Good morning All. Coffees on.

[Dillon]

I hope everyone is having a good day. Today my coffee is iced because I have a sore throat that is responding well to cool and not to warm. I make the coffee almost like a frappuccino. A small, concentrated brew, then I fill the rest of the tall mug with some sugar and unsweetened almond milk. And ice. Why I insist on my almond milk being unsweetened and then add my own sugar is just the quirky magic of me. LOL. Now I'm looking for my to-do list, which is usually next to my laptop. I'm sure all the chores will come to mind anyway.

@awkward-yet-sweetPain meds mess up my head and my sleep too. Just when you need rest the most. I hope something adjusts for you so you can be more comfortable. @WillowI didn't know that about bank checks. I don't use them when I shop, but that's interesting, and I like to know how payments are processed. 

I've been thinking about what a gift it is to know I'm transgender and to fully feel like me now. 

[awkward-yet-sweet]

@Dillon I decided this morning that the meds just have to go. I can't be getting dizzy and clumsy, when a lack of balance caused my injury in the first place. Starting my morning by retching til my stomach hurts isn't a good thing either. 

 

At the moment, I think I'm probably going to turn to alcohol for the pain control.  Since I work at home and I rarely drive, I don't think it will be a problem for the next week. GF has promised to get me a case of some decent wine. 😆 So I guess recovery and healing is starting to look like a vacation. Or a very early midlife crisis...

[Mmindy]

15 hours ago, GlitchedSalvation said:

I, a teenager, was confused as well.

Good morning everyone,

 

@GlitchedSalvation and @KymmieL I'm just horrible with acronyms.

 

Today is starting late for me because, my body was unable to get the bed off my back. I'm normally a motivated morning person, but today it was a cat nap kind of day. My vendors are slow to get my base materials to me so I can build out my projects. I like slow times when I get to plan them, not slow times because someone else's supply chain is messed up. I cleaned up the shop yesterday, as well as cleaned out my utility trailer. I guess this is the semi, in semiretired.

 

Hugs,

 

Mindy🐛🏳️‍⚧️🦋

[Marcie Jensen]

2 hours ago, Willow said:

Good morning

 

First, I would like to point out that when I was in high school, the very first universal credit card, BankAmeriCard, had not been created.  No one issued Debit Cards, so it was American Express and DinersClub.  

I remember BankAmericard too. My parents had something called, if I remember correctly, a "ChargeAPlate." It was made of metal and about the size of a single military dog tag. I don't remember them ever using it, though. AND, as late as the 1980s, I had a government issued Diners Club card for official travel. They switched to American Express and later Visa when they discovered no on, especially overseas, accepted Diners Club.  Times have certainly changed. Lol.

[Willow]

@Marcie Jensen my mother had a couple of charge a plates. As I recall they were store specific  I had specific store accounts when I was in my 20s until credit card ds became more common

[KymmieL]

I remember when Bankamericacard became VISA. And even when that new one Discover came out. OF course, Carl Malden telling you don't leave home without your American Express.  In my high school business was a required class. Talked about budgeting and balancing your check book. things like that.

 

Well latest from my endo is she is looking to change me from patches to shots. She needs to discuss it with the anti-coagulation team to adjust my blood thinners. So, I get more E. Seems like the luprilode is doing its job and decreasing my t levels.

 

Take care all.

 

Hugs,

Kymmie

 

 

[awkward-yet-sweet]

Funny how American Express and Discover don't seem to be acceptable in the area where I live.  If you don't have Visa or Mastercard...you better have cash.  Something about the other two charging merchants more to be able to process them I guess.  While it doesn't happen in the city, local businesses charge a markup for using a card or a check.  Well, actually it is phrased as a "cash discount" but its basically the same thing.  The other benefit is that dealing with a local business and paying cash, a lot of things are listed as "agricultural supplies" (whether they are or not,) so we avoid sending a lot of sales tax revenue to the state and only pay the county portion.  So its like a double discount. 

