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How are you coping these days? Share your story.

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posted on Jul, 3 2008 @ 02:09 AM
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reply to post by schrodingers dog
 





Women are a weakness......but I have been fortunate enough to date young ladies with lower than normal expectations




"Is it going to be Red Lobster....or Dennys....you decide sweety"


Give em the old Ben Franklin close.....anyone in sales will know what I mean!

Im a total a$$ but it's true



posted on Jul, 3 2008 @ 02:14 AM
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reply to post by AreaMan
 


I've only stated it once, its the fact that - as predicted from the first post - the ATS doom and gloom lynch mob kept provoking me that I had to keep restating my position.

I certainly do empathize that people feel like they have it so bad, but what am I supposed to do? Cry because someone has to buy dial up internet, or can no longer afford cable? Sorry - I tend to only empathize with people that are under stress completely unrelated to their own actions and who have tried but failed to adapt after giving up life's luxuries. Or with those who have it so bad the thought of owning a internet connection seems like a fairy tale. But those people aren't here to post, are they?

I realize going against the ATS hive mind always makes you hated - but I just don't conform unless the data says the hive mind is right.

[edit on 3-7-2008 by ALightinDarkness]



posted on Jul, 3 2008 @ 02:18 AM
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i am on social security @ 53 years old. i have been expecting this change in the economy for a long time. i'm suprised it took this long to get here. i have to give up my apartment and move in with a friend of mine. i hardly have any food,and where i live, gas and electric are the most expensive in the nation. i went to pathmark ,our local cheapie supermarket tonight and went to get a can of baked beans,and a pack of hot dogs,and just stared in wonder 1.99 for beans and 4.00 for the hottdogs. with my daughter, who is 20, i solved the college problem by getting her to join the navy.
its the only place she cant get laid off,and college is mandatory if you wanna get anywhere,as far as rank. and they will pay for it. i just hope every day that she stays far away from war,but shes staying in for the full 20 years.
another reason i talked her into the navy was all the nasty laws that fema and the other ilk passed, had a very nasty word i wanted her to avoid ...civilian.
at least i know she'll always have food and shelter
my friends house i,m going to stay at is in texas,i'm in jersey. i'll be towing a trailer and probably getting 6 miles to the gallon. thats 1800 miles,and if i leave @ 4.00 a gallon it will cost me $1200 in gas. i cant work because of nerve damage in my legs ,so god help me if the do away with social security. i cant wait till the end of the year when they figure the cost of living went up 2%.
good luck to everyone on here

maybe we should start a thread on how people are beating the high prices and hard times. i know i could use a few ideas. and like someone else posted,i'm keeping my tent

[edit on 3-7-2008 by Spectre0o0]

[edit on 3-7-2008 by Spectre0o0]

[edit on 3-7-2008 by Spectre0o0]



posted on Jul, 3 2008 @ 02:26 AM
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reply to post by Spectre0o0
 




You know, I posted a thread here a while ago that relates to what you have said, but I was pretty much looked at as wacky.


Here it is.


I think a lot of this big downswing in the economy is being purposely orchestrated by our own government in order to boost recruiting numbers in the military.

Think about it. Times are tight, you are an 18 year old who wants to get ahead, yet there are no real job opportunities, life at home is crap because you are poor and struggling to get by, and what do you know.

There is your friendly local military recruiter popping in to say hi, promising travel, adventure, money, college tuition and a bright career future. Exciting, stimulating, an easy choice when you have nothing and want SOMETHING.

With the slide in recruiting numbers due to this ongoing war in the desert, recruiters have been finding it harder and harder to reach their numbers. If the economy gets screwed up, it basically brings new meat right to their door step. They reach their recruiting goals, the war machine is stocked with fresh new bodies, and they didn't even have to reinstitute the draft to do it.

