EPIC Fail III
Permalink | Tweet This! | | December 8, 2008 by John in Consumer, In the News, Money
53% of rescued borrowers default anyway (hat tip, Stacy):
WASHINGTON, D.C. — More than half of delinquent homeowners whose mortgages were modified earlier this year ended up redefaulting within six months, a top bank regulator said Monday.
Some 53% of borrowers with loans modified in the first three months of 2008 and 51% of those with loans modified in the second quarter could not keep up with payments within six months, according to U.S. Comptroller John Dugan, who spoke at a housing conference.
Is anybody really surprised? Last I heard/read the banks who received bailout funds are just hanging on to them, not using them to relieve debt or make new loans as intended. This whole thing is just a CF.
Be Afraid
Permalink | Tweet This! | | December 3, 2008 by John in Consumer, In the News, Money
The Worst Is Yet To Come: Anonymous Banker Weighs In On The Coming Credit Card Debacle:
Today, we are bailing out the banks because of their greedy and deceptive lending practices in the mortgage industry. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. More is coming, I’m sorry to say. Layoffs are being announced nationwide in the tens of thousands. As people begin to lose their jobs, they will not be able to pay their credit card bills either. And the banks will be back for more handouts.
If the government would just bail me out on my last credit card (that seems to be taking forever to pay off) I promise I’d stimulate the economy more with those “extra” hundreds of dollars freed up each month. Honest.
Pipes
Permalink | Tweet This! | | December 1, 2008 by John in Household, Money
The plumber (from Big Sky Plumbing) is here and the water heater is pretty much toast. He was able to drain it and replace the leaky drain valve. Says it could last two weeks or two years.
To do a tankless it will be about $2200 which is about $700 more than I budgeted (but I do have the cash). I can’t replace the one that’s there because of course the floor is rotten and he couldn’t get it out and replace it without removing the furnace (makes me wonder what they were thinking when they laid out the plans for that room with the furnace blocking the water heater from the door). But that’s not the plan anyway. The plan is for that entire room to disappear.
Oh well, I can save up for the furnace next year (or just sell the Golf).
I Love Despair (Inc.)
Permalink | Tweet This! | | November 21, 2008 by John in Consumer, Humor
After a few years hiatus I’ve ordered a calendar for next year from Despair, Inc.. I love that they let you pick the Demotivators for each month now. I also love their attitude:
Again, thanks for your recent order from Despair, Inc.
If you have received this email, it means that your credit card information proved valid and that your order has been sent. You might assume now that we have your money that you’re in for better treatment. You might also assume that if you try really hard, you will succeed. But your assumptions would, in both cases, be completely wrong. And that is why you REALLY need our products.
Ding Dong the Jeep is Gone
Permalink | Tweet This! | | October 15, 2008 by John in Auto, Money, Shelby Dakota
Ron picked up the Jeep this evening after meeting with me at lunchtime to make the final payment and collect the title. Along with the Porsches, that’s three down, two more to go. Or maybe just one to go. The plan was to get rid of all but the Triumph, Mustang and Dakota. But I may keep the Golf or Landcrusher as a winter/backup vehicle. I’m already receiving inquiries on selling the latter. At this point I don’t really care which one I keep, but obviouusly the Golf gets MUCH better mpg. Or maybe I’ll just sell both of them and buy myself a nice set of studded snow tires for the Dakota…
A Nation Mourns
Permalink | Tweet This! | | by John in Consumer, Interesting/Trivia
Sad, sad economic news: Mother’s Cookies has shut down. Mother’s produced Iced Oatmeal cookies, Mini Chocolate Chip cookies, and the grand old favorite of many, the Iced Circus Animal cookies.
Iced animal crackers are like crack cocaine to me. It is a sad day indeed. Now excuse me while I run to the store…
UPDATE: J.D. at Get Rich Slowly adds the following:
All is not lost, however. The Naked Loon did some emergency grocery shopping and located two alternatives to Circus Animals: Keebler Frosted Animal Cookies and Franz Frosted Animals. The former weren’t any good, but the latter were almost as good as the real thing.
