In article <1109699171.141286.21010[at]l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.com> ,
"DravenStone" <chiptricks[at]gmail.com> wrote:

- quote -

If you have the discipline to not run up more bills, then I would
keep these accounts open. The reason is that these "fixed for
life" and other credit card low interest plans are mostly a
game. The game is that the credit card company does everything
they can to get you violate the terms of the agreement so they
can jack back up to a sky high rate. They do things like throw
your payment into the "hold" bucket, and not process it until
the day after the due date. In the event that this happens,
you want other options to transfer back to a lower rate. Keep
these cards in reserve for that battle.

-john-

--
================================================== ====================
John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708 john[at]johnweeks.com
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
================================================== ====================

Nice that this topic is still seeing a little action, at least nice for
me.
FWIW, I'm in agreement that drinking water is good for you, but not the
water they pipe into Phoenix (where I live)...

Anyway.
I've just about finished getting ALL my CC debt locked in for the life
of the balance transfers below 4%.
20K [at] 3.9 with AMEX blue, and ironically, the rest of it is about to be
transferred BACK to the high interest rate card with an offer of 1.9
unitl paid off. I love this, since I just moved 15K out of that account
to the 3.9 when they wouldn't lower the rate on the purchases.
This should make a very large difference in the amount each month that
goes towards paying off instead of maintaining due to high interest
payments.

Is there any logic to keeping the other accounts open, or should I
close everything that I no longer have a balance on? I know my credit
score will suffer because I am going to be basically completely maxed
on these two accounts that are carrying everything for the first little
while, but after that's paid down, it should bounce back up, but I
think I've read that having some available credit on other accounts
(particularly ones you've had for a while) is actually beneficial to
you in the long run. Please take on faith that their use will be
avoided in your answers.
Regards and thanks,
-ds

John, compared to everything else, I certainly can assume water is good for
me. Also, by drinking water, I give up drinking something potentially
worse. We have an obesity problem in this country, ya know, and obesity
correlates to worse problems down the road.

"John A. Weeks III" <john[at]johnweeks.com> wrote
- quote -


======================================= MODERATOR'S COMMENT:
Thread closed.

In article <xymUd.6948$873.2817[at]newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net> ,
"Elle" <elle_navorski[at]nospamearthlink.net> wrote:

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I don't think the moderator intends to turn this into a food
channel, but keep in mind that water is in everything. If you
drink grape juice or wine, you get the water, plus you get
some vitamins and anti-oxyadents. Plus that stuff has been
processed, so you don't get sick from contamination. You
cannot assume that water is good for you, that water is
automatically pure, or healthy. A person can only drink
so much during a 24 hour period. If you waste that opportunity
drinking water, you give up the ability to drink something that
is potentially even better for you.

-john-

--
================================================== ====================
John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708 john[at]johnweeks.com
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
================================================== ====================

Two of many web sites backing up Elizabeth's statement on the physical and
so financial value of drinking water:

http://www.pioneerthinking.com/water.html

http://www.craighospital.org/SCI/METS/h2o.asp

"John A. Weeks III" <john[at]johnweeks.com> wrote in message > That is kind of a leap of faith. Water contains no nutrients, no
- quote -

Actually, you do not process your fat intake efficiently without water.
Water keeps your system flushed. You cannot live without water. How about
those few reasons why drinking water is good for your health? In addition,
kool-aid has refined sugar which is bad for you (like cookies, candy, etc.).
Colas and coffee are hard on your kidneys. Recent research shows that a cup
of green tea may be good for you, but, again, if you drink very much of any
tea, your kidneys will suffer.

So, again, please drink water, and plenty of it for your body's health, and
your financial health. Watching out for your physical health is definitely a
way to protect your financial health.

Elizabeth Richardson

DravenStone wrote:
- quote -


Look at all the preapproved credit card offers you get every week. Some
of them have 0% or 1% interest rates for a year or sometimes even 18
months on balance transfers. What they are trying to get you to do is
transfer a large balance onto the card and make minimum payments and
still have a large balance when the introductory rate expires -- and if
you are a day late with any of those payments, they hit you with a $29
late fee and more importantly the rate jumps to 24% or sometimes as high
as 30% "default" rate.