Mission accomplished.



posted on Jul, 3 2008 @ 02:37 AM
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Somebody mentioned earlier the idea of just bailing on their credit card debt. Has anybody used any of those debt settlement companies? Do they work?



posted on Jul, 3 2008 @ 02:38 AM
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Alightindarkness

I agree with your observation about this thread that it would head to the 'doom and gloom' more than the optimism direction. But I have also read many sincere posts from posters here who are in deep difficulties, their bad luck, to live in a society that doesn't give a crap about people when they are down and out, old and sick. You need to think a little about that. It could be you someday. I really mean it. When people haven't had the good luck to come from a better off family and didn't get a chance to get an education it's hard to get a high income. These people are working people, the backbone of America and before they were just getting by doing the crappy jobs. With inflation and credit problems their +5% quickly changes to -10% income/spending but they cannot get any real govt. support. I can tell in this regard America absolutely sucks compared to other industrialised countries.

I hate to think of people around my father's age struggling in such a rich country. That would make me very angry if I was an American and I saw that. It's crazy people have to join the military in America to get a third level education when in most EU countries it's basically free. You can bet your life that there would be no war in Iraq if rich people including your president and senators had to send their sons and daughters over there too.

That whole thing about the American dream is rubbish, the last time it applied to local poor people in America was the 1950s. You need a big degree from a big shot university to get anywhere in corporations in America and that means social mobility is very low in your country (much lower than 'old' Europe or some other countries). Sooner regular people in America figure that out the better, the only problem is your political system is completely dominated by $$$$ Look at your presidential candidates and senators, they seem to all come from a handful of universities and most of them seem to be multimillionaires.... Obama and Clinton were the hardworking exceptions to this rule.

[edit on 3-7-2008 by ManInAsia]

[edit on 3-7-2008 by ManInAsia]



posted on Jul, 3 2008 @ 02:46 AM
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reply to post by schrodingers dog
 


You can settle the debt yourself. You don't have to use a debt settlement company at all. What they can do, you can do. They usually will settle for around half if you're behind. It's an awesome option if you're willing to take the hit in your credit. Which, seriously... What is a number to determine how you fair in life. Pleeeease.

Life > Money.



posted on Jul, 3 2008 @ 02:48 AM
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reply to post by DeadFlagBlues
 


I was only asking just to find out the facts.
I was wondering if their programs work or are they taking advantage of peoples desperation.
It really wasn't a loaded or philosophical question.



posted on Jul, 3 2008 @ 02:49 AM
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Originally posted by ManInAsia
But I have also read many sincere posts from posters here who are in deep difficulties, their bad luck, to live in a society that doesn't give a crap about people when they are down and out, old and sick. You need to think a little about that.


Oh I've thought about it a lot - I'm very happy about it. You see, everyone wants a nanny welfare state to take care of them when they have it bad, but when they are doing well they don't want to be taxed to pay for it. It is not the government's job to take care of people - in any condition - although we still have a ton of "safety net programs" that suggests it cares far more about the poor, old, and sick than I'd prefer they did. In fact I'm taxed quite a bit to take care of these people, even though I have qualified for welfare/medicaid/food stamps for many years but never took the hand out.


Originally posted by ManInAsia
It could be you someday. I really mean it.


Really? Already has been me, at least several times. As I said, never took the handout.


Originally posted by ManInAsia
When people haven't had the good luck to come from a better off family and didn't get a chance to get an education it's hard to get a high income.


I'm not sure who your talking about coming from a "better off family," but it certainly isn't me. Both of my parents are/were working class, we lived in poverty. My stepfather was a factory worker, my mother a secretary. No one offered me the "chance" to get a higher education, and I am the only person in my family to have either a college or graduate degree. For free. I did well in school and earned it. No one offered me the chance to get a higher income, I picked an area to study that is in demand.


Originally posted by ManInAsia
These people are working people, the backbone of America and before they were just getting by doing the crappy jobs. With inflation and credit problems their +5% quickly changes to -10% income/spending but they cannot get any real govt. support. I can tell in this regard America absolutely sucks compared to other industrialised countries.


Really? My parents and I lived in poverty, and while they have since done better they are certainly not rich. When prices went up, they cut back - just as I have. They still qualify for some limited government support, but would never dream of taking it. My grandmother is the same way. This is not a welfare state, and I'm very happy about it.


Originally posted by ManInAsia
I hate to think of people around my father's age struggling in such a rich country. That would make me very angry if I was an American and I saw that. It's crazy people have to join the military in America to get a third level education when in most EU countries it's basically free.


