random thoughts during a break....
Nov. 25th, 2008 04:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lauraanne_gilmanReading the financial news these days seems even more an exercise is masochism than before -- not only is the news bad, but the lack of shame/common decency at the top is even more glaringly apparent. I may live quite happily in a Capitalist economy, but that doesn't mean I can't also wish for a wall and blindfold and a rifle for some of the players....
Still. Black Friday should be interesting. Folk, there are some decent buys out there, if you need/want something, and you don't even have to wait until Friday! (and on-line means shopping at 3am isn't the sign of addiction, just insomnia).
On a related tangent or two:
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For those of you following the H-M "we will buy no more books" broohaha, relax. Yeah, we hate hearing it. But the only thing that' setting H-M apart from probably every other major house is that they made a public announcement about it, probably hoping to slow down the flood of submissions from agents and allow them to sort through what they do have. Times are tough, credit is crunched, and a publishing house with a healthy inventory and solid schedule can take a break every now and again, especially if they want to reduce the money flowing out until more comes in. Believe me, they left enough loopholes to let them buy something they really want, if it appears.
If the freeze continues into 2009, then we can start to worry.
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Follow up to the previous financial post:
Today the mail brought a letter from my other major card with changes to my agreement:
-APR for cash advances is the Prime pus 17.99% (which brings them to about 29.9%, same as the other card)
-APR for late payment is Prime plus 14.9% [IF during the review period any portion of the minimum due is not credited by the due date. So they give you little wiggle room in case of a transaction screw up, but not much]
-APR for default is Prime plus 23.99. Owch. But default will get you slammed, yeah.
-Transactions made in foreign currencies are now tagged with a 2.7% rate. Ouch. So much for credit cards being better to use than cash.. [it may still be, depending on your ATM rate, but less and less so]
On the other hand, my credit union just offered me a Visa credit card through them with an introductory APR of 6.99% subject to a maximum of 17.99%. Plus, you're given a 20 day grace period to replay balances before being it with a finance charge. All these terms can change as quickly as any other card's, though, once you're past the intro period, so be careful when you do sign up for a new card...
Still. Black Friday should be interesting. Folk, there are some decent buys out there, if you need/want something, and you don't even have to wait until Friday! (and on-line means shopping at 3am isn't the sign of addiction, just insomnia).
On a related tangent or two:
-----------------------------------------
For those of you following the H-M "we will buy no more books" broohaha, relax. Yeah, we hate hearing it. But the only thing that' setting H-M apart from probably every other major house is that they made a public announcement about it, probably hoping to slow down the flood of submissions from agents and allow them to sort through what they do have. Times are tough, credit is crunched, and a publishing house with a healthy inventory and solid schedule can take a break every now and again, especially if they want to reduce the money flowing out until more comes in. Believe me, they left enough loopholes to let them buy something they really want, if it appears.
If the freeze continues into 2009, then we can start to worry.
-----------------------------------------
Follow up to the previous financial post:
Today the mail brought a letter from my other major card with changes to my agreement:
-APR for cash advances is the Prime pus 17.99% (which brings them to about 29.9%, same as the other card)
-APR for late payment is Prime plus 14.9% [IF during the review period any portion of the minimum due is not credited by the due date. So they give you little wiggle room in case of a transaction screw up, but not much]
-APR for default is Prime plus 23.99. Owch. But default will get you slammed, yeah.
-Transactions made in foreign currencies are now tagged with a 2.7% rate. Ouch. So much for credit cards being better to use than cash.. [it may still be, depending on your ATM rate, but less and less so]
On the other hand, my credit union just offered me a Visa credit card through them with an introductory APR of 6.99% subject to a maximum of 17.99%