Use one of these offers as your own debt consolidation loan. The way to
play the game is to transfer the balance from your highest interest rate
cards onto the new introductory rate card AND CANCEL THE OLD CARDS. Pay
off the entire balance before introductory rate expires, unless the
regular rate is stil lower than other cards you haven't transfered.
Make all the payments a week early or set up an electronic payment at
your bank or credit union; you don't want to make a payment just barely
in time and have the CC company to sit on it until it is a day late so
they can screw you.

This only works if you stop making new purchases on the old cards (or
the new one, for that matter.)

Good luck, and best regards,
Bob

In article
<H_%Td.286431$w62.113070[at]bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net> ,
"Elizabeth Richardson" <erichktn[at]worldnet.att.net> wrote:

- quote -

That is kind of a leap of faith. Water contains no nutrients, no
vitamins, and no anti-oxyadents. From that standpoint, it is at
the very best neutral. Water can also be a carrier of contamination
and disease. Hundreds of people died in Milwaukee a few years ago
when the public water system got contaminated. Most pre-packed
beverages are either processed or preserved in such a manner to
prevent this kind of contamination.

I don't have a problem with someone who drinks water, but you are
fooling yourself if you think that water has medical effects.

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I think that a cell phone is getting to be an essentail tool
these days. The key factor is as a safety device. A cell
phone can save your life if you have a flat tire on the
freeway or run in the ditch on a snowy day. In addition,
if you are easy to get in touch with, you may be called on
for extra work shifts and overtime. For folks with debt
issues, I would suggest a pre-paid cell phone that is used
only for emergencies and work purposes. Picking up just
one extra shift a year can more than pay for the cost of
the cell phone. The savings multiply if you are able to
ditch your expensive home telephone in lieu of the cell phone.

-john-

--
================================================== ====================
John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708 john[at]johnweeks.com
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
================================================== ====================

- quote -

We drink water. It's free, it's good for you. What's good for you will cut
down on your medical problems, thereby reducing any doctor's visits, thereby
reducing your co-pay or out-of-pocket medical expenses.

- quote -

A cell phone is not a necessity. Get rid of it.


Elizabeth Richardson

From someone who has been there and is still there. The only way I see
short of bankruptcy is to live for the debt. That is to say. Every
minute of every day you dedicate that short of your job and family.
You think and act on every way possible to whittle down your debt.
Start simple by sacrificing something. Start small and keep a journal
of what you have done to help stop the bleeding and get ahead of the
debt. Kool-aid in stead of soda. Downgrade of cable. No more Showtime.
Cell service with less minutes. Small things mean a lot. You have to
let go of some of the things you at this time won't do without. Thats
the lock into debt attitude that will keep you stuck, unless you work
to earn it back. This is where the journal will help you keep track.
Write your feelings and dreams in the book, draw and make a volume of
your journey and after you have filled it; get another one and continue
till you have paid 25% of the debt down. Then go back and read the 1st
pages of the journal. You will see in a short time what changes you
have gone through and the rest of the debt will be easy to manage down.
Sell something every week. A Bike, A book, use Ebay. Just think
everyday about how you can dime and nickel your way out from THE DEBT
just like you were dimed and nickeled into it.

Robert

PS. Its slow and useless in the beginning, but change is always hardest
the first twenty-one days into it. The Journel is the secret and silent
weapon. Set your goal now and write it down. It should be your only
goal. Short of trying to quit smoking, its the most difficult habit to
break in these times. Good Luck.

I'll carry this as far as the moderators allow. I'm hoping you're not
a T but it doesn't matter really. To respond to all your questions:

1. One of my passions is science. I'm a professor at a University who
doesn't really teach (just research) in computational biology. Thus
I can do a lot of stuff from home and aside from spending time with
my students and post-docs, I don't have to be in. This helps me
avoid a lot of people who'd bother me otherwise.

