Working Famlies and Cattle.

[Horticattleman]

I guess we're somewhat lucky in S. LA because we are so dependent on the Oil Patch. I hate paying high diesel prices. I currently spend about $600.00 a week on diesel just to keep 3 trucks on the road. I have 2 sitting. People here spend more money with me (landscape & irrigation) because I guess they are doing all right because of the oil prices. We spend TONS on credit cards every month but carry $0.00 over to the next month. Balance paid in full every month. I am scared of credit cards, but depend heavily on them too. Besides makes for good free vacations!

 

[milesvb]

All you gotta do is control your wants and concentrate on your needs.

That concept is all but lost on this society. I see folks everyday that I know that drive a big SUV or 3/4 ton to work that they don't need. They could take little Sally and Mikey to soccer in a car but then they'd have to be seen in something that isn't as nice as the neighbors have. Gotta keep up appearances at all costs.

Like some that have posted I put everything I can on credit cards which I pay in full monthly. I only use cards that offer a discount or cash back. Two cards, one each from two different fuel companies, are only used for gas. Both give a percentage cash back. To those that are paying through the nose on interest, all I can say is thanks, it pays for my rebates :tiphat: .

 

[dun]

Both give a percentage cash back. To those that are paying through the nose on interest, all I can say is thanks, it pays for my rebates :tiphat: .

That's the kind we use too. Never thought to thank those folks that are paying the redicules interest for the cards. Since you've called it to my attention, I want to add my thanks!

 

[bigbull338]

the high food an gas costs are killing the middle class people.an making the poor people poorer.add to it most people live off credit cards.an keep them maxed out.they live in houses they cant afford.they buy things they dont need.now me if i buy anything i make sure i can pay it off in a year or less.take a cow note for instence.ive had my note less than a year.an i can pay it off on the year if i want.that goes to show you i keep my belt tight.an ill prolly buy some more cows in may.

 

[GMN]

On a bright note, as long as there are families around the country like mine who drink 5 gallons of milk a week, you should be guaranteed an income with your dairy in the future. I have the solution to fix all of this but it is not politcally correct and I don't want to see the thread locked.qoute:

There again is the double edge sword for us dairy farmers. Milk prices have fallen this past month by $3 a cwt, yet diesel continues to go up. We pay for it for our farm truck, farm use for the tractors, and hauling, plus for over 2 years we have had a diesel surcharge taken out of our milk checks-is that fair?

People will always drink milk, but I have to wonder if the average dairy farmer will be able to continue to afford producing it?

Got a notice from the electric company the rates are going up 12.5%, starting May 1st. I think even with the higher milk prices there will be dairy farmers who will hang it up this next year, not really because they want to, but just because they have to.

Also about the poster who said they shop at Good will/second hand stores, this world has become a disposable society, I shop second hand stores all the time, why not? Once a new item is worn once its used, seems senseless to spend more than you have to especially on clothes, and it is crazy how much some people spend on clothes, $100 for tennis shoes, designer jeans-what for? They don't make you a better person, its what inside that counts. I sure wish more parents would teach their kids that!

GMN

 

[1982vett]

Pay for most all of my purchases with credit card. It is a free loan because I pay it off every month. About the only purchases I pay by check are for feed (discount for cash) and purchases at select local businesses. I would rather they keep the 3% fee (or however much) they have to pay the credit card companies and it does help keep the bill from getting out of hand.

 

[MikeC]

I have not noticed anyone cutting back on gas consumption. The same people who were driving to work alone, still come by the local store every morning alone. :roll:

But with the skyrocketing of food prices, I see a way that local vegetable and meat producers can gain an advantage in this atmosphere.

No sense paying for cabbage, lettuce, etc. to be trucked in from who knows where when it could be grown locally.

 

[Farmer Z]

Dittos on the debt free and I highly recommend it. I have neighbors that have borrowed to the max and re-max it every chance they get. Debt is a necessary thing for us regular folks at some points in life but we as a society seriously over do it. I remember how hard it was for my daddy to get a loan from a bank way back when and a credit card was completely out of the picture. Nowadays, I think an ol' houndog could get high priced credit from any number of sources!

 

[kerley]

What disturbs me is that if someone has a temporary hardship and pays a payment late, there is a late charge. Always a charge of some kind which only sets you back a little further. Who allows these banks and lenders to charge these fees. We use to have a neighbor who worked at the local bank of America. She told us that some times the bank sends their payments to their payment processing centers weekly. That way more people will be processed late and charged a late fee. Does anyone really believe that a new president will solve these problems ?

 

[TexasBred]

As an old banker I figure your neighbor doesn't have a clue what she's talking about. That said, many banks will work with you if you'll give them a call BEFORE you become delinquent and explain your situation. We use to waive as many as 4 monthly payments at one time if the customer would do this. But you did have to come in before you became delinquent. Electing a new president can't change banking rules and regs. I won't go into too much detail but banks cannot just let your money lay around without posting payments and/or deposits. Heck they want to get it in the system too because they can earn overnight interest on it. They can be fined, put under cease and desist orders and heads can roll if money is not posted promptly.

 

[kerley]

Being an old banker you should know all the rules of banking. But you didn't work for every bank, did you ?

 

[TexasBred]

Being an old banker you should know all the rules of banking. But you didn't work for every bank, did you ?

No need to get smarty about it. :banana: And no I didn't work for every bvank but banks work under federal and/or state charters and they do have laws that apply to darn near everything from banking hours to lending policies to whatever else you can imagine. Customers having unexpected hardship at some time or another the banker understands and loves to work with the customer. But they have heard all those sob stories before from the chronic delinquents. Sorry i ruffled your feathers. :!:

 

[fit2btied]

Borrowed some money from a local outfit once and they recommended that I come in and pay them directly. Said payments sent to corporate headquarters had a bad habit of being posted late, usually blamed on the mail. Said they would charge ginormous late fees and jack up the interest rate to whatever the legal ceiling was. Never mailed a payment to headquarters and never did business with them again.

