I had a bank account back then that was paying 18%, too bad inflation was something like 22%.
asemaster- I solved the new car reliability puzzle by having multiple used cars that I repaired myself. I was never without a car because I always had a backup. And those 3 cars in total cost 1/3 the cost of a new car and they were all paid off in cash. In the end, they all were pretty reliable once the kinks were worked out Never really got stranded anywhere but occasionally one would need something that would sideline it for awhile until I had time to address it. The formula worked quite well for meā¦
Ha ha. I laughed at my BIL who is a CPA when he bought a car in 1980 and got a rate of 17%. He said that rate was a personal favor from the banker. Then in 81 I needed a car and the rate from my bank was 18%. Holy cow, 18% on a $10,000 car, but needed a car when driving 40K a year. Really that was the last loan I ever got from the bank. After Carter GMAC was 7%, and credit union now down to 3% or lower and Honda at 1%. 18% was tough but prices were going up so fast if you didnāt move on it, the next month youād pay 10% more. Made conservative out of a lot of us McGovernites. Still you pay the freight and try to do better. I put 480,000 on that car.
First is the lady with the Jag could have been one of those who pleads poverty in order to get a better deal. Iāve encountered several people for whom this is a negotiating tactic.
Second is that Iāve also encountered people who canāt seem to think past their nose. If they want something and they have the money, they buy it - even if it is on time. When tomorrow comes around and they donāt have enough money to buy groceries - well, thatās tomorrow. No need to worry about it now.
āI solved the new car reliability puzzle by having multiple used cars that I repaired myself.ā
Yes, thatās a good idea and I have always had multiple cars. But dadās mechanical aptitude and ability stops at changing a flat tire or burned out taillight. He was good at other things, but cars werenāt his business.
āSecond is that Iāve also encountered people who canāt seem to think past their nose. If they want something and they have the money, they buy it - even if it is on time. When tomorrow comes around and they donāt have enough money to buy groceries - well, thatās tomorrow. No need to worry about it now.ā
Just last week I was talking to the sister of a guy I know. She was saying that she and her boyfriend were moving into a 5th wheel trailer they bought that they parked on a small piece of land outside town. I asked why. The answer was āIām always struggling to pay the rent, I canāt keep a job for more than 6 months, I never have enough money, and my old cars are always broken. This way I wonāt have to worry about that stuff anymore.ā
sounds brutally honest and very self aware. a person has to know their limitations. if they are not strong enough to fix their shortcomings they may as well adapt to them.
they may be much happier and the reduced stress may allow them to improve themselves.
I wonder if that young woman has given any thought to hygiene issues, such as bathing in that trailer parked out in the wilderness. If she really begins to reek, she wonāt even hold the next job for 6 days.
I work on computers and see the same crap all the time. Letās say you replace a power supply and then the computer gets a virus. They call you blaming YOU for the problem. Then there is the famous one when you call them with a quote and they say āThere was nothing wrong with my computer when I brought it to you.ā I really like that one and I can respond by saying āPeople usually donāt bring me perfectly good computers to repair.ā You also remove a virus and they do the same crap again to get reinfected. They think an anti-virus program should keep them safe from ANYTHING. While it reduces the risk, it doesnāt eliminate it, especially if you go to risky sites. Think of wearing a condom to prevent pregnancy and STDs.
People also like to bring in the Wal-Mart specials. They only consider one model when buying one. That is the cheapest one on the shelf, built just for WM, and built as cheaply as possible to turn on. These usually run $250-300 and are no bargain as they are made to last the warranty and no more. Also, they have enough CPU and RAM to turn on but are miserable and slow otherwise. I know people who have had them last but I donāt see those.
Even worse is the rent to own center. These places charge $1200 for something that will break after it is paid off, then the person has to repeat the process over and over again. These places take the same throwaway disposable cheapo described above but marked up 400% or so. People refuse to take responsibility for their actions.
I was once picking up one of my Dadās cars from the shop. It had the tires rotated and an oil change. I got about 1/4 mile from the place when the loud clunking noises convinced me to stop. I got out and could see one of the wheels was very loose. I had the service invoice with the phone number so I called them about the issue from the car. They promptly sent someone to put the wheel on correctly and later called to offer a free inspection of the wheel assembly to make sure nothing was damaged (it wasnāt) and a free coupon or two for an oil change or tire rotation. My dad continues to still use this shop for all his work.
there are such things as wells outside of town, the property may very well have a water supply, not really enough info to judge the person as filthy. you can get clean with a bucket of water and soap if you want to
Many people canāt comprehend how an automobile works, the same for electricity, plumbing, air conditioning, etc. And likewise, handling money is beyond some peopleās grasp. I have heard Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman answering callers who have let themselves get financially buried by their poor judgement on money matters and the answer is always basically the same. The advice is always a somewhat simple plan that designates where money will be spent before it is received.
