Freezing in NH

With my NetBank account changing to an Electric Orange account, I opened a local account so I could easily deposit stuff and write checks.  (Electric Orange has only billpay, not paper checks).  And since local banks charge an arm and a leg for paper checks, I decided to order from Current, where I had gotten checks years ago. 

I placed an order at the beginning of the month, and the standard shipping is 10-14 business days, so by the time I started to get worried it was well into the holiday crazy at the post office.  Then post-Christmas, I was busy and today was the first day I could sit down and wait on hold with their customer service department. 

I should have known something was wrong when she asked me to repeat the order number from the confirmation email several times.  Long story short, despite getting a confirmation email with a confirmation number and a listing of what I ordered…Current has no record of my order.  The only thing they could offer was to retake my order over the phone.  And if I wanted my checks before the third week of Jan, I’d have to pay extra for express shipping. 

And the customer service email address (from the email confirmation) doesn’t exist.

Stay away, stay far far away.

Getting into debt can be a problem if you don’t know how you’re going to get out.  Debt can be a useful tool if you’re careful.  In general I think Loans are useful if you have a plan to use the money to do something that either generates more money or reduces your expenses.  I don’t think loans for things like vacations and eating out are a good thing.

Taking out a loan to pay for a college education makes sense because it means you’ll earn substatially more money over your entire lifespan, so it’s an investment in most people’s biggest money making asset – their career. 

A loan for buying real estate makes some sense as well.  Make sure you have a plan for how you’re going to make the payments.  Don’t buy a huge house because you want it if you can’t afford it (just open the paper to see how bad an idea that is).  Buying real estate for an investment can also make sense as long as you’ve fully researched it.  If you want to buy rental property, you should buy in an area that you know.  To learn more about the area and about how much work rental property is, join a landlord’s association before you buy. You can use a Homeowner Loan or home equity loan to get cash from your existing house.

Starting or expanding a business can be another good reason to take out a loan.  A small side business can provide a cushion in case of layoffs at your primary job and it allows you to try out a business before giving up the steady paycheck.  Unsecured Loans provide a way to get money without putting your house at risk.

This must be a real blog now, I’m getting comment spam.  Some comments are now held for moderation, so if a comment doesn’t show up immediately, it should relatively soon.

Are You Spending More On Stuff Than Millionaires?

The other day, I came across some interesting data on spending habits of millionaires from the book “The Millionaire Next Door” by Stanley and Danko. It was about how much money millionaires spend on items like suit clothing, shoes, watches, and cars. 

Luckily I fall pretty low on these.  I think my most expensive suit was about $200 (for interviewing, I wear anything from business casual to jeans since then).  Most expensive wristwatch was probably $10.  I have a nice one that was a gift, but only use my cell phone to tell time now.  Shoes might be in the $150 range, but I usually can find what I need on sale for closer to $60.  And I’ve only ever owned one vehicle, purchased for $4900, that I plan to drive into the ground (which may be soon…).   

TSA to lift ban on flying with cigarette lighters
Authorities found that banning most devices did little to make flying safer

Congress banned lighters from flights after Richard Reid used matches to try to light explosives hidden in his shoes while on a Paris-to-Miami flight in 2001.

CBS2 Exclusive: Feds Seize Rocket Launcher In N.J.

A Jersey City woman made a shocking discovery on her lawn this morning when she noticed a military rocket launcher lying in the grass.

[...]

Sources tell CBS 2 HD that it’s the kind of missile launcher that can take down an aircraft and that the area where the launcher was discovered is in or very near a flight path for Newark Liberty International Airport.

Actually I’m still not going to comment, I guess my choice of quotes says it all.

Neural Market Trends is giving away $100 to a reader who can make the closest prediction of the S&P500’s closing price for Friday May 4^th, 2007.

Enter Here!