 

[kerley]

Texas Bread, Your response is what I would expect from a banker. I'm not pickin on any banker, I just shared information from a reliable source, a bank employee. And you are correct about the President. However, I as a citizen would think that our President would have much influence over our Government which should include banking laws and caps on high interest. I believe that bankers still make money on interest. Are you telling me that when these folks come to you with their sob stories and you are gracious enough to help them out, that they are not penalized. And thank you fit 2 be tied, You made my point better than I did. And no one has ruffled my feathers. This country is in trouble.

 

[TexasBred]

Texas Bread, Your response is what I would expect from a banker. I'm not pickin on any banker, I just shared information from a reliable source, a bank employee. And you are correct about the President. However, I as a citizen would think that our President would have much influence over our Government which should include banking laws and caps on high interest. I believe that bankers still make money on interest. Are you telling me that when these folks come to you with their sob stories and you are gracious enough to help them out, that they are not penalized. And thank you fit 2 be tied, You made my point better than I did. And no one has ruffled my feathers. This country is in trouble.

Kerley, in all my banking years we never refused to waive payments upon request if folks would come to us when they had a problem and before it got out of hand. It doesn't take long to see thru to the ones giving you BS stories. As for fearing your payment won't be received in time, I'm 61 years old, made payment by check via the mail all those years and have never had a late charge in my life, nor a payment posted late. That doesn't mean it doesn't happen sooner or latter. Everybody loves the banker when they need money but hates that same man or woman when they ask the borrower to honor the contract. Being a banker in your own small hometown is not as much fun as you might think. Sure helped me make the decision to get out of the banking industry.

 

[kerley]

Texas Bread. I am sure that you are a very honorable man. I certainly mean no disrespect to you. If you read some of my past posts, I have stated "When in business your best friend is God and your Banker". I have played Banker many times myself. And you are correct. People like you when you loan and some hate you when payment is due. And like you, I owe no one a penny. My home and vehicles are free and clear. By the way I'm no banker, but I am older than you. So with that said, What is your remedy for greedy Bankers and exorbitant interest rates.

 

[TexasBred]

Texas Bread. I am sure that you are a very honorable man. I certainly mean no disrespect to you. If you read some of my past posts, I have stated "When in business your best friend is God and your Banker". I have played Banker many times myself. And you are correct. People like you when you loan and some hate you when payment is due. And like you, I owe no one a penny. My home and vehicles are free and clear. By the way I'm no banker, but I am older than you. So with that said, What is your remedy for greedy Bankers and exorbitant interest rates.

Actuallty you can avoid the greedy banker simply by knowing who you're dealing with. In the perfect scenaria you'd still be dealing with a smalltown locally owned bank but that's seldom an option anymore. As far as interest rates, we actually have low interest rates right now. Just not as low as they were 4-5 years ago so we got a bit spoiled. But...even credit card companies will negotiate interest rates with you if you can't pay the balance in full. Just give them a call and ask. Tell them what the competition has to offer. But I do fully agree with you that jerking someone's interest rate up because they may have been a few days late is just not honorable nor necessary. If you can't pay 5.9% you sure as heck can't pay 19.99% or more. Doesn't make sense. Usually in those cases the best thing to do is try to find some way to pay those jerks off before you do get in a bind and find yourself a good banker. There are still some out there. ;-) :lol: Best wishes.

 

[rockridgecattle]

We have worked hard to get the card down. We pay cash for alot of things now. Even this past Christmas only one thing was on the card and that was a gift for my brothers family 1500km away. No sense in buying here and shipping.
We took our credit card from 16000 in August to 2800 in February...We are kinda proud of that. Was alot of hard work.
We own older vehicles, a '98 rav4 with excellent fuel mileage and '92 Dodge 3/4 ton to which my husband swears gets as good of mileage as my rav. I think he is dreaming. Yes we have notes on the farm for land and cows. We went to see our banker and he thought we were in good shape compared to others in the area.
The banker also stated the average credit card debt was 25G's.
We have cut back in how we spend and travel. Fewer trips to town and fewer to the city.
My husband got laid off 7 months ago, I'm still working, and we are sitting better financially than we were this time last year. We try to balance the needs vs the wants. Does not always work.
It also helps we have no children...never thought i would say that.

I don't usually watch Opera, but one day last year when i was sick I did. She did this debt challenge show, and it amazed me that we were not the only ones in such straights.

 

[Wewild]

My Granddad went in debt every time he booked his beans. I don't recall how he managed that with cotton. Sometime he won sometime he didn't.

Debt ain't sometihing to be scared of. You just got to live with in you means. Those interest only loans on homes to folks are coming to bear since they aren't building equity anymore. The banks that made those loans are just as responsible.

Housing is stalled and the sheep are scared.

edit.... You should always have at least 3 months spending money in the bank. I'm not talking about savings. Some folks say it needs to be more than that. So after you get 3 months go for 6 and so on.

 

[Caustic Burno]

edit.... You should always have at least 3 months spending money in the bank. I'm not talking about savings. Some folks say it needs to be more than that. So after you get 3 months go for 6 and so on.

Good advice as we have no promise's no one knows what tomorrow bring's the prepared bounce back a lot quicker than those who are not.
No one gets to financial security overnight this is a long journey, one you have to maintain the course through life.

I heard Mom says this a thousand times it's not what you make it is how you manage it that makes the difference in life.