 

Because of this, I actually don't even have a credit card anymore.  I have a debit card attached to my bank account, but I mostly use cash.  GF manages my money and pays my bills anyways, so it is pretty rare for me to buy something on my own.  I've met some folks who think that is kind of shocking, that I let a partner manage my stuff and I rarely look at it 😆

[April Marie]

1 hour ago, ShawnaB said:

Talking a trip to London,England,having a makeover there go tothe Boudior London for a makeover.Will be in June and checked it out.It will be just me,time for myself.My wife says this is a good idea

How wonderful that will be!! I want to go somewhere for a makeover, as well. It would be good to have someone help me take my make-up to a higher level and explore some fashion ideas.

 

Are you going to go out on the town as part of it? That's something else I want to do - but you're out often so it probably isn't as important to you.

 

I really look forward to hearing about your experiences!!!!

[April Marie]

Good morning, everyone! I've been up for hours already - 3 cups of coffee, dogs walked and fed, breakfast finished, read the newspaper and checked in here earlier, too. 

 

Hopefully, my lawn mower will be ready to pick up today - needed some parts that finally arrived on Monday afternoon. The grass is getting high.

 

Otherwise, it's light chores around our place.

 

Be safe and enjoy this beautiful day!!

[Ivy]

9 hours ago, awkward-yet-sweet said:

Well, actually it is phrased as a "cash discount" but its basically the same thing

Some around here do that as well.  We (ex and myself) never had a card for years and years.  We used cash or checks.  I still pay some bills by check, but do a lot of that stuff online now (with card).

 

10 hours ago, KymmieL said:

Well latest from my endo is she is looking to change me from patches to shots

I've wondered about doing this myself.  I like the convenience of the patches, but if I could get a higher dose that could be a good thing.  I currently us 2 patches at a time.

 

Planning to go up to Asheville today for our VA group meeting.  I could attend online, but the drive is worth it for me to be there in person.

[Marcie Jensen]

10 hours ago, KymmieL said:

I remember when Bankamericacard became VISA. And even when that new one Discover came out. OF course, Carl Malden telling you don't leave home without your American Express.  In my high school business was a required class. Talked about budgeting and balancing your check book. things like that.

 

Well latest from my endo is she is looking to change me from patches to shots. She needs to discuss it with the anti-coagulation team to adjust my blood thinners. So, I get more E. Seems like the luprilode is doing its job and decreasing my t levels.

 

Congrats Kymmie on your E  and T levels going in the direction you want! that's awesome news!!!

 

I'd forgotten about Karl Malden's AMEX commercials. Brings back some memories... Times have sure changed, too. When I tried to convince my youngest daughter to take a personal finances class in high school about 2010-ish, she said, "I don't need this. I have a debit card." She felt the same way about driver's education too. The proverbial chickens came home to roost though when she managed to overdraw her account several years later because she didn't balance her books while on Spring Break and then called me to give her money to party with. When I said no, she appealed to her mother, my ex, who tried to get me to pony up about $3000 for my daughter. That was an...interesting...conversation to say the4 least. It was a valuable lie lesson for my daughter.

[Dillon]

9 hours ago, awkward-yet-sweet said:

While it doesn't happen in the city, local businesses charge a markup for using a card or a check.

Sadly, businesses in my city have started charging a markup. It's 2 dollars for the cab company, and a hair salon charged me a 6 dollar markup. I often pay cash to avoid it, but that means more trips to the bank, and I try to limit the amount of errands I run because of the fatigue. 

[Marcie Jensen]

9 hours ago, awkward-yet-sweet said:

Funny how American Express and Discover don't seem to be acceptable in the area where I live.  If you don't have Visa or Mastercard...you better have cash.  Something about the other two charging merchants more to be able to process them I guess. 

That's true about Amex and Discover. Over 95% of all credit card transactions are processed by either Visa or Mastercard, and Amex, as a charge card (as opposed to a credit card) makes its profit through fees not interest. Visa and Mastercard can afford low fees to merchants because they charge up to 28% interest and most people don't pay them off every month. With Amex, who doesn't charge interest, you have to pay the balance every month or they can close your account. Credit cards are, imho, an evil that gets far too many people into financial trouble. What's really bad about them is that it's hard to build credit for major purchases like houses or cars without using them because the major credit bureaus develop your credit score form the steady use of and payments to credit card companies.

