The new 100 dollar bill...

snow

Demiurge wrote: »

People responsible with their money think it's ridiculous to pay cash for things when the credit card companies are giving out free money. I have made a lot of money off of American Express, specifically, over the years.

There's no interest at all when you pay your bill every month.

If you're not responsible with your money, you are smart to stick with cash.

I usally get back somewhere between 500 to 1k dollars every year from the credit cards and owe zilch.

bobman1235 wrote: »

Debit cards != credit cards. They're just another way to move cash around. The benefit is if you lose them, your money isn't GONE. Also, you can rent a car.

Good points.

cfrizz wrote: »

+1 on this Curt. I have NEVER carried a balance on any of my cards nor do I ever intend to do so. If I can't afford it, I don't buy it.

It's called PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY. The charges won't just magically appear on the statement you know!

Agreed.

REGARDS SNOW

Polk addict

Ron-P wrote: »

Do away with all froms of cash and checks and make the world 100% electronic.

I honestly cannot believe people still write checks, seriously, get an f'ing Visa card and be done with it. So much easier to track your expenses, so much easier to use, so much easier to carry around. So many pros to credit and debit cards, and so many cons to paper money and checks.

Well, if you're under 18, you cannot even have a Visa or any other logo, along with the fact that your bank account is a joint account... For example, I just wrote a check for three AP tests, and my school does not accept Visa cards or debit cards...

Demiurge

snow wrote: »

I usally get back somewhere between 500 to 1k dollars every year from the credit cards and owe zilch.

Good points.

Agreed.

REGARDS SNOW

Nice! It's the way to go if you have your spending in check and I argue it makes things so much easier to manage!

I think Cathy explained it better than I did.

cnh

Curt has a point that is valid but it applies to those who cannot and do not pay their total balance each and every month. Some of us, that includes me, have our house and cars and..whatever paid for. We are carrying NO DEBT and WE can AFFORD to use credit cards to actually MAKE money. That's good for 'us'. But Credit Cards are generally bad for those living on the edge, out of work, looking for a job and so on.

A lot of those people 'were' responsible when they 'had' money. Now they're desperate to find enough CASH to just make their minimum payments each month and need the CREDIT to live off of till they can get back on their feet. I am not 'independently' wealthy by any means...just a member of the middle class who happens to live in a low cost of living area of the U.S. where my salary ends up being in the top 5 percent of the town I live in but would not even be in the top 60 percent in a big city!

So, I don't really know if anyone is arguing with anyone ABOVE.

Credit Cards are great for SOME OF US! And they SU_K for others! And some poor souls who could be 'us' can't afford to be responsible anymore....not in this economy.

cnh

Demiurge

cnh wrote: »

Curt has a point that is valid but it applies to those who cannot and do not pay their total balance each and every month. Some of us, that includes me, have our house and cars and..whatever paid for. We are carrying NO DEBT and WE can AFFORD to use credit cards to actually MAKE money. That's good for 'us'. But Credit Cards are generally bad for those living on the edge, out of work, looking for a job and so on.

A lot of those people 'were' responsible when they 'had' money. Now they're desperate to find enough CASH to just make their minimum payments each month and need the CREDIT to live off of till they can get back on their feet. I am not 'independently' wealthy by any means...just a member of the middle class who happens to live in a low cost of living area of the U.S. where my salary ends up being in the top 5 percent of the town I live in but would not even be in the top 60 percent in a big city!

So, I don't really know if anyone is arguing with anyone ABOVE.

Credit Cards are great for SOME OF US! And the SU_K for others! And some poor souls who could be 'us' can't afford to be responsible anymore....not in this economy.

cnh

Sorry to beleaguer the point, but wealthy or poor, the highlighted portion doesn't make any sense if you're being responsible with your money. If you don't have the cash to cover purchases you make with a credit card you shouldn't be making the purchases.

As Cathy stated credit cards are merely a piece of plastic and they don't spend themselves. If used properly (and there's no trick to it), they are an easy money maker.

