What's in Your Wallet? - Page 2

tw · 11-11-2005, 05:47 PM

So is that wallet one of a creditor or a debtor? Many only have instruments of debtors - credit cards. And yet current economic conditions say you better not be a debtor with storm cloud brewing on the horizon. Symptoms are similar to the early 1970s.

Paying big bucks for a war that, somehow, does not show up on federal spread sheets.

Massive government spending that, last time, was so dependent on European and Japanese bond buyers. Today that same debt problem is very dependent on Chinese buyers.

Serious trade imbalances that don't have any sign of being corrected as even jobs move overseas while a wave of new innovative products diminishes.

Unprecedented debts among consumers - we have never had so many consumers this deep in debt.

Unrealistic prices for things such as housing. A market driven mostly by rediculously low interest rates that will only keep increasing to address serious and impending inflation.

Sharp increases in energy prices created by extreme and unproductive consumption levels - ie car MPG back then dropped from 17 MPG to 8 and 12 MPG. Today the 25 MPG number continues to be driven lower by vehicles that only get 8 and 12 MPG.

Domestic automakers in serious financial trouble. Combined with some whose entire product line is incompatible with the future, whose costs due to inferior design are excessive, and whose corporate leaders are again trying to blame the unions.

One new factors is the impending Pension Fund disaster that looms like the S&L crisis of the mid 1980s. A problem created by bean counter mentalities whose function was to make a profit - the purpose of those financial instruments irrelevant.

Let's look at the stock market when these same factors previously existed as cited by Lookout123. Notice the pathetic growth rates from 1970 until the early 1980s - when gasoline went from the highest price in mankind to the lowest.

The first chart uses a linear scale that really distorts the numbers. The second chart uses a logrithmic scale that puts the stock market Dow Jones Industrial Average into useful perspsetive:

lookout123 · 11-11-2005, 08:25 PM

my point was that during that time period we had presidential problems, oil problems, middle east problems, war problems, and a flat economy and yet people with discipline and patience did very very well.

again a case of one person seeing a glass as half full while the other tears their hair out and screams to everyone who will listen "the sky is falling the sky is falling, if only you were as smart as me you would know the sky is falling!!!"

russotto · 11-19-2005, 09:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tw

So is that wallet one of a creditor or a debtor? Many only have instruments of debtors - credit cards. And yet current economic conditions say you better not be a debtor with storm cloud brewing on the horizon. Symptoms are similar to the early 1970s.

Well, except for the low interest rates and low inflation.

As for credit cards...give me a good reason I shouldn't accept a standing offer of a 25-day interest free loan, and I might change my mind.

Trilby · 11-10-2005, 01:18 PM

how come jinx gets all the gift cards, huh???? I'd like a gift card...

...is jinx a yuppie?

jinx · 11-10-2005, 01:22 PM

If yuppie still means young, urban, professional - no, no and no. If gift cards have something to do with it, I just might be.

Clodfobble · 11-10-2005, 06:46 PM

Damn, I carry way more crap around than most of you.

--Drivers license
--Old drivers license with my maiden name on it for the occasional proof of identity
--Insurance card
--Things Remembered rewards card from when I got someone something engraved two Christmases ago
--Long distance calling card
--Old college student ID for discounts in various places
--Lifetime Complimentary Pass to performances by my high school theatre department
--Capital One card (Hooray for Vikings!)
--Library Card
--ATM card
--Visa Credit card
--Little information card telling me the model number for replacement printer cartridges in my printer
--Randall's card (grocery store--and I don't shop at Randall's)
--Medical insurance card
--Discount card given to me by a realtor at some point
--Ancient Blockbuster card from back when they laminated them by hand
--CPR Certification
--A "get enough stamps and you get $ off" card from a store that closed about 6 years ago (throwing that one away now)
--A receipt giving me $10 off my next Salvation Army purchase
--A stamp-sized hologram of Earth
--A laminated quote from the perspectives section of Newsweek around 1996 or so: "'Your gloves don't match your shoes.' Chanted at police who wore protective clothing during last week's gay-rights demonstration in Washington."
--A business card of a coworker
--A Simon (mall chain) giftcard
--A doctor's appointment reminder card for next Tuesday
--A Jo-Ann's giftcard with about $3 left on it (local fabric store)
--The receipt from our downpayment on our house that we bought two years ago, with the old owner's new address scrawled on the back.
--A gift certificate to a restaurant called "Tokyo One" in Dallas from about 2000
--A pen
--My checkbook

Pie · 11-10-2005, 09:19 PM

Amex
Visa card
Debit card
Corporate Visa
HMO card
AAA card
Driver's License
Frequent flyer card
Wegman's card
Business cards
~$80, random change

Chris_Fletcher · 12-31-2007, 05:06 PM

Whole lotta pocket lint and an expired driver license from another state

Stormieweather · 12-31-2007, 07:35 PM

ZERO credit cards...not a single one. I have not owned one since my divorce 8 years ago.

