Cash kills wealth

Maybe it's a sign of my age, but in three years of studying banking-finance-money-investing, are the only two information sources you considered (1) internet and (2) MSM? You see, back in the olden days when watches were wound and TVs didn't have remotes, there were these things called books. They were made from paper, of all things! And in some of them, master practicioners in various fields, including those you profess interest, would thoroughly explain and expound on theory and practice as they learned through decades of research and experience. And, if you can imagine, many of them were written without poltitical agendas for or against fiat currency or the Federal Reserve. I know that balanced viewpoints are more difficult to comprehend, and ranting is far more fun, but they were useful nevertheless [in their day]. Anyway, I guess there's no point in reading them anymore. If something isn't on TV or the internet, it isn't considered to be true. Oh well!

 

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Sounds like an extreme.

The problem is "hoarding"; no, the problem is "cash" or hard assets, or unregulated free trade or the banks or the FED or greedy capitalists or greedy governments or the IRS or ....whatever.

It is unreal how you go to some towns and cities and everyone is using plastic. I used to be 100% cash and carry, using a debit card for convenience only. The problem with that approach is you don't build a credit rating, kind of like developing a tolerance for alcohol, useful if you are a social drinker where business activity is dependent on your ability to tolerate John Barleycorn...

 

Sure you do.

You build a rating of 0...the best possible FICO score. :too-funny:

 

I'm actually 99% plastic myself, it's just easier. But I also don't go around with my plastic card saying "Hey, I got 20k right here, let's go buy stuff!"

I have a credit card that I get points for airline, so my monthly expenditures go on it (gas, groceries). All other bills are online bill pay. I then pay off this credit card every month, no interest ever builds up.

As for entertainment (movies, eating out, hobbies, etc), my wife and I each have a monthly allowance, at the beginning of each month, we withdraw our allowance as cash, if you blow it before the end of the month, then you gotta wait til the next month if you wanna go see a movie, eat out, etc (that's unless one of us is nice enough to pay for the other if we haven't blown ours yet). If either of us want a big ticket item, well, we save up our cash to buy it. It works out nicely and I'm glad to say I am not a statistic by saying I have credit card debt.

 

I couldn't help but feel that article was a cheesy newspaper advertisement made to look like a real news article intent on getting people to dump cash for credit cards. That should help the poor...mire them in a lifetime of debt they'll never be able to pay off at 39% interest. They made it sound like we're living in the 18th century where the poor have to walk a hundred miles through the wilds to pay a debt, instead of doing what the rest of us have been doing for the past 200 years and put a stamp on an envelope and mail it. Not to mention, most banks offer free bank accounts, though the article made it out that only the mega-rich could somehow afford a checking account at the local bank.

If nothing, I found it entertaining and hilarious.
Guy

 

One of our banks said $7 per month, or go paperless and direct deposit. We said buh-bye.

 

I had a friend who somehow maxed out his credit cards to the tune of $50K. I don't know what he was thinking, he was sue-happy, sued the town for being terminated supposedly as an Indian, sued Nasdaq claiming a ladder fell on him at work (that time the employer hired a PI who filmed him doing physical work when he was supposed to be disabled). Finally he couldn't pay and didn't win the lottery so they hounded him around the clock as a deadbeat. I helped him find a bankrupcy attorney who put away the debt, the divorce was put on hold for a while. Debt is a killer, at least they are not sending people to debtor prisons like they used to...

 

Most of my knowledge of monetary policy,politics,national conflicts,silver and gold being money comes many many hours
in our local library, school library and local small book shops long before the internet or computers were available to the
public. Since my childhood I have been a student of many various topics at differnet times and studied these topics in as great a depth as was available to me given the limited resources of the time. Sharks, Wolves, Orangutangs then War, National and International Conflict which has to encompass politics or you really do not get a clear understanding of the subject of human conflict. Then when I was a late teenager and began making money of course my focus change to monetary matters.

I understand your point about the internet, Not everything is true.
But that is also true of books. The shear amount of historical fact that is NOT presented in Text Books is staggering
Using ones mind to decipher where the truth is takes years of practice.
The only reason I linked just the two zerohedge links is they are the first ones I found where the topic
I was presenting more depth to what I was discussing so that people could make an informed decision. Most topics discussed in the Main Stream Media
is just small snippets of news, a little more depth is helpful in giving someone the opportunity to decide if they want do do more research on the subject.