Curt obviously has much ignorance (not a knock) about credit cards given his opening salvo in this discussion was to go apoplectic over the notion that credit cards are a very useful tool.

cnh

I understand where you are coming from but I am talking about people who DO NOT have MONEY...not even enough to pay their rent or buy food. How are THOSE people going to keep their family in a house and fed?

It's not by being responsible with money they don't 'have'! I agree with Cathy and you and have no problem with plastic, I use it all the time. But I also grew up with some who were that 'poor' and I am not going to 'pretend' that no such individuals exist in our society and that 'everyone' has enough money to 'be responsible'.

Admittedly, these are in the minority. And the majority do have the onus of bearing their fiscal responsibilities.

These are the people I'm 'pretty' sure, that Curt is referring to in his overzealous post above.

cnh

comfortablycurt

cnh wrote: »

Curt has a point that is valid but it applies to those who cannot and do not pay their total balance each and every month. Some of us, that includes me, have our house and cars and..whatever paid for. We are carrying NO DEBT and WE can AFFORD to use credit cards to actually MAKE money. That's good for 'us'. But Credit Cards are generally bad for those living on the edge, out of work, looking for a job and so on.

A lot of those people 'were' responsible when they 'had' money. Now they're desperate to find enough CASH to just make their minimum payments each month and need the CREDIT to live off of till they can get back on their feet. I am not 'independently' wealthy by any means...just a member of the middle class who happens to live in a low cost of living area of the U.S. where my salary ends up being in the top 5 percent of the town I live in but would not even be in the top 60 percent in a big city!

So, I don't really know if anyone is arguing with anyone ABOVE.

Credit Cards are great for SOME OF US! And the SU_K for others! And some poor souls who could be 'us' can't afford to be responsible anymore....not in this economy.

cnh

That's exactly it!!

For people that are comfortable financially, and aren't living on the edge every day...credit cards are great.

Many people out there, however, are struggling so simply keep food on the table and keep the electricity turned on. I've been there myself numerous times.

Many people, in those situations, would keep using their credit cards and building debt up, simply because they have to to survive. They keep building up more and more debt, even though they can't pay it. Credit cards are terrible for some people. Many people who are more comfortable financially tend to forget that...there are people out there right now who couldn't even afford to eat today, let alone buy diapers for their kid or pay the electric bill.

Point is, if these people have credit cards, they ARE going to use them, because their loved ones need things. Whether or not they can afford it isn't really the issue...a credit card gives them a way to get what they need right now. They can worry about the negative repercussions later. If these people don't have credit cards, they aren't going to be tempted to use them, thus avoiding the whole situation.

Should these people have credit cards? They spend the money, simply to put some food on the table, knowing full well that they can't pay the bill. That's what has to be done though. Ya gotta eat.

If you don't have the CC though...you'll find another way to put some food on the table, and you'll avoid having that debt.


An all electronic currency system doesn't make sense for a lot of situations either. For instance, say one of my friends has a bumper that I need for a pickup truck I'm trying to fix. He offers to sell it to me for $50. Now I've gotta bust out the plastic to buy something off one of my friends? How exactly does that work? Do we each get our own personal credit card swiping machines that we have to carry around? Do we have to contact the bank to make the transaction? Is it something that we have to do over the internet? I'm not gonna use paypal(or anything of that nature) to buy something off of someone that I'm standing next to, and I don't see why anyone else would either.

Why can't I just hand him a $50 bill? Seems a lot simpler to me.


I really get a kick out of some of the new commercials out there too. They show a line at a store moving along really quickly...everyone paying with a CC...then, someone comes up and tries to pay with cash, and the whole world comes to a halt.

In my experience, it's just the opposite of that. I go to the gas station, everyone in line is paying in cash and it's moving along quickly. Then someone busts out a debit card. They have to swipe the card...wait for the machine to process it, punch in their pin number, wait for the machine to process it...wait for the receipt...then you've gotta sign the receipt, and hand it back to the clerk so they can give you your copy of it. All told, it just took you about 2 minutes to buy a bottle of Pepsi.

