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284 comments on DrumBeat: November 2, 2007

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fleam on November 2, 2007 - 3:20pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

It's true, there are millions upon millions of people like me, who have essentially failed, who can't keep up with massive debt at 30% interest, and who have, and are being, forced to gear way down and live on a fraction of what they've been living on and to simply stop paying the CC bills and stop using CCs at all.

If in the US economy I am the equivalent of one tiny capillary in the system's big toe, I have just shut down - NO blood flow. Enough of this and you get limb or body death.

People who have lost jobs and small businesses, who have been stung as badly as I have, maybe (although not in my case) who have become religious and read what's in the bible about usury, are I think in most cases not likely to become credit-slaves again. Remember the generation that went through the Depression? Never ever borrow, keep their money under the mattress? That's what I'm becoming. That's what a lot of people are becoming - all but one of my creditors seem to have not quite figured out that those dollars I owe them will never be supplied. Those dollars are out there right now being treated as real, being bought and sold and traded and counted on. The CC companies are continuing to send me nice little bills, hoping I'll find the money somewhere to get right back on schedule paying them, because they're really screwed without that money. Well, hope all you want guys, because the money's not here and it's not going to be. I actually suspect a full 1/4 of the American populace is going to be in my situation soon. I also suspect that there's going to be a very strong anti-usury sentiment in the US soon so that even those who can afford to pay the CC companies and banks to screw them, won't.

The Crunch is far from over - it's barely beginning.

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SacredCowTipper on November 2, 2007 - 3:42pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

I'm getting increasingly frantic calls on my two debts, too. One car payment, one credit card. They slipped last month but I'm busy enough now to catch up. I don't know how important my credit rating is going forward - assuming I continue to be employed the credit card will be gone within the next quarter and they car will get paid off. After that ... an acreage ... and rent to own is really common up here. What else would I need it for?

You're right about the capillary effect - I've talked to some of my telecom equipment dealer buddies and they're all displaying various shades of despondent. They'll come back a bit as the bankruptcies start after the first of the year, but if there aren't capital budgets to drain their warehouses its just so much junk :-(

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fleam on November 2, 2007 - 4:13pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

SCT - pay 'em off if you can. Play a banjo by the roadside, beg, do whatever you can do pay 'em down if you can.

That's where I ran into trouble - even working my butt off at what's really well paid work, better paid then I'll probably ever see again, I was still falling behind by a significant amount. Then they raised the rates MORE.

They sure seem to be trying their best to drive people into BK if they can.

Starting NOW, don't use your CC for anything. Stop any and all activity that feeds the bastards. In fact stop all spending you can avoid.

Example: We have a beat-up ex-fleet truck here with the most abused steering wheel I've ever seen. I will reconstruct it today and that means stripping the rubber coating (that's left) off of the metal frame, wrapping that with some spiral-cut rubber tubing I prepared yesterday, then the outer covering is going to be, if I can make it work, an old 15" bicycle tire a friend gave us. If it works it will be COOL. All parts stuff that's lying around. And I will return the $7 wrap kit I got at the Kragan's, just to get my $7 back where most people would say shine it.

Stopping all possible spending hurts the economy sure, but the economy wants to use us all up and will crash anyway so it's time to start looking out for No. 1 and that means You and Your friends, family, tribe, neighborhood, etc. Out in California it means You. Out here I'm already learning is different, it means the network of friends one has and out here the networking is amazing.

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SacredCowTipper on November 2, 2007 - 4:19pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

My limit is two day's pay and customers are chasing me around this week and next ... no worries there - should be gone by the end of the year.

My big thing this week has been pulling out every little online service thing ... I had $100/mo going off into stuff I wasn't paying much attention to ...

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fleam on November 2, 2007 - 4:42pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

I was paying $70 a month just to have the net when I was in Sunnyvale. Right now I'm paying $20 a month for dial-up but mostly not using since I seem to have access to someone's wireless, free, and am using the free-net which I can Telnet into and use and have an email address on that.

Even $20 a month buys a significant amount of food so I am thinking about dropping the ISP ....... but I'll probably keep it...

Most people are paying over $100 a month just for connect, because it's part of their cable or they're getting reamed for DSL. Plus the computer cost and upkeep, I'd say it's conservative to say the average subject-of-the-Empire is putting $150 a month into the ability to surf the 'net.

I'm just not sure IT is the career of the future.....

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SacredCowTipper on November 2, 2007 - 5:17pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Here a little DSL (256k) is $33/mo with phone service, which we have anyway.

I was paying, between DSL here, cable, Vonage, and cell a grand total of $400/mo for my business. If LongLines would get moving with some EVDO up here I'd whack it all back to $60/mo, as is its down to $95.

But I was talking about stuff like LinkedIn and things of that sort - sign up, use it a few times, and they keep riding you. I do like Paypal for this - virtual credit card number, dies the next month, and that is that.

Yes, I realize Paypal is EvIl!@!@! and they're hooked to the bank that has not much money in it :-)

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PartyGuy on November 2, 2007 - 6:09pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

I pay $150 for TV, DSL, Local and Cell Phone. Its not so bad :P

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