Wed, 20 Jul 2005

  Credit Councelors

 What is the story with these services? It seems every week there is a new one popping up. They claim to be non profit but are they? If they are non profit why are there so many new services? Are they doing it out of the kindness in their hearts? I doubt that is the case.

  I understand how they can help you. They talk to your creditors and get them to reduce your interest. That is something you can do yourself. If you call the credit card companies they are willing to work with you. One thing they can do for you is sell you books or videos that show you how to manage your money and rebuild your credit. Hey wait this is a non profit group they must be selling me their pproduct at cost. If they sold it to me at a profilt they would no longer be non profit. I bet the money they make is to cover administrative costs. They would never try to take advantage of someone who is struggling with financial problems.

 Here is something they don't tell you. They will arrange to have your interest rates lowered but you still have to call the credit card companies to have your due date changed. The so called councelors take your money then distribute it to your creditors. It is up to you to set up your payment dues dates to all be the same. So if you are trying to pay off four credit cards, all four must have a payment due date in the same time frame. If you don't do this you can still be hit with late charges. So if the councelors make your payments at the end of the month but your due date is in the beginning of the month you will be hit with late fees.

 Here is something else interesting. You must give them your bank account info so they can remove funds to make your payments. Now lets say they will make your payments on the fifteenth of the month. They may take the money out of your account as early as the first of the month. What happens to your money betweent the time they take it and the time they dispurse it? Well it sits in an account collecting interest. What happens to that interest? Do they give to you? I doubt that. I know the employees need to be paid but I am willing to bet that the interest they make is higher than the salaries they have to pay. I am also willing to bet that there is some sort of loop hole in the laws allows the non profit group to keep the interest money without having to claim it as a profit from the counceling service.

 The next time you see a tv ad showing all these happy people praising the councleing service, think of how those tv ads were paid for. When the ad shows these happy councelors helping people lower their payments think about why they are happy. I don't think they are happy about doing their good deed for the day.

  I guess what I am trying to say is that the credit councelors can help you but they are not doing it for free like they lead you to believe. You may not be paying them directly but they are making money from you. According to the laws they are non profit but they are making a profit.

posted at: 11:46 | path: | permanent link to this entry

Sun, 17 Jul 2005

Drivers
 Am I alone in thinking that people should have to retake the driving test every so often? It doesn't have to be every time you renew your license. It could be every ten years or another length of time. I just think it would be a good idea to make sure people remember the laws and courtesies of the road.

  I live by a highway that is notorious for accidents and many are fatal. Many people cry out that something has to be done about the road. There must be a reason that there are so many accidents. Well those people are correct, not about the road but about there being a reason. The reason there are so many accidents is because so many people are bad drivers.

 The other day I had someone driving so close behind me that I couldn't even see the car in my mirrors. I knew the car was there because I saw it approaching me and it didn't turn of the road. We approached a traffic light and stopped. When I started to pull away, I saw the car in my mirror. It amazed me that someone had to be driving that close to me. There were two empty lanes this car could have pulled into if I was too slow. I must have been in that person's private driving lane. If I had to hit the brakes, that car would have slammed into me.

 Another thing I see all the time is people who have to be in front of any other cars. There must be something special about being in front that I don't know about. Many times I see a car sit on my tail then pass me. I look at my speedomometer to see if I am too slow. I look up again to see the car slowing down. It turns out that I wasn't driving too slow, I was just driving in front of the pack leader. Since that is not allowed, the pack leader has to pass me to be in front. The pack leader usually gives a look that says I should have pulled over and let him pass.

 Another favorite move of the pack leader is to pull out of a side street right in front of you. Many times I have been driving along and someone will pull out right in front of me. When I look in my mirror I see that the nearest car is about a quarter mile back. Since there is plenty of room to pull out behind me, there must be a reason for making me slam on the brakes to allow the person to pull out without a collision. I then realize that it must be the pack leader pulling out to take control of the driving pack. It doesn't matter that the pack consists of me the pack leader and a straggler a quarter mile back.

 Another big problem is people that are in a rush. I have seen so many people flying up behind me and go around me just to pull back into my lane and make a turn right in front of me. This amazes me. If am doing fifty five miles per hour, how fast are you going when you pass me. Are you in such a rush that you can not wait one more second to reach your turn? I don't know where you are going that is so important you must risk the lives of me and everyone around us just so you can arrive a second earlier. If it is so important that you reach your destination on time, please leave earlier. It is nice to arrive early but that does not apply to the pearly gates. There are many people I would like to meet but I am in no rush to meet St. Peter. If you are in a rush to meet him, please stay away from me when you drive.

 Since I am on the subject of people in a rush it only seems fair to mention the speeders. How many times have you been driving along and had a car blow your doors off? The interstate highways by me have a seventy mile per hour speed limit. I think that is fast enough. Apparently some people don't agree with me. There have been many times I have been driving the interstate doing seventy or maybe a little over. I look in my mirror to see a car gaining on me like I wasn't moving. When the car passes, the wind in it's wake makes my whole car rock side to side. Now if I am doing seventy, that car has to be doing one hundred or more. That person better pray he or she doesn't get into an accident. I don't care how many seat belts or air bags that car has, if it is in an accident there won't be any survivors. Please, if you want to drive a rocket, join NASA. If you want to be a race car driver, join NASCAR. Leave the highways to people like me that would like to reach a destination in one piece.

 I won't even get into how dangerous these speeders are in traffic. Do they really think that weaving accross lanes and cutting people off is safe?

 A big problem on todays roads is road rage. There is an easy cure for that, it is called courtesy. No it isn't a pill and does involve a little effort. It won't help you lose weight ot make you sexy but it will help you live longer. It will also help everyone else live longer too.

 There are many things you can do to avoid road rage. You can leave a little space between you and the car in front of you. It won't give you minty fresh breath but will allow braking time if the person ahead of you has to stop or slow down.

 You can hang up that phone you are talking on. I know it makes driving seem a little more like a chore but will make you more aware of your sorroundings. If you get bored you can sing along to the radio. It takes less thought to sing a song you know than it does to hold a coversation. It also allows you to keep both hands on the steering wheel. If you do decide to sing to the radio, I hope you keep your windows rolled up because I may be in the car next to you.

 You could also use your directionals. You know that long skinny thing sticking out the side of the steering column. It is simple to use and lets everyone around you know your intentions. If you want to change lanes, give us a signal. I know I let people in when they signal. Give a signal before you want to turn or change lanes. Don't wait until the last second. Where I live, nobody uses there signals. If they do use them, it is more like a warning signal. When that light starts blinking, get out of they way the car is coming over.

 One last thing that just came to mind. The horn is to get the attention of someone that may not have seen you coming. It is not to show how angry you are that someone is driving in the space you want to be in or to say hi to friend you see on the road.

 Next time you are on the road, hang up the phone, stop eating, put down that electric razor or make up and pay attention. Put on your seat belts and think of the other drivers you share the road with. If do these things the roads will be much safer and we just might find a cure for raod rage.

posted at: 10:48 | path: | permanent link to this entry