Then I walk up, they ring it up I hand them a couple bucks, they hand me my change and I walk away. About 10-15 seconds overall.

The idea of electronic currency being faster and more efficient is not at all true in my experience. It it does make things faster...then I haven't seen it, and it certainly doesn't make things faster in Dixon, IL.


As I said, CC's do make a lot of sense for people that are comfortable financially. Many people aren't though. A lot of people can't really understand what it's like to be dirt poor, and not have a single cent to their names. I have been that person before at many times in my life. It's not that I'm not responsible with money...it's that the job market isn't what it used to be, and the cost of living is much more than a minimum wage worker can afford, especially if you throw a kid or two into the equation.

So, if you're absolutely broke, and you have a hungry crying baby staring at you, you're going to let it starve, rather than use your credit card to buy it some food? No...you're absolutely not going to let it starve. You're going to bust out the plastic, whether or not you even have a job with which to pay your bill. This isn't some hippie, liberal BS...this is the everyday, real life situation for a lot of people. Which is going to be? Accumulating some more debt, or staring at your starving child for the rest of the day, while you yourself are also starving?

After all, credit card debt can be taken care of eventually by things such as bankruptcy.:rolleyes:




Oh well. To each their own. For those of you who want to use nothing but electronic currency...that option is basically already there for you. Enjoy.

I'll keep using my old fashioned cash.



edit-Sorry for the rant. I'm done now. Carry on.:)

VR3

I have not carried more than 5 dollars for longer than a week in my wallet in over 3 years...

Working retail - Id much rather swipe a card or two than have to unfold, straighten, sort and count some bone heads sweaty money - then count them back the appropriate change.

Blah blah blah

Swipe the card - everything balances and life is great!

snow

Im not really buying into the whole starving kid thing, there are enough programs of all sorts in the USA today to ensure that no child will go hungry if the parent/s have enough ambition to carry the food home, as far as the people that abuse the credit cards they most likely will mis manage their money if all they had was cash also, either you are responsible and live within your means or your not period. CC companys are not some evil enity they provide a service of convenience that one can choose to use wisely or not.

People today want everything now and are willing to make payments to get those things. House payments, car payments, boat payments, RV payments, big screen tv payments, vacation payments, I will just put it on the card :rolleyes: rather than save up a little extra to put a bigger down payment on a smaller house or a lesser perhaps even a used car instead of getting whatever the maximum payment I can make new car choice or perhaps renting the RV for the two to three weeks they will actually use it every year. Simply live within your means whatever that is and always save a percentage of what you make no matter how small your salary is and you will be better off for it.



REGARDS SNOW

cnh

I think it's probably better to just table this discussion. Either you've experienced this or you haven't and that's about it. I've seen those you have not. And let's just agree to disagree. This is really a matter of one's politics in the end and we're getting too close to the 'rules' so let everyone believe what they feel comfortable with and let's get back to audio.

Does anyone else find it just a bit 'ironic' that this started over a thread about the NEW 100 dollar bill. lol

cnh

virtualdean

comfortablycurt wrote: »

Fact is, most people aren't responsible with their money, and most people would way overspend if they had a credit card. That's why credit card companies have an approval process. Not everyone is responsible enough to have one.

I'm not sure if you guys are aware of it...but there's a bit of an economic crisis going on at the moment. What happens when you all of a sudden lose your job, and you can no longer afford to pay your credit card bill? Call up the credit company and tell them "sorry, I lost my job, can you wait a few months?"? Yeah...it doesn't work that way.

Fact is...**** happens. A lot of people in the world are essentially living paycheck to paycheck. They don't have a nest egg to fall back on. Sometimes an unseen expense comes up, and they can't make that credit card payment. So, then they'll cover that unseen expense with the credit card, just so they can make the credit card payment. This further jacks up the credit card bill, and puts you even more in debt, when you can't even afford the debt that you already have. I won't even get into the people that pay their credit card bills with other credit cards, because they've built up so much debt.