 

Indeed. Consider what schoolchildren are taught about the causes of and fixes for the Great Depression. Then consider the students themselves: http://sippicancottage.blogspot.com/2012/05/they-call-me-captain-kirk.html

 

I agree. Textbooks, especially social science ones, are always taught with a bias. This is why I read source material when possible, or read multiple books on the same subject. History especially is extremely poorly taught in this country.

 

I get free checking, it'd be about $5 a month if I needed more than 2 teller transactions per month, which I don't. I do direct deposit and or deposit checks at the ATM (which doesn't count as teller transactions). I also go paperless, I can view everything online, print it if I need a hard copy (which is rare). What's the problem going paperless or direct deposit? It saves resources, time and money.

 

Diff'rent strokes, friend. I get free checking and still have a home phone, too.

 

Many, if not most, small businesses don't offer direct deposit to their employees because of the accounting and banking costs associated with it. Going paperless is still very inconvient if not impossible for many.

The banksters are not going to change however so I continue to advise everyone to investigate their options for joining a Credit Union and move all their banking there. They are non-profit and are not paying out huge bankster executive bonuses. That money stays in your pocket.

 

Ah - I new this would be too much bait for you and that eventually you would appear! I can still remember the days before direct deposit with the long bank lines at lunch hour on payday when 800 people got their pay checks for Doubleday when I worked there.

Such wonders.

Ruben

 

I've worked at companies with just 10 employees or less that had direct deposit, I doubt the cost is the reason most don't do it. The only time I'd think a business wouldn't do it is if they didn't own a computer for the business (which would be a rarity). I'm not sure where you're saying the accounting and banking costs are more than a regular paper payroll though. Accounting at employers is practically automated within software nowadays.

I can transfer money to anyone in the world directly with no cost from my phone, computer, etc, All I need is the persons name, bank account and routing number. The cost of going paperless from what I've seen pays itself off very quickly, saves time, money, resources. There's no reason not to in today's world.

 

So one guy posts a story about his kid and we're judging all teenagers from it? I'm a teacher. Kids read books, even when I tell them that cliffs notes are another resource to help clarify information. Kids do more homework now than I ever thought about doing. The adult in the story was the dense one, not communicating in a professional manner. Kids are always the same, it's the adults that are clueless on how to raise them.

 

I agree and seriously disagree with Fatima's assertion most small employers do not offer direct deposit. While I agree that maybe a small contractor who does not keep books may only pay with a check, a large number of small businesses have a payroll service because the cost of complying with all of the tax laws is insane. If you have a payroll service, direct deposit is cheaper than having checks. Also, if you have any kind of accounting software for small business, direct deposit is cheaper than checks.

Do you even deal with payroll and accounting Fatima? It doesn't sound like it from your response.

Btw, I do agree with Fatima on credit unions versus banks. I agree the big banks are simply insane in their fees nowadays, and do not understand why anyone would patronize a large bank as an individual unless they have a lot of money and get special treatment. The BAC stock I said was a good buy at $5 I sold off when it got above $9. I do not like the long term prospects of any large banks, since I believe, (and hope), people will recognize the poor value they give today. I use a local bank just for SDB and to deposit checks, using a credit union from my previous state for my main checking account.

 

I am a part owner of a small company and we don't offer it due to the cost. While you can transfer your personal funds anywhere, setting up the accounting, along to comply with the ongoing federal & state requirements for FICA, Medical, etc etc. is quite a different matter. If this isn't done properly and you can't produce the proper records then you are in a lot of trouble. For small companies is much cheaper to print the multipart checks where you get an automatic paper record of who was paid what. If you don't believe me go ask an accountant what it will cost. We have 3 employees. Most people in this country work for such firms and the number is increasing.

 

You constantly sound as if you have a lack of knowledge based on your responses given that almost every post of yours is to make it personal rather than to deal with the topic at hand. I answered your question in the post previous to this one.

More interesting your long tirade has nothing to do with the point made. I said that a requirement for direct depost was a disadvantage to those who don't have it. Nor more no less. We are now arguing the degree (since you seem to begrudingly agree it does exist) which it exists which really has nothing to do with the point made.

Have you ever let a boat sink because you started an argument over whether the red pail was better for bailing water over the green one?

 

Most payroll services consider direct deposit of employee checks as an additional service and charge additional fees accordingly; so it does cost more. If you are a small business doing payroll in house even using packaged small business accounting software - direct deposit is still more cumbersome than producing a payroll check and handing it to your employee. Small business tend to have small lead time between the end of their pay period and payday. Some even end the pay period and pay on the same day. This practice does not meld well with direct deposit being direct deposits must run through the clearing process before the funds become available to the employee. Plus there is something more personal when a small business owner hands out paychecks individually to each employee every payday.