[Dillon]

Good morning. Finishing my first cup. I had a sore throat yesterday and felt slightly ill in general, which means I can't go to the lgbt center today. I feel just slightly off now, mildly weak, and I think I need another day before I'm sure I'm not carrying anything. I'm disappointed because this was my only outing in the middle of the week. Staying home alone all week is not fabulous. I'm supposed to go on Friday too, and I'm sure I'll feel completely recovered by then but I'll do a Covid test that morning. 

 

Anyway, I have a bunch of things I can do around the house, a zoom I can attend this morning since I'm home anyway, and a zoom this evening that involves actual committee work. 

@ShawnaBA trip to London sounds wonderful! Enjoy.

 

[Mmindy]

Good morning everyone,

 

I use 8 checks and 8 forever stamps, a year to pay my state and federal taxes. Other than that I use online banking, credit cards or cash. As for businesses not taking American Express or Discover, I don't get it. I'm a two person small business, and we take American Express. However we pass the processing fee back onto the customer. We call it a Convenience Fee. Since most of our customers are Federal, State, Local governments we prefer they pay by check or bank to bank transfers, so we don't have to pay the 3.5% credit card fee. You do that on a six figure sale and that a huge chunk of change. We would rather wait 30 days for a check, and then a few days for it to clear the bank.

 

So the weather is good today, rain tomorrow, so it's a yard work day. Once the dew is evaporated, I'll weed-eat, and mow the lawn. Then I have some potted plants I want to plant.

 

Hugs,

 

Mindy🐛🏳️‍⚧️🦋

[Ivy]

25 minutes ago, Marcie Jensen said:

Visa and Mastercard can afford low fees to merchants because they charge up to 28% interest and most people don't pay them off every month.

This.  

I use a visa debit card for most of my shopping.  I use a visa credit card for major purchases, or online stuff.  Since I pay it off every month I avoid the high interest rates.  I have an intense phobia of going into actual debt.  I seem to remember something about "the borrower is the lender's slave" from somewhere.

[Willow]

Good morning 

 

just got called to come to work early.  Good thing I was already up. 
 

The acceptance and processing of cards becomes a very lucrative business.  The bigger the business is that you buy from, the lower the processing fee they pay.  Ma and Pa stores pay the most.  There are middlemen who do take a risk when they sign you up so the riskier they feel you are the higher the fee.  Some states have laws that you can’t charge CCard users extra.  Most charge less for debit cards because they get their money immediately.  The whole thing is a huge business with only a few big companies actually doing the card processing.

 

@KymmieL once you learn to give yourself the shots, it’s no big deal.  They are safer than pills or patches from the standpoint of fewer side affects lower doses for equal effectiveness.  If you have to pay for the medication be sure the prescriber works out a dose size and strength that allow you to use a generic medication.

[KymmieL]

48 minutes ago, Ivy said:

I've wondered about doing this myself.  I like the convenience of the patches, but if I could get a higher dose that could be a good thing.  I currently us 2 patches at a time.

I am currently using 2 patches. My Dr. said I could go up to 3. However, being somewhat undercover with the wife. I see more patches more chances for the wife to see.

 

Kymmie

[miz miranda]

@ShawnaBYou will have a great time. I did a photo shoot  & makeover  a few years ago. It was a life changing experience for me. London is a great place to visit, In the mid-90s, I consulted for British Telecom and commuted from Chicago to London every 2 weeks for 3 years. Lots to do and see.

 

I recall a business trip to England in early 1987. There were no company charge cards for the average worker and my company provided a cash advance of 2000 pounds for hotel and dining bills. I only had a Sears card at the time. Many peoples first credit/charge card. We had to go to a bank to exchange 50 pound notes for 20 pound notes. Our hotel wouldn't accept the large notes, worried about counterfeits.

 

Working on my first cup of coffee and breakfast at the moment. Short bike workout today and then probably some minor chores.