This is why there are so many people in this country with vast amounts of credit card debt. They encourage you to go out and spend spend SPEND!!! Whether or not you can afford it is of no concern to them.


Yes, some people are in a higher income bracket, and are easily able to make those credit card payments.

Know how much money I made last year? A little less than $10,000. I live paycheck to paycheck. I'm responsible with my money, and I know how to stretch a dollar. I have absolutely no desire to ever have a credit card though, and I never will.

People need to live within their means, and for many people, having a credit card is extremely counter productive to that.

If I can't use cash or a check, I don't want to do business with you.

Damn! You were raised right. I wish my Daughters and Ex Wife had that mind set. (they do now since no one will give them a card! hahaha!)I spent !thousands! bailing out my Daughters and the EX wife at different times.
Me! Im frugal. Some would say a cheap ****. I have minimal credit card debt. I use amex for most things. I like the mileage credit on airlines.
Once you turn 25 you will need a card to rent vehicles though.

hearingimpared

cfrizz wrote: »

Yes stuff does happen & I am right now without a job, but I'm doing just fine (at least short term) with a cc that will be paid in full come May 1st. I'll be sure to watch my expenses closely & will continue on.

You talk as if, if you suddenly had a cc, someone would put a gun to your head & force you to use it!

It's just a piece of plastic, YOU are the one who has control over whether or not you pull it out of your wallet.

Yes, credit card companies encourage you to use it, that doesn't mean you HAVE to do so, or use it to such an extent that you end up with thousands of dollars worth of debt.

My credit cards are the least of my worries. What will cause me serious problems will be the $601.55 I will have to pay every month for COBRA. In order to pay it up till May 31st I had to send them a check for $933 & change! Needless to say I won't be getting that much in unemployement!

Again it is all about personal responsibility. You are the sort who could handle a cc just fine if you could think rationally about it.

That's just obscene! It cracks me up. COBRA was set up years ago to protect people who got downsized and to keep them going with medical coverage but it has NEVER been affordable as a matter of fact it is an outright rip off. I was always under the impression it was set-up so that the person in need would still be under a group policy that the former employer used thus keeping the price down.

hearingimpared

cnh wrote: »

Curt has a point that is valid but it applies to those who cannot and do not pay their total balance each and every month. Some of us, that includes me, have our house and cars and..whatever paid for. We are carrying NO DEBT and WE can AFFORD to use credit cards to actually MAKE money. That's good for 'us'. But Credit Cards are generally bad for those living on the edge, out of work, looking for a job and so on.

A lot of those people 'were' responsible when they 'had' money. Now they're desperate to find enough CASH to just make their minimum payments each month and need the CREDIT to live off of till they can get back on their feet. I am not 'independently' wealthy by any means...just a member of the middle class who happens to live in a low cost of living area of the U.S. where my salary ends up being in the top 5 percent of the town I live in but would not even be in the top 60 percent in a big city!

So, I don't really know if anyone is arguing with anyone ABOVE.

Credit Cards are great for SOME OF US! And they SU_K for others! And some poor souls who could be 'us' can't afford to be responsible anymore....not in this economy.

cnh

Demiurge wrote: »

Sorry to beleaguer the point, but wealthy or poor, the highlighted portion doesn't make any sense if you're being responsible with your money. If you don't have the cash to cover purchases you make with a credit card you shouldn't be making the purchases.

As Cathy stated credit cards are merely a piece of plastic and they don't spend themselves. If used properly (and there's no trick to it), they are an easy money maker.

Curt obviously has much ignorance (not a knock) about credit cards given his opening salvo in this discussion was to go apoplectic over the notion that credit cards are a very useful tool.

