Random Rants LXXII - What is wrong with us?

[Snerk]

Feels like a cold is creeping up on me. The telltale throat soreness escalation is definitely present. Been a while since the last time so I guess I'm due. Here's hoping it's a relatively short one, <week.

 

[Lexicus]

Here's hoping it's a relatively short one, <week.

*raises glass*

I still have to be at work for another three hours before the weekend. I don't know if I'm gonna make it

 

[Kyriakos]

Publishers suck and do anything to pay less even when the rate asked is already ridiculously low :/

Unless, of course, one is part of the circuit of useless drone-translators. It's not who you are; it's who you know.

 

[Takhisis]

And there are entire towns near my city that eat blood sausage and voted for the Nazis.

Blood sausage is awesome. Voting for the Nazis… well, the US does it so it's cool, it seems. Cool, cool, cool.

 

[Ajidica]

So, I had a roommate lined up and I just re-signed the apartment lease a few weeks ago; but he ended up getting a dream job -that he had thought was a longshot- outside of the Twin Cities so now I need to try and find a new roommate quickly as I really don't want to pay the whole rent by myself. (I mean, I can do it, but it would put a not insubstantial dent in my savings). Don't suppose any of you know someone in the Minneapolis/St Paul area who is looking for a new place?

 

[Synobun]

@Cutlass was just mentioning that he lives too far away from the bank...

 

[Cutlass]

@Cutlass was just mentioning that he lives too far away from the bank...

Only one bank. I have 4 other credit cards....

 

[Arakhor]

Four credit cards? Why on earth do you need that many?

 

[Cutlass]

Four credit cards? Why on earth do you need that many?

They don't cost anything to have. And companies have been giving them to me since I started college. If I hadn't cancelled a bunch I'd have like $100k in available credit.

 

[MagisterCultuum]

Cancelling a credit card hurts your credit rating, but keeping a card active with a low balance helps it. I have three credit cards, but when I go to check my credit I am told it would be better to have between 4 and 6.

I think I remember reading that the credit agencies penalize you slightly if you have more than 8 cards, but the main thing that like to take into account is what fraction of your total available credit lines you are actually using. Having more cards means more available credit, which is seen as a good thing.

 

[Arakhor]

That's nuts. No wonder there's a credit crisis going on if that's the standard policy!

 

[Synobun]

That's nuts. No wonder there's a credit crisis going on if that's the standard policy!

Note that in the US, requirements for a card are much lower than in the Commonwealth. Much higher credit limits too.

I'm kinda envious, but at the same time, nah. Plus, a lot of those cards have a 19.99% interest rate (or higher!) which isn't so great.

 

[MagisterCultuum]

An APR of 19.99% for a credit card is usually just an promotional introductory rate that would only last a few months before being increased to at least 24.99% or more likely 27.99%. I always make sure to pay off the total balance as of the last closing date though, so I don't pay any interest. I think I only ever carried a balance once in my life, when I tried paying it off early (on the closing date instead of billing deadline) and did not notice a couple pending charges that did not register until later than evening. That also involved about a $40 late fee for a $10 purchase. That was over a decade ago though.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

If you get a phone call out of the blue that offers to lower your credit card interest rate, hang up. It's a scam that's intended to facilitate identity theft.

 

[Ajidica]

If you get a phone call out of the blue that offers to lower your credit card interest rate, hang up. It's a scam that's intended to facilitate identity theft.

Or you give them the identity of someone you don't like very much.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Or you give them the identity of someone you don't like very much.

Bit hard to do that if they already know your name.

I found out that it costs $$ to be unlisted in the phone book, and the Do Not Call list is unenforceable when the call originates outside Canada. At least I was able to get them not to print my address, so a lot of telemarketers think I still live where I lived 10 years ago. I've moved 4 times since then.

Just yesterday somebody called, wanting to sell me windows and doors. I told them I already had windows and doors and didn't need any more. Then I found a flyer for windows and doors in my mailbox. Why some company is trying to sell this stuff to people who live in an apartment building where no individual alterations are allowed to the suites is beyond me.

I've also had the CRA scam and the computer scam calls in the last couple of days.

 

[Cutlass]

Note that in the US, requirements for a card are much lower than in the Commonwealth. Much higher credit limits too.

I'm kinda envious, but at the same time, nah. Plus, a lot of those cards have a 19.99% interest rate (or higher!) which isn't so great.

Those interest rates really screw over people who are in financial trouble and lean on their cards to get by for a while. And I've been in that situation. But right now they don't matter, as I pay them off in full every month.

 

[Zkribbler]

Those interest rates really screw over people who are in financial trouble and lean on their cards to get by for a while. And I've been in that situation. But right now they don't matter, as I pay them off in full every month.

"I pay them off in full every month."

 

[Ferocitus]

They really try to get their hooks into you if you are about to get a MSc or
PhD. I used a card to "supplement" my unemployment payments for about 3 years.
Sadly, nobody wants to employ old fools. Shrug.
Bankruptcy hurt my credit rating, but four years later I started receiving
applications for credit cards again. I suppose they don't expect PhD's to have
lower morals than those of bankers.

 

[Arakhor]

Of course, if you can afford to do that, you don't need the credit cards in the first place. I have one for internet payments and the like and that's it.