2. Redundancy is to have plans A, B, and C when something important is
going to happen. I gave a talk at a conference last week. When I
started my laptop (where the talk was), it said "hard drive
failure". I had a CD with the talk on it (so I used the next
speaker's laptop). I also had it available on the web for
download. So when my laptop crashed, I didn't stress at all. I
usually plan things out like (it's like second nature to me) for
most things.

I'm sincere in my belief however that most people can do what they
want to do only and not a lot else if they can structure their
financial and other life.

--Ram

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Can you explain this redundancy concept?

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Great point!

Can you give some examples?

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Mind if I ask what your passion is? What you do for
work?

This has been a very thought provoking conversation!

me[at]privacy.net wrote:

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Yep, pretty much. One simple way is to avoid such people or situations
(which works sometimes). At other times, this is not a proper
solution: people who pester you with questions that you know they can
answer CAN answer it for themselves. They just need to be told to do
so. And I do, quite directly. I say, "I can answer this for you, but I
feel you won't learn what you would if you figured it out by
yourself." (Even to my wife, BTW.)x

This is going away from financial planning a little, but really I
think financial planning is about solutions for the long term and
extends to all walks of life; not just money. In fact the PURPOSE of
financial planning is to make your desired lifestyle possible or more
secure. I think a lot of things other than money are more important in
making this happen.

--Ram

me[at]privacy.net wrote:

- quote -

To me there is no distinction between "work" and "nonwork" (in other
words, I "work" 24/7 or don't work 24/7 since what I do is my
passion). I've chosen a particular passion of mine to generate income
that is not based on a schedule. But if you are doing something that
requires a schedule, then I'd look into things like telecommuting or
doing things from home (so I technically work from home almost always
until late in the evening). Or you could start your own business (a
friend of mine, who used to work for a landscaping company on a 9-5
schedule, just did--he landscapes people's homes on his own time and
schedule which has made him happier). It depends on your skills and
passions and what you want. Some people do like structured schedules,
so if you're missing that, then you can find ways to do that too.

I posted this message to this newsgroup, but I also put it up on the
web:

http://www.ram.org/ramblings/philoso...cial_plan.html

which may shed some light on where I am coming from.

I believe all people can find ways to structure their life so their
life becomes less complicated. The initial barrier might be high, but
it's worth it in the long term. Like with finance, unfortunately, most
people don't think 10-30 years ahead. Kids should be taught when they
are five that when they are teenagers or 25 or 50, they can plan ahead
and have the kind of life they want.

Other real life solutions: trying to buy only new items (which has
worked for me personally); preventive health care (especially if you
have kids who have teeth ; lots of good insurance; building a lot of
redundancy in what you do; etc.

--Ram

SD wrote:

- quote -

Indeed, this is how I bought my last new car. I got a 36 month note
with 0.9% interest, and I haggled like crazy to get the price of the
vehicle down. Why pay cash when I can get that kind of interest rate?
This amounts to ~$300 of interest over the life of the loan. And I see
this kind of deal all the time from various car manufacturers.

-Will

- quote -

I see

Excellent food for thought for me. Thanks!

can you perhaps give me some real life "solutions" that
you've enacted?

Example.... on the one above abt not coming in til
late. You mean late to work?

- quote -

This is a good one above

How have you solved this one?

Just a quick update and response... my credit score is in the high
700's.

I went with an offer today from AMEX for 3.9% for the life of the
balance transfer with no transfer fee and got the 2 highest interest
rate cards completed transferred there (nearly 20K all told...)
Everything else is currently on cards between 0&12%... I'll go on and
get another deal next time it arrives in the mail.

I can see how some would call the moves I am doing rationalizing, and
that may be true to some extent. I certainly asked for and got good
advice from some clearly knowledgeable people. I hope those that made
suggestions that I don't follow realize that the individual needs of
each person in these situations may be different. For me, I reached a
point where I made a post with a title of "Debt is Killing Me" so you
clearly I was reaching the end of my rope. Now even though I'm not
giving up every comfort (my reliable car and little league) doesn't
mean that I'm not already significantly better off than I was before
making the OP.
And I mean it sincerely when I thank you all for your incredible input.
Regards,
-ds