Stuff happens Dave. I was just as responsible as the next person with paying off my credit cards monthy and kept no balances. Then I ended up with a medical issue that kept me in the hospital several times for 7 to 10 day stints over a three month period. At that point the medical expenses not covered by my insurance far exceeded the unpaid balance on the credit cards, which was due to being laid up for so long, and I had to split my meager fixed income over both expenses. Now I could have declared bankruptcy but I didn't and just kept paying out trying to be a responsible person. Minimum payments on the credit card and agreed payments to the hospital, doctors, testing facilities, pharmaceutical bills etc. . . this practice put me in a deeper hole and we've been struggling for two years now as a result. I would also like to throw in that mix the monthy cost of medication needed to maintain the health levels for the year it took to recover were astronomical and I had no choice but to use the credit cards or go without the medication.

Not declaring bankruptcy in hindsight looks like a bad decision.

Every situation does not have an off-the-shelf solution no matter how responsible one tries to be.

RuSsMaN

Wow.

Cool looking bill.

hearingimpared

Sorry for the derail.

It is a cool looking bill. It's funny though how when they come out with a new bill it looks like stage money or cartoon like.

bobman1235

A lot of that has to do with the fact that US money NEVER had any colors in it (Aside from green) until very recently, and now they're finally adding some color and it just looks weird.

hearingimpared

bobman1235 wrote: »

A lot of that has to do with the fact that US money NEVER had any colors in it (Aside from green) until very recently, and now they're finally adding some color and it just looks weird.

Hahaha, you're half expecting a watermark of Bugs Bunny to jump out at you.:D

dudeinaroom

There are plenty of systems in place. I think no one should be too proud to accept "Food Stamps" If you truly need it. If you really feel bad about using it, just remember, you paid money into the system, time to make your payments worth while. If you can not afford house payments, you can get cash assistance from DHS(another system our money goes into). It is not totally free though. You will have to do a minimum amount of job searching (as you should be any way) you also have to report it as well as take a few short "classes".

As far as all CC cards, good luck in MI. Most state agencies do not accept CC without prior approval. Some of the secondhand, pawn, and flea markets will not accept them. In this part of Michigan you would have trouble using an American express card as they charge vendors 10-15% of the purchase price for them to accept "your" card. People around Michigan are signing a petition to stop unfair credit card charges to vendors. If this does go through I can see a lot of the CC holders parting with more of their money to have the luxury.

I have a debit card and it is all I need. It is not a credit card. It can be used as one, but still is not one, there is no interest, no fee(or reward), and I can not pull out more money than I have in the bank.

Why does any one in this day and age need a Credit card? Debit cards work just fine. You don't have a bill to pay, you have a statement every month showing what you have left, how much you put in and how much you took out all for free (in most cases) from your bank. Most vendors also prefer them as the charge to them is minimal to none. All credit cards are doing is sucking money from people who have fallen into despair or can not control them selves and leaching money out of the businesses that work hard to make money.
American Express may "pay you back" but very few can actually qualify for one of their cards. Smart on their part for choosing what are probably more responsible customers but not so good for the average joe who can get credit so many other places. Says Mrs. dudeinaroom

Later,
Mr. & Mrs. dudeinaroom

bobman1235

dudeinaroom wrote: »

There are plenty of systems in place. I think no one should be too proud to accept "Food Stamps" If you truly need it. If you really feel bad about using it, just remember, you paid money into the system, time to make your payments worth while. If you can not afford house payments, you can get cash assistance from DHS(another system our money goes into).

Personally, I'm *glad* people have a stigma towards food stamps. You SHOULD be ashamed when you take it, so you have motivation to get off of it as quickly as possible. The attitude of "you paid in, now you deserve to take out" is the WRONG attitude. I know two different people who got laid off in the last year or so, and the first thing they did when they started taking unemployment was say "I'm taking some time off, I earned this "free" money by paying into unemployment for the last 15 years." I tore them both a new a-hole. It's there as a safety net, not as something you "deserve" and should abuse. I like the public shaming if it keeps people motivated.

kevhed72

Just a couple of side notes on debit cards and personal checks -
someone can get a hold of both your account number and routing code for your bank (which can be pulled off of either of these) - and empty out your bank account if they wanted. While I despise some of credit card company's business practices, using one is generally safer to you the consumer.