Struggling is part of life, life is not fair and never will be. Its not fun, but it makes you earn what you want. Also, no one has to join the military to get an education - anyone who does well in school can go for free or almost free.

I again remind the doom and gloom lynch mob that if you don't want realism raining on the doom and gloom parade, do NOT reply to my posts...

[edit on 3-7-2008 by ALightinDarkness]



posted on Jul, 3 2008 @ 02:51 AM
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reply to post by schrodingers dog
 


YOU CAN SETTLE THE DEBTS YOURSELF WITHOUT THE HELP OF A DEBT RELIEF COMPANY. They don't want you to know that you can do it yourself, but asking is all it takes. Your credit will be affected.


Is that too philosophical for you?



posted on Jul, 3 2008 @ 02:54 AM
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reply to post by schrodingers dog
 




You can do your own debt repair, there is nothing that the debt relief companies can do that you cannot do yourself.

The difference is the know how.

I actually have my own system ohat I use, being as I have repaired literally 100's of peoples credit over the last few years, usually in order to bring up thir FICO scores in order to qualify for a loan. Shoot me a U2U and I will make sure to email you a copy.

I will get the info together and post it or send it to whoever wants a copy, it is in PDF format and fairly self explanatory.

The key is patience and persistance.

And I would avoid these debt repair companies, most are a total rip off and some cost well over $1,000 for them to basicallly do what you can do yourself for the price of postage.



posted on Jul, 3 2008 @ 02:57 AM
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reply to post by BlackOps719
 


Let me guess... Just dispute everything, even if you know the debt is valid, and send a request for validation to the creditor. Since they get so many disputes they often can't find proof within the 30 days, and then it gets deleted.

The old loophole used by people to scam was adding others as authorized users to large and old credit lines which raised credit scores. However, FairIssac has said that loophole is closed now.

[edit on 3-7-2008 by ALightinDarkness]



posted on Jul, 3 2008 @ 02:58 AM
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reply to post by DeadFlagBlues
 


Why you feel the need to be aggressive I do not know.
Some people might be hesitant, some people are not comfortable with confrontation, others might be poor negotiators and actually concede to a worst settlement.
I'm just wondering if those companies have benefited anyone?
I understood your point, but you know as much as I do that it is human nature to avoid the collection calls.
Why do you think my question is so unreasonable, and why are you getting angry?
I mean no harm.



posted on Jul, 3 2008 @ 03:03 AM
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reply to post by ALightinDarkness
 


I think you are ignoring a lot of things here. You are not old, you are not chronically sick. These limit your chances very severely to increase your income. Also your parents did not seem to be sick.
You work hard and give yourself a clap on the back but you are no patriot because a patriot would care about his own people, no matter the better or worse off, the strong or the weak.
Welfare seems to be a bad and loaded word in America, and yet the American govt. gives MASSIVE amounts of welfare every year in the form of tax credits for millionaires and big corporation and massive budgets for military supplies, rebuilding foreign countries through single supplier contracts and tax rebates for oil companies. I just don't get it, perhaps you do? You think it's a better idea to structure your society like that, why?
You proudly claim that neither you nor your family ever claimed govt. handouts and yet you pay tax. Why not claim a handout when you need it if you pay tax, after all it was your money right? Or are you so brainwashed to think that money was supposed to be (or better off) put to the uses above?



[edit on 3-7-2008 by ManInAsia]



posted on Jul, 3 2008 @ 03:03 AM
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reply to post by schrodingers dog
 


I was trying to answer your question as clearly as possible. I didn't take my time out to answer your question and read your thread to get some condescending response about some minute detail in my post. No harm, no foul, I was just trying to help.



posted on Jul, 3 2008 @ 03:04 AM
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reply to post by ALightinDarkness
 




You are correct, there is no longer any piggybacking on other peoples credit.


But with a little ingenuity there are ways to bypass that as well.


As far as the credit repair process itself, it is a bit more involved than what you have described but similar. There are key things that one must do, and it requires a great deal of effort and follow up.