The success of those who follow the advice must be significant for the programs to be successful. But the easy credit at outrageous interest and even more outrageous penalties makes debt an albatross hung around the neck of those who find it difficult to pass up instant gratification financed with āeasy weekly payments.ā
I recall Dave Ramsey often advising desperate callers to sell their BMWs/Rovers/etc and buy a ābeaterā for cash. He often recalled some employee he had who took his advice and bought a Ford Granada for less than $1,000 and drove it until he was out of debt and I wondered if the price of old Granadas spiked as his listeners rushed to buy one.
Not that they arenāt helpful to a certain segment of society but I have found it entertaining that both Suzie and Dave have had very checkered financial pasts. Bankrupt and then were born again financial gurus. I myself have had a savings account since I was 6 years old, a checking account since I was 15, CDs at 16 as well as a Dayton/Hudson charge card, school loans, car loans, mortgage, etc. Never gone bankrupt and always looked at the long haul. Some of us always wanted things like a $100 51 Ford, but other longer term priorities spoiled our fun. I could tolerate Suzie more though if she put her hands in her pockets or behind her back.
Back to cars though. 1% or 3% is good and puts people to work.
I remember reading financial advice books years ago, in which the author was advising people what to do if they wanted to buy a house
He told them exactly what Rod Knox said. Sell the luxury car, especially if youāre still making payments. Buy a cheap car for cash. Pay off the credit cards. I suppose the idea was to minimize your monthly expenses, so that you could start saving for that house downpayment.
Some years ago the financial planners were on the MPLS/St Paul radio stations every week advising. I even went to one of their seminars. There advice boiled down to borrowing any equity you had in your house and putting it in the market. A couple years later they were off the air and the team broken up as the market tanked and homes prices were down. Same kind of thing that happened in 07 but just 20 or so years earlier. It was stupid then and stupid now. Nothing wrong with borrowing or investing but need a large large moat for shelter during the storms.
Reminds me of the time a lady and her young daughter in a new BMW stranded on the side of the road flags me down. She ran out of gas, I had a 5 gallon gasoline jug but she did not offer to give me any money to go get her a few gallons of gasoline. Maybe she did not trust me and thought I would not return with the fuel. I say ok, I will go get her three gallons of gas and return as soon as I can. I come back, fill her tank, get her car started and she claims she has no money and drives off in the BMW without so much as asking for my name or address to repay me. Grrr.
Another time, I am at a gas station and a lady approaches me saying she is stranded and out of gas and needs $5 or $10 dollars to get home. I ask to see her car and itās a newish Mercedes. I tell her no, I am not putting fuel in a strangerās Mercedes when I am driving an 18 year old Saturn SL2.
Thing is you really donāt know their circumstances. I still wonder about a kid at an Indiana truck stop that needed gas. I failed to get a travel note on my debit card and they cut me off so I was trying to figure that out and a little fumed, so I never gave him anything. In Ohio a guy approached me in a drug store parking lot trying to get back to his family 50 miles away, off drugs now, trying to get a job, real tears, etc. etc. I ended up giving him $10 just to get rid of him. We had a girl turn up on our door step late one night saying she ran out of gas and trying to get home to the town 10 miles south. Stalled on the freeway. I had just used the last of my mower gas so said Iād get some and meet her back at the car. She said sheād send the money. That was about ten years or so ago but who knows, maybe Iāll still get it? I hope its in current dollars though. Five gallons now is $20 not $10 back then. Still I think sometimes its better to give in just in case. Could be your son or daughter maybe sometime. Who needs money anyway?
Every once in awhile Iāll give $5 to those guys outside 7-11 . . . they seem to be homeless, and they usually have obvious mental issues
Iām more comfortable with the idea of giving money to somebody that obviously has serious mental issues . . . Iām not talking about speed freaks, by the way . . . than somebody coming up to me at the gas station with some suspicious sob story
The other story seems to be that somebody needs money to make a phone call. I donāt go for this.
But some other people do. Once in awhile, Iāll see that the person actually makes a phone call from the few remaining pay phones outside of 7-11
I give money to a homeless guy I see sometimes at Wa Wa he . the ones who are obviously practiced liars, and tell the same story about their car needing something every week, I don t.
Never really got stranded anywhere but occasionally one would need something that would sideline it for awhile until I had time to address it. The formula worked quite well for meā¦