hearingimpared

bobman1235 wrote: »

Personally, I'm *glad* people have a stigma towards food stamps. You SHOULD be ashamed when you take it, so you have motivation to get off of it as quickly as possible. The attitude of "you paid in, now you deserve to take out" is the WRONG attitude. I know two different people who got laid off in the last year or so, and the first thing they did when they started taking unemployment was say "I'm taking some time off, I earned this "free" money by paying into unemployment for the last 15 years." I tore them both a new a-hole. It's there as a safety net, not as something you "deserve" and should abuse. I like the public shaming if it keeps people motivated.

Bob I totally agree with you about the bad attitude, but the "stigma" part or the "should be ashamed" part there are circumstances in life that occur that are beyond some people's control where these necessary social evils are desperately needed. Now if you are able to work and are just siphoning off the system then, yes, I agree that is shameful.

Demiurge

There are no variables to worry about if you're using your credit card(s) responsibly. Not even any of life's curve balls will throw you off track unless you make irresponsible choices with your cards. They're pieces of plastic.

If the money isn't in the bank to cover what is being charged at the end of the time of purchase it doesn't get purchased, no exceptions. If I had to transition to cash for any reason it would be seamless.

If I could put my mortgage payments on my credit card each month, I would do that too. It isn't about the extra time to pay, it's about the cash back/rewards you get. Not to mention all of the protections you have.

Unless you have terrible credit or you're young with no credit history, there's no reason you can't get a credit card that has cash back/points rewards. I only have three personal cards, aside from my AMEX Blue Cash card my VISA and Discover Cards also have good cash rewards.

It isn't for everyone, but I don't think anyone said it was. Some folks here clearly find a great value in using credit cards and are in the same boat I am with them and saw fit to defend their use.

To see credit cards as evil is completely wrongheaded. Any problems with credit cards are self inflicted either through a lack of self control or ignorance.

hearingimpared

Demiurge wrote: »

There are no variables to worry about if you're using your credit card(s) responsibly. Not even any of life's curve balls will throw you off track unless you make irresponsible choices with your cards. They're pieces of plastic.

If the money isn't in the bank to cover what is being charged at the end of the time of purchase it doesn't get purchased, no exceptions. If I had to transition to cash for any reason it would be seamless.

If I could put my mortgage payments on my credit card each month, I would do that too. It isn't about the extra time to pay, it's about the cash back/rewards you get. Not to mention all of the protections you have.

Unless you have terrible credit or you're young with no credit history, there's no reason you can't get a credit card that has cash back/points rewards. I only have three personal cards, aside from my AMEX Blue Cash card my VISA and Discover Cards also have good cash rewards.

It isn't for everyone, but I don't think anyone said it was. Some folks here clearly find a great value in using credit cards and are in the same boat I am with them and saw fit to defend their use.

To see credit cards as evil is completely wrongheaded. Any problems with credit cards are self inflicted either through a lack of self control or ignorance.

Well I certainley don't see them as evil and until things went south for me view them as a necessity. There are many, many things you need a credit card for such as auto rentals (just one example) and it does give you back rewards if you choose your bank wisely as well as getting out of an immediate financial jam that would/could be remedied in the next month such as your car breaking down.

I guess I could agree with you some what in your first statement above. I wouldn't call my situation irresponsible usage as I always made sure that a purchase placed on a credit card could be paid in full on the next month's bill.

I see it more as poor planning for the unknown VARIABLES that life can throw at you or ignorance if you will of the possibly of forecasting bumps in the road.

brettw22

comfortablycurt wrote: »

If you don't have the CC though...you'll find another way to put some food on the table, and you'll avoid having that debt.

How do you not see the flawed logic of this statement? Whether you have the CC or not, the choice is yours to make a decision to either charge up the card, or find another way to put food on the table. It has nothing to do with the fact that the card exists in your back pocket.