Repairing debt is a long term process, despite what most of these companies want you to believe it cannot be done properly over night.



posted on Jul, 3 2008 @ 03:10 AM
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reply to post by DeadFlagBlues
 


It's all good.
Now honestly, if a person were not to take your valid advice, have you had any direct or indirect experience with debt settlement companies? I seriously and honestly would like to learn.



posted on Jul, 3 2008 @ 03:13 AM
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reply to post by schrodingers dog
 


I had chosen to repay my debts in full after letting them slip for a little while, as where my best friend decided to settle his debt with the company. He was behind for 5 months or so, and all it had taken was a phone call to customer service.

"I'd like to settle my debts."
"Are you sure you want to do this. This goes down permanently on your credit."
"Yes I'm sure."

Turned $8,800 dollars into a $4000 dollar debt.

I know this sounds so simplistic and vague, but that's all I gathered from him. If you're in the same pinch, I could find out more if you like and shoot you a U2U when I figure out the specifics. I'm pretty sure it was just that easy.



posted on Jul, 3 2008 @ 03:17 AM
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Originally posted by ManInAsia
I think you are ignoring a lot of things here. You are not old, you are not chronically sick. These limit your chances very severely to increase your income. Also your parents did not seem to be sick.


I realize what your doing is trying to find some hole to go "AH HA! See! YOU HAD IT BETTER THAN EVERYONE ELSE" to explain my optimism but really its not going to work. My mother was and remains very sick, which is why she couldn't move up the chain (she was a secretary at a bank during a time where you could move up even without a college degree). Also, I think my grandmother who lived through the great depression qualifies as old and I assure you she has health problems. Yet...they did not cry about their problems or ask for government handouts, even though they qualified. Are you going to tell me that they could have had it worse? Sure they could - and so could everyone else posting in this thread. I have had health problems for quite a while - I do not feel like I need to detail to you all my woes. The health insurance I PAY FOR covers it.


Originally posted by ManInAsia
You work hard and give yourself a clap on the back but you are no patriot because a patriot would care about his own people, no matter the better or worse off, the strong or the weak.


I love how you can assume all this without knowing me - of course, you are wrong. I do not care about being a patriot. I work for me, and only me. I spend quite a bit of my time and donate a not insignificant amount of my money on charity. Do you know why? Because I give it of my own free will, my money is not stolen from me and redistributed. What an amazingly small and narrow worldview you must have to assume that because I do not submit robbing me of my money and prefer choosing who gets it, that I must not care about people.


Originally posted by ManInAsia
Welfare seems to be a bad and loaded word in America, and yet the American govt. gives MASSIVE amounts of welfare every year in the form of tax credits for millionaires and big corporation and massive budgets for military supplies, rebuilding foreign countries through single supplier contracts and tax rebates for oil companies. I just don't get it, perhaps you do? You think it's a better idea to structure your society like that, why?


Despite populist propaganda efforts, corporate America does not get near as many breaks as people would like to think. What they do get, they get because they provide jobs for people. So we have some welfare for people, and some welfare for companies. Since both groups need each other to work, the arrangement is fine.

I would prefer to do away with both, if it were up to me. But its not. The arrangement we have I do not like, but at least we are subsidizing the supply and demand side of the equation.


Originally posted by ManInAsia
You proudly claim that neither you nor your family ever claimed govt. handouts and yet you pay tax. Why not claim a handout when you need it if you pay tax, after all it was your money right? Or are you so brainwashed to think that money was supposed to be (or better off) put to the uses above?


Because two wrongs do not make a right. My money should not have been stolen from me, but I should not participate in the wrong by stealing it back from other taxpayers. No amount of brainwashing from people like you is going to change that.

[edit on 3-7-2008 by ALightinDarkness]



posted on Jul, 3 2008 @ 03:22 AM
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reply to post by DeadFlagBlues
 


The difference as I understand it is this, and then I promise I'll drop it. Let's say you have five credit cards that you owe $5000 each. As you correctly point out, you can call each bank individually and have them settle for half. Usually if they make that concession what they want in return is quick payment. That means that that person has to come up with $12500 relatively quickly. What the debt settlement companies promise you, is that they will make the same deal, but get the cc companies to back off until you've accumulated the amount through long term monthly payments in a savings account. I don't believe it so I'm asking if anyone's done it. Make sense?



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