 

I don't see a lot cash discounts near my area. The first place I did see such discounts was at public universities in Illinois & Tennessee and real estate tax agency in Illinois.

[Mmindy]

6 minutes ago, Ivy said:

I have an intense phobia of going into actual debt.  I seem to remember something about "the borrower is the lender's slave" from somewhere.

Achieving debt free status, should be the goal of everyone, as they approach the end of their working career. Once you have this phobia of going back into debt, life and money management becomes simple. The creation of a personal budget, also helps track where the money is. It's not easy to reach the debt free status. Suzie and I joined together on June 26, 1976, and didn't become debt free until January 19, 2019. She's fully retired, and I'm semiretired. We plan out were every penny goes, as we review the monthly bills and budget. Our son use to think we were poor, because when we were in a store, and he was asking for this or that. We would say: "Not this week. We can't afford it." We were not poor by any measure, we were living within our budget. Looking back, we should have used a different phrase to let him know why we didn't purchase anything that wasn't on the shopping list. Kids are more perceptive than we think. As young parents we didn't think about teaching them about money. Spending, saving, and forecasting needs. Our grown children are doing a much better job as parents, than we did, and that is the reward of grandparents. Seeing your grown children being better than you were.

 

Hugs,

 

Mindy🐛🏳️‍⚧️🦋

[Ivy]

32 minutes ago, Mmindy said:

Our son use to think we were poor, because when we were in a store, and he was asking for this or that. We would say: "Not this week. We can't afford it." We were not poor by any measure, we were living within our budget.

With 8 kids we were poor.  Pinto beans were a staple in our house.  To this day bean burritos are a favorite at family gatherings.  But I don't regret those times.  People don't need half the things they think they do.

[KymmieL]

1 hour ago, Willow said:

  If you have to pay for the medication be sure the prescriber works out a dose size and strength that allow you to use a generic medication.

Luckily, I don't. I haven't payed a medical bill in about 17 yrs. VA covers everything. Even my hospital stay when I had my blood clots. 2 days ICU and 2 regular. Not a dime out of pocket.

 

Kymmie

[Mmindy]

1 hour ago, Ivy said:

I don't regret those times.  People don't need half the things they think they do.

I agree Ivy.

 

🐛🏳️‍⚧️🦋💖

[awkward-yet-sweet]

15 hours ago, Ivy said:

I seem to remember something about "the borrower is the lender's slave" from somewhere.

Proverbs 22:7..... The book of Proverbs is actually full of good money advice.   

 

14 hours ago, Mmindy said:

Achieving debt free status, should be the goal of everyone, as they approach the end of their working career.

 

Our son use to think we were poor, because when we were in a store, and he was asking for this or that. We would say: "Not this week. We can't afford it." We were not poor by any measure, we were living within our budget. 

Our family really focuses on debt-free living.  It almost seems crazy in modern America where almost everyone is in debt.  

 

I think poverty is a relative concept.  Compared to many nations and periods in history, just having enough food to eat every day can be called wealth.  There is even an amount of food insecurity in the USA. My GF grew up having to sacrifice some of her own meals so her sister could eat...her parents didn't provide enough for both of them.  

 

Our household is huge, so we cut expenses by making many things instead of buying.  Especially food.  Even with several good incomes, feeding our tribe would cost a fortune at the grocery store.  I suppose that compared to households who are able to eat out regularly and buy pre-packaged food, our household might look poor.  But having zero debt, savings, and a means of production, we are more stable and resilient than most.  I think security is a more real form of wealth than luxury.  

[Mirrabooka]

21 hours ago, Mmindy said:

We would say: "Not this week. We can't afford it." We were not poor by any measure, we were living within our budget.

 

Good morning, or good evening everyone, depending where y'all are.

 

Budgeting is sooo important! One of the best things my wife and I have ever done, is to put savings into our fortnightly budget calculations. There are obviously some fortnights where large recurring expenses mean that we go backwards, but because we normally budget to save, we don't allow too much money to be wasted on buying stuff impulsively. Even though we are empty-nesters now, we still apply this concept.