Wotcher Wotcher!
Mar. 18th, 2008 10:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stinglikeabeeAhhhh St Patrick's was a blast! For a few hours, downtown LA showed its love of the green isle. The parade was interesting as always (WTF there's Ponch!) and the place was filled with curious onlookers, Irish-American or not. They ran out of corned beef in less than half an hour, I kid you not. After I danced and sang along to the Young Dubliners (who were simply great), I headed out to the bar. After numerous pulls of Guinness and answering questions on why I love Ireland with fellow revelers (am a closet Hibernophile), I finally headed back home on the bus and tumbled into bed. Fantastic.
I'm watching Frontline's programme on the credit card companies, originally broadcast in 2004. It's got poor Eliot Spitzer too, when he was known for his hardline stance on the CC companies instead. None of the credit card cronies fared well here, and were made out like loan sharks. For instance, they acknowledge the little folded piece of paper included with your card often says the company may change your interest rate at anytime - they only need send you a letter 15 days before a change. How is this all right? Well, as the consumer you agreed to those terms.
As a result of the first showing of the programme, I became more diligent in reading these disclosures but in some way I've always felt none of it applied to my spending habits. Although I charge nearly all my expenses on my AMEX, I pay it off every month and use the 30% rule - make sure the total amount credited does not go over 30% of the spending limit. However because I'm unemployed and NOT allowed to work, I'm not sure how long I can continue in this way before giving in and using it over that 30%.
Working for a credit card company is on the list of jobs I will never do. Insurance is another. I don't think I could look myself in the mirror every morning knowing my company contributed to the financial downfall of many families simply because corporate wants to keep shareholders happy.
Wait, don't go! There's more. I got my Gar back today! Nearly four weeks of waiting and waiting for the correct car parts to arrive from overseas (I don't even want to think about the gas emissions on that) it's finally all buffed up and ready to be taken home. Insurance picked up the tab, so there was no out of pocket. But seeing as how I'm not sure how long I will be able to pay the car loan, my mum and I finally talked about selling it back to the dealership. There's no set date just yet and I'm dreading it. The car was a symbol of my financial independence, now it's just a reminder I used to have a career.
Oh wow, this post is turning out to be a downer. Let me distract you with this:
Irish doggies in the parade, wearing USC shirts. Yeah.
I'm watching Frontline's programme on the credit card companies, originally broadcast in 2004. It's got poor Eliot Spitzer too, when he was known for his hardline stance on the CC companies instead. None of the credit card cronies fared well here, and were made out like loan sharks. For instance, they acknowledge the little folded piece of paper included with your card often says the company may change your interest rate at anytime - they only need send you a letter 15 days before a change. How is this all right? Well, as the consumer you agreed to those terms.
As a result of the first showing of the programme, I became more diligent in reading these disclosures but in some way I've always felt none of it applied to my spending habits. Although I charge nearly all my expenses on my AMEX, I pay it off every month and use the 30% rule - make sure the total amount credited does not go over 30% of the spending limit. However because I'm unemployed and NOT allowed to work, I'm not sure how long I can continue in this way before giving in and using it over that 30%.
Working for a credit card company is on the list of jobs I will never do. Insurance is another. I don't think I could look myself in the mirror every morning knowing my company contributed to the financial downfall of many families simply because corporate wants to keep shareholders happy.
Wait, don't go! There's more. I got my Gar back today! Nearly four weeks of waiting and waiting for the correct car parts to arrive from overseas (I don't even want to think about the gas emissions on that) it's finally all buffed up and ready to be taken home. Insurance picked up the tab, so there was no out of pocket. But seeing as how I'm not sure how long I will be able to pay the car loan, my mum and I finally talked about selling it back to the dealership. There's no set date just yet and I'm dreading it. The car was a symbol of my financial independence, now it's just a reminder I used to have a career.
Oh wow, this post is turning out to be a downer. Let me distract you with this:
Irish doggies in the parade, wearing USC shirts. Yeah.