And I don't mean to pick on your situation, but your problems primarily stem from the fact that you're trying to survive on $10k a year. You need to NOT be ok with that and bust everything you can to change that number monumentally. Trying to survive on that amount is more stressful than anything.

For everyone else......Is something wrong with comprehension skills in here?

If the 'irresponsible' labeled behavior doesn't apply to you, then great, don't get offended.

If you can't manage your finances and make choices that would cause problems for you, then it applies to you and the problems are PRIMARILY your decisions that you made and either did or did not plan for.

I haven't carried card debt for well over 10 years now aside from the random 12 payments no interest type offers that are out there occasionally which I always pay off. It's not rocket science people.........

RuSsMaN

The new bill looks different, that's for sure. Almost looks foreign with all the colors.

hearingimpared

Hehehe, gotcha! Won't derail again!

Kex

Actually, I quite admire Curt for his self-imposed discipline, and from what I can see, he has quite a bit of good quality fun on 10K. I'm not convinced that I have more fun than he does, despite a substantially larger budget than that, including plenty of credit card rewards. If he ever gets himself down to SoCal, we'll be going out somewhere very nice for dinner on my card!

Never mind the whole "food on the table" argument. I survived as a student on pennies when I had to, but, one thing that has never happened to me is a situation where I am presented with a huge medical expense (for example) and no money in the bank to pay for it. It certainly seems to me that whereas much credit card debt may indeed be self-inflicted (and I find those commercials we get here now about getting credit card debt forgiven or reduced by about 75% very distasteful - it's not really free, and everybody else helps to pay for that in the end) there are situations where, in the good ol' U.S. of A., people have few options but to use a credit card or tell a family member that they're not going to be treated for a life threatening situation, and/or loose their front teeth, etc. etc. etc.

It may not be rocket science, but it's not always the proverbial American Dream or irresponsible behavior either. Just stokin' the ol' fire, for the sake of discussion ... Some people seem to have led a very happy existence.

Kex

hearingimpared wrote: »

Hehehe, gotcha! Won't derail again!

That was a funny reminder! But I was quite happy about the derail, since it avoided all the politics at least: We've got Obama's big head in the $100 bill thread and Al Gore messin' up the potty thread.

I used to think there were a lot of Dem-haters in C.P., but it seems that they just can't get enough of them after all, so they have to add them in to all sorts of wierd topics or they start to miss them horribly.

cheddar

Thought this was a good link:

http://www.newmoney.gov/currency/default.htm

It's actually referenced from the US treasury website. Since the government redesigns money so often (and at irregular times), if someone shoves a funky $1 bill at you and says it's a redesign, you can at least check it out here...

comfortablycurt

brettw22 wrote: »

And I don't mean to pick on your situation, but your problems primarily stem from the fact that you're trying to survive on $10k a year. You need to NOT be ok with that and bust everything you can to change that number monumentally. Trying to survive on that amount is more stressful than anything.

I love my life, I make more than enough money to get by easily and I couldn't be happier. I work for myself, rather than standing in an assembly line at a factory all day. I dropped out of high school because playing my guitar and enjoying life was more important to me...and I've fully succeeded in those ambitions. I never went to college, and never will...aside from maybe taking some music theory courses sometime. Having a "career" where I would make substantially more money simply isn't appealing to me. I've got better things to do...like go camping and sit around a camp fire playing guitar with my friends and family.

To some people, money just really isn't that important. The greatest things in life are free, and I'm easily able to live within my means.




Speaking of money...that's a cool looking $100 bill!!!

Kex wrote: »

Actually, I quite admire Curt for his self-imposed discipline, and from what I can see, he has quite a bit of good quality fun on 10K. I'm not convinced that I have more fun than he does, despite a substantially larger budget than that, including plenty of credit card rewards. If he ever gets himself down to SoCal, we'll be going out somewhere very nice for dinner on my card!

Thanks, and yes, I manage to have plenty of fun.;)

I'm going to make my way out to your neck of the woods sometime in the next few years. So, after dinner the beers on me. I'll be paying with one of these spiffy new $100 bills of course.;)