How Bad Is It???

[FishermanTim]

If you pay your credit card bill on time and haven't been late (I don't know how many months/years back they give you as a "grace period") and your credit card interest rate is 14% or higher, then they are either doing it or are a real lousy company.

Of course there's the option of transferring your balance to another card with a low transfer balance rate. If they check any other bill that you pay, and you are late, than your rate will typically jump to around 24%.

I've been OVERpaying my card bills (balances are $20-30 per month)
so that when I get my bill, I see "No payment required" AND they have to pay interest for any positive balance that they carry to next month.
(Keep in mind that I only overpay by paying $100.00, so I'm not giving them a lot to hold onto.)

[Swimmer]

Ijust left my barber in Hanson. He said his last four customers all got laid off today. One was a carpenter, and the others were in the trades but he didn't say where.

[spence]

Our business has still been decent, but the next few quarters will prove very interesting as more companies tighten the belt. As bad as the NE economy might be, it is worse in other areas.

Personally it hasn't hit us much and I'm hoping it stays that way.

-spence

[nightfighter]

The other shoe hasn't hit bottom yet.... Automakers are jumping on the bailout wagon, and could be followed by the airlines. If they're giving out money...what industry wouldn't get in line, besides they oil refiners...
Just need to refocus where your dollar are going to be spent.
And not to get political, but the impending employer/cardcheck/union legislation battle looming on the horizon will undoubtedly prolong any recovery.
I don't see getting a feel good scenario in place for 24 months.

[JohnR]

Originally Posted by Nebe

Im a self employed artist.... need I say more?

Now you understand when your folks said you should be a Doctor!
(sorry)

My Company is doing well, pretty busy, and though we might not hire someone like originally intended, we're doing OK. That said, one coworkers husband was given notice.

My wife's place

[Moses]

Luckily my job is secure and allows my wife to stay home with our two boys. Although not recession proof, we are privately held and very careful with finances which is a good thing. Some existing and potential customers may be affected by a lack of credit but we feel these are delays vs outright denials.

On the home front, we usually live the same year in and year out. As someone else stated, gifts for children only this year for Christmas.

For those with existing CC debt/high interest rates, call the companies and insist on a lower rate. I did this a couple years ago and was granted a lower rate by 5%. Makes a huge difference when carrying a balance.

I know a few close friends very recently have done this and were granted lower rates also. If the front line operator denies, have them send you to where you can cancel the card outright (while mumbling to yourself holidays are approaching, etc.). They'll connect you to management and work out a lower rate as long as you keep the card active.

[justplugit]

If you have credit cards you are not using, cancel them, as they also fall into play in your credit rating, seen as monies you could still tap.

It would be the best thing for everyone if we got back to the old adage-
-pay yourself first- by taking %10 out of your pay for saving,
wether it be 401-k, IRA or savings account before you get it in your hands.

I have heard setting your thermostat 1 or2 degrees lower can lower your heating bill upto 3%.

[striperman36]

Akami - the edge of the internet and the information highway caching king laid of 7 pct of their workforce worldwide today.

It's like the entire world has hit a speed bump

[Pete_G]

Originally Posted by justplugit

If you have credit cards you are not using, cancel them, as they also fall into play in your credit rating, seen as monies you could still tap.

I've always read the opposite (on the Internet, so who knows) that closing credit card accounts is bad for your credit score.

[justplugit]

Originally Posted by nightfighter

The other shoe hasn't hit bottom yet.... Automakers are jumping on the bailout wagon, and could be followed by the airlines. If they're giving out money...what industry wouldn't get in line, besides they oil refiners...

Ya, if the so called highly educated Havad grad ,etc.,company managers and politicians are so smart ,how come this country is in the fix it's in?

IMHO, lack of common sense and greed.

[JohnR]

Originally Posted by justplugit

Ya, if the so called highly educated Havad grad ,etc.,company managers and politicians are so smart ,how come this country is in the fix it's in?

IMHO, lack of common sense and greed.

Absolutely, add in all the feel good by "helping" other people out irresponsibly (of course, redistributing other people's dough to do it) and we have a perfect storm of crappola...

Plenty of blame to go around folks, from the greedy to politicians to the criminal to the people with their hands out all the time. It doesn't help either that we as a nation have became spend-happy.

We'll get through it because we are Americans and we always fight adversary and somehow prevail but how much will we learn from it?

[cheferson]

Its not that bad if you can still afford $75 fishing lures

[Raven]

Originally Posted by JohnR

We'll get through it because we are Americans and we always fight adversary and somehow prevail but how much will we learn from it?

a little off topic but....

i just watched the hurricane of 1938 ....major destruction on the history channel, and was amazed watchin these two guys whacking a roof with a sledgehammer ...here in new england....

but the narrator was saying essentially the same thing.... did we learn anything from that storm....?

Really what we needed to learn was how mother nature can just decide to whip the crap out of us all anytime she wants too... and we have forgotten.

all the construction on the shore line .......
....may be all swept away in one horrific storm...
the perfect storm... like you said..

it's from events that huge that we tend to learn.