yesterday's happy news about the tax rebates/stipends/"free money" checks loudly trumpeted by President Bush and the House leadership, uh, may not happen. Or if the checks do get put in the mail, they won't accomplish their purpose.
As I repeatedly pointed out yesterday, the whole $145-$150 billion economic aid bill still has to go through the Senate and be signed into law by the President before ANY checks are going to be put in the mail. Senators, especially Democratic senators, could easily reshape all or parts of the plan, leading to a stalemate and no action being taken.
Assuming that hurdle is overcome and the bill actually makes it into law, let me ask you this: What will you do with your $300/$600/$1,200+ check when you get it next May, June, or even July? Will you do the "right" thing and quickly spend the money, preferably on something you don't need but something which will create (?) jobs and stimulate the economy?
Sure you will. Me, too. I've already got my eye on a Lexus I hope to have in time to take across country for that vacation I'll fund at the beach using the rest of the money from the rebate.
Uh, you do realize that was sarcasm, right?
Many feel the rebates/stipends whatever you want to call them are going to be way too little arriving way to late to keep the economy on track and avoid that R* no one likes to talk about.
I dunno. I'm no economist. I'm just a guy who reads the papers.
[tags]economic aid, tax rebates, Congress, Senate, President Bush, just a guy who reads the papers[/tags]
Low-life scum people out there are already starting tax rebate scams
Just heard on our local television news this evening that the low-life scum people out there who prey on others are already cranking up the scams regarding the prospective tax rebates Bush and Congress are working on as part of the big economic aid package.
THE LEGISLATION TO MAKE THIS HAPPENED HAS NOT YET BEEN EVEN PASSED OR SIGNED INTO LAW YET. That means NO email you get, NO phone call you get, NO message of any kind that you get telling you to apply or give information to the IRS or to ANYONE is legitimate.
If and when these rebates become part of the law, you will absolutely not need to do anything to clarify or qualify for them. They will be based on your income tax filings and records which the government already has. You will receive a check (or not) in the mail based on that. YOU WILL NOT BE ASKED TO GIVE ANYONE ANY APPLICATION OR ANY INFORMATION TO GET A TAX REBATE -- if and when this aid package goes into law.
Can I say this any more clearly? Is there any reason you need to respond if you get some hairbrained email, phone call, text message, etc.? NO NO NO NO NO.
I cannot say this as harshly as I want, because I don't use language that's suitable but one more time: DO NOT LET THE B*ST*RDS WHO ARE SCAMMERS STEAL YOUR INFORMATION OR MONEY if you get a call about this tax rebate thing. It will be a scam. Walk away from it, delete the email, hang up the phone, etc.
My apologies for all the capital letters in this post. I really was intending to "yell" though, because there are just too many people eagerly and cleverly trying to steal our money and our private, valuable information. Take that for what you will.
Got it? Good.
[tags]tax rebate scammers, thieves, just a guy who reads the papers[/tags]
‘Useful Site’ for this morning — credit offers for the ‘less than perfect’ credit history
It would be wonderful if we could pay cash up front for everything, wouldn't it? But if you're like me, you simply cannot function in the "real world" without some credit resources. And if you're also like me, you perhaps have gone through some hard times in your life that have "bruised" your credit a bit -- maybe not ruined it, but given it a sound whack or two.
Here's a "Useful Website" you need to take a look at: "BadCreditOffers.com," which styles itself as a "free consumer resource" site where you can get information and make application to a wide variety of bad credit loans, credit cards, home loans, and auto loans -- even if you're suffering through some bruised credit. They include a page which makes it easy for you to get a copy of your free credit report from the major credit bureaus which track that information. The site is set up to make it easy for you to compare the various offers and see whether there's anything there useful for your particular situation.
We both know, as I said, that cash-as-you-go is the best route for all of us. But if you live in the same "credit-necessary" world I live in, you should take a look around BadCreditOffers.com.
[tags]BadCreditOffers.com, credit needs, useful website, just a guy who reads the papers[/tags]
‘Brother, can you spare a dime?’ — okay, a little more than that
There was an old song during the Great Depression of the 1930s titled "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" which was a big hit because it expressed the financial needs and poverty that was sweeping America. It came to mind just now after I paid a visit to a "Useful Website" my son pointed out.
The site is "Kiva," and it's been in the news a lot recently, but I somehow missed it. It's a "micro loan" site where you can make loans to people in Third World nations who are trying to start or improve businesses they run -- or buy an extra milk cow, or buy one more goat, or perhaps get a new plow, or ... you get the idea.
I think the business was started and still is run by a group of college students, or at least some very young people, with a burden to really help folks in practical ways. According to the website, Kiva has been featured recently on Oprah, on the Today Show, and in Bill Clinton's newest book, "Giving."
You don't have to be rich to help folks through Kiva. If you have a Paypal account and email, you can help out. The procedure is to pick someone who's seeking a loan (and they give a good amount of information on those seeking the loans and what they want the money for, as well as information about the whole deal). Once you have a person/project you'd like to help, you invest $25, which goes toward the loan amount needed. In most cases, within 3-6-8-12 months, your $25 will be repaid by the Third World entrepreneur you loaned it to. You can take it back, or loan it again.
And of course they invite you to loan more than just $25, but that's entirely up to you.
Oh, did I mention you don't earn any interest on your $25 -- but their default rate on the more than $3 million in loans already repaid is about 0.2 percent.
There's not a dime in it for me, and not a dime of profit in it for you. This is NOT one of the "sponsored ads" I run in this blog. I'm offering it to you because I find the whole site and the whole micro loans concept personally exciting.
If you're always saying someone needs to help the poor and needy help themselves -- well, go to Kiva and you'll get reward enough from the opportunity to do exactly that.
[tags]Third World micro loans, Kiva, impoverished people, helping the poor, just a guy who reads the papers[/tags]
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