Whew! That’s a relief.
10 Reasons You Aren’t Rich
Permalink | Tweet This! | | October 14, 2008 by John in In the News, Money
You probably assume it’s because you aren’t earning enough money, but the truth is that for most people, whether or not you become a millionaire has very little to do with the amount of money you make. It’s the way that you treat money in your daily life.
In a nutshell, those reasons are (more on these at the link above):
- You Care What Your Neighbors Think
- You Aren’t Patient
- You Have Bad Habits
- You Have No Goals
- You Haven’t Prepared
- You Try to Make a Quick Buck
- You Rely on Others to Take Care of Your Money
- You Invest in Things You Don’t Understand
- You’re Financially Afraid
- You Ignore Your Finances
Like most I’ve been guilty of most of these in the past, but I’m getting better.
Shoppin’ Like a Guy
Permalink | Tweet This! | | October 5, 2008 by John in Consumer, Money
4 pairs of “dockers” on sale: $119.96
4 long sleeve button-down shirts sale: $119.96
1 jacket for Fall/Winter on sale: $69.99
Total: $309.91
Shoppin’ like a guy for a complete work wardrobe twice a year: priceless.
Made a quick trip to the big and tall store in Missoula on Saturday. The pants are not all the same color this time. Two are black and two are navy. Almost picked up lamb leather jacket but I didn’t want to spend the $200 and sometime soon I’ll have a credit at the Leather Store. The jacket is hooded parka style, waterproof and windproof but no insulated liner. I have plenty of fleece to go under it. Still need new shoes for work. I think I’ve been using the same ones for a couple years. It’s great to be a guy sometimes.
BURN BABY BURN
Permalink | Tweet This! | | September 29, 2008 by John in In the News, Money, Politics
Dow ends with largest point drop ever (emphasis mine):
NEW YORK — Wall Street’s worst fears came to pass Monday, when the government’s financial bailout plan failed in Congress and stocks plunged precipitously — hurtling the Dow Jones industrials down nearly 780 points in their largest one-day point drop ever. Credit markets, whose turmoil helped feed the stock market’s angst, froze up further amid the growing belief that the country is headed into a spreading credit and economic crisis.
Stunned traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, their faces tense and mouths agape, watched on TV screens as the House voted down the plan in mid-afternoon, and as they saw stock prices tumbling on their monitors. Activity on the floor became frenetic as the ‘‘sell’’ orders blew in.
Not the Time for Greed and Entitlement
Permalink | Tweet This! | | September 26, 2008 by John in Family, In the News, Money, Politics
My dad sent me the latest e-mail form letter circulating the net calling for the $85 Billion AIG bailout (now $700B) to instead be given to the American citizens. It calls this the “‘We Deserve It’ Dividend.” I call bullshit on that. I get a lot of e-mails like this from my family (don’t even get me started on the religious ones) and I don’t generally reply. Now I know he didn’t write it but it irks me that he (Update: he doesn’t) and probably most other Americans think this is a good idea. So I had to reply this time. I’m sure my reply will be written off as just another of John’s rants…
Whoever wrote this is retarded. It’s just more greed and entitlement. Nobody “deserves” anything.
How about they don’t spend the money at all, money we don’t have because of the war and because the republicans have been spending like drunken sailors (no better or worse than if the democrats by the way) and STOP FINDING WAYS TO DEVALUE THE DOLLAR FURTHER! Devaluing the dollar is essentially a hidden tax. We all pay for it and don’t even realize it.
These companies should be allowed to die for their poor business practices.
Unfortunately the bailout will go ahead, further damaging our country and our currency value in the world. We need to avoid printing more money. This is not the time for greed and entitlement. It’s time for us to tighten our belts and clean up this mess.
Here is the original message (YES, the math is incorrect, but I’m trying to make a larger point):
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