In fact, until last September when my car finally died and I had to finance a new one, I didn't owe a single person or entity any sort of debt whatsoever. My only obligations were for rent on my house, utilities and daycare.

I've found that buying things on credit is just not necessary if one chooses not to. We never go without, have very nice computers, musical equipment, clothing, and the usual toys people indulge in...but all of it was paid for at the time of purchase. We aren't wealthy, by any means, but we do budget and plan for future expenditures ie: birthdays, vacations, upgrades to possessions, Christmas and retirement.

TheMercenary · 12-31-2007, 03:36 PM

Ok, this could be a long list:

D/L
Military ID
CCW License
Security Badge
Security Card for computer aka CAC Card
Visa
MC
Visa Debit card
Bank Debit card (second account)
Exxon Card
Insurance Card
Block Buster Card
Second Insurance card (motorcycle0
Boat Insurance Card
Sea Tow Card
Boat US Card
Boater World Card
Boater Safety Card from Coast Guard
NRA Card
GOA Card
SS Card
Old College ID with me with really long hair
Voter Registration Card
Passport Service Card
SeaDoo service Card
Check Cashing Card (local Store)
Organ Donor Card
Copy of old hip pocket travel orders
Laminated copy of quote "Not the critic that counts..."
Health Insurance Card
$228
lawyer business card
Storage Access code
Pictures of kids
Hunting Fishing License
Tricare Supplement Insurance Card
Miniture of Masters Degree
Professional License (#1, #2, & #3)
Certifications (A, B C, D)
Major Malpractice Insurance Card
Bunch of Change
2 Debit Receipts

monster · 12-31-2007, 07:51 PM

It is also possible to have credit cards and not run up huge balances. If you pay them off completely each month, you can make good use of the added insurance you get from buying using a credit card. Credit cards do not have to mean debt. Not that there's anything wrong with avoiding them altogether, but neither are all card users financially irresponsible.

Now are we ladies doing wallet or handbag/purse contents? because if the latter, I'd better wait until another day/year......

11-10-2005, 01:18 PM	#4
Trilby Slattern of the Swail Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 15,654	how come jinx gets all the gift cards, huh???? I'd like a gift card... ...is jinx a yuppie? __________________ In Barrie's play and novel, the roles of fairies are brief: they are allies to the Lost Boys, the source of fairy dust and ...They are portrayed as dangerous, whimsical and extremely clever but quite hedonistic. "Shall I give you a kiss?" Peter asked and, jerking an acorn button off his coat, solemnly presented it to her. —James Barrie Wimminfolk they be tricksy. - ZenGum

11-10-2005, 01:22 PM	#5
jinx Come on, cat. Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: general vicinity of Philadelphia area Posts: 7,013	If yuppie still means young, urban, professional - no, no and no. If gift cards have something to do with it, I just might be. __________________ Crying won't help you, praying won't do you no good.

11-10-2005, 09:19 PM	#7
Pie Gone and done Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 4,808	Amex Visa card Debit card Corporate Visa HMO card AAA card Driver's License Frequent flyer card Wegman's card Business cards ~$80, random change __________________ per·son \ˈpər-sən\ (noun) - an ephemeral collection of small, irrational decisions The fun thing about evolution (and science in general) is that it happens whether you believe in it or not.

12-31-2007, 07:35 PM	#9
Stormieweather Wearing her bitch boots Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Floriduh Posts: 1,181	ZERO credit cards...not a single one. I have not owned one since my divorce 8 years ago. In fact, until last September when my car finally died and I had to finance a new one, I didn't owe a single person or entity any sort of debt whatsoever. My only obligations were for rent on my house, utilities and daycare. I've found that buying things on credit is just not necessary if one chooses not to. We never go without, have very nice computers, musical equipment, clothing, and the usual toys people indulge in...but all of it was paid for at the time of purchase. We aren't wealthy, by any means, but we do budget and plan for future expenditures ie: birthdays, vacations, upgrades to possessions, Christmas and retirement. __________________ "First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." - Mahatma Gandhi

12-31-2007, 03:36 PM	#10
TheMercenary “Hypocrisy: prejudice with a halo” Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Savannah, Georgia Posts: 21,393	Ok, this could be a long list: D/L Military ID CCW License Security Badge Security Card for computer aka CAC Card Visa MC Visa Debit card Bank Debit card (second account) Exxon Card Insurance Card Block Buster Card Second Insurance card (motorcycle0 Boat Insurance Card Sea Tow Card Boat US Card Boater World Card Boater Safety Card from Coast Guard NRA Card GOA Card SS Card Old College ID with me with really long hair Voter Registration Card Passport Service Card SeaDoo service Card Check Cashing Card (local Store) Organ Donor Card Copy of old hip pocket travel orders Laminated copy of quote "Not the critic that counts..." Health Insurance Card $228 lawyer business card Storage Access code Pictures of kids Hunting Fishing License Tricare Supplement Insurance Card Miniture of Masters Degree Professional License (#1, #2, & #3) Certifications (A, B C, D) Major Malpractice Insurance Card Bunch of Change 2 Debit Receipts __________________ Anyone but the this most fuked up President in History in 2012!

11-11-2005, 05:47 PM	#1
tw Read? I only know how to write. Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 11,933	So is that wallet one of a creditor or a debtor? Many only have instruments of debtors - credit cards. And yet current economic conditions say you better not be a debtor with storm cloud brewing on the horizon. Symptoms are similar to the early 1970s. Paying big bucks for a war that, somehow, does not show up on federal spread sheets. Massive government spending that, last time, was so dependent on European and Japanese bond buyers. Today that same debt problem is very dependent on Chinese buyers. Serious trade imbalances that don't have any sign of being corrected as even jobs move overseas while a wave of new innovative products diminishes. Unprecedented debts among consumers - we have never had so many consumers this deep in debt. Unrealistic prices for things such as housing. A market driven mostly by rediculously low interest rates that will only keep increasing to address serious and impending inflation. Sharp increases in energy prices created by extreme and unproductive consumption levels - ie car MPG back then dropped from 17 MPG to 8 and 12 MPG. Today the 25 MPG number continues to be driven lower by vehicles that only get 8 and 12 MPG. Domestic automakers in serious financial trouble. Combined with some whose entire product line is incompatible with the future, whose costs due to inferior design are excessive, and whose corporate leaders are again trying to blame the unions. One new factors is the impending Pension Fund disaster that looms like the S&L crisis of the mid 1980s. A problem created by bean counter mentalities whose function was to make a profit - the purpose of those financial instruments irrelevant. Let's look at the stock market when these same factors previously existed as cited by Lookout123. Notice the pathetic growth rates from 1970 until the early 1980s - when gasoline went from the highest price in mankind to the lowest. The first chart uses a linear scale that really distorts the numbers. The second chart uses a logrithmic scale that puts the stock market Dow Jones Industrial Average into useful perspsetive: Attached Images

11-11-2005, 08:25 PM	#2
lookout123 changed his status to single Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Right behind you. No, the other side. Posts: 10,308	my point was that during that time period we had presidential problems, oil problems, middle east problems, war problems, and a flat economy and yet people with discipline and patience did very very well. again a case of one person seeing a glass as half full while the other tears their hair out and screams to everyone who will listen "the sky is falling the sky is falling, if only you were as smart as me you would know the sky is falling!!!"

11-10-2005, 06:46 PM	#6
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	Damn, I carry way more crap around than most of you. --Drivers license --Old drivers license with my maiden name on it for the occasional proof of identity --Insurance card --Things Remembered rewards card from when I got someone something engraved two Christmases ago --Long distance calling card --Old college student ID for discounts in various places --Lifetime Complimentary Pass to performances by my high school theatre department --Capital One card (Hooray for Vikings!) --Library Card --ATM card --Visa Credit card --Little information card telling me the model number for replacement printer cartridges in my printer --Randall's card (grocery store--and I don't shop at Randall's) --Medical insurance card --Discount card given to me by a realtor at some point --Ancient Blockbuster card from back when they laminated them by hand --CPR Certification --A "get enough stamps and you get $ off" card from a store that closed about 6 years ago (throwing that one away now) --A receipt giving me $10 off my next Salvation Army purchase --A stamp-sized hologram of Earth --A laminated quote from the perspectives section of Newsweek around 1996 or so: "'Your gloves don't match your shoes.' Chanted at police who wore protective clothing during last week's gay-rights demonstration in Washington." --A business card of a coworker --A Simon (mall chain) giftcard --A doctor's appointment reminder card for next Tuesday --A Jo-Ann's giftcard with about $3 left on it (local fabric store) --The receipt from our downpayment on our house that we bought two years ago, with the old owner's new address scrawled on the back. --A gift certificate to a restaurant called "Tokyo One" in Dallas from about 2000 --A pen --My checkbook

12-31-2007, 05:06 PM	#8
Chris_Fletcher You Can't Upset Me Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Alabama Posts: 2	Whole lotta pocket lint and an expired driver license from another state

12-31-2007, 07:51 PM	#11
monster I hear them call the tide Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Perpetual Chaos Posts: 30,852	It is also possible to have credit cards and not run up huge balances. If you pay them off completely each month, you can make good use of the added insurance you get from buying using a credit card. Credit cards do not have to mean debt. Not that there's anything wrong with avoiding them altogether, but neither are all card users financially irresponsible. Now are we ladies doing wallet or handbag/purse contents? because if the latter, I'd better wait until another day/year...... __________________ The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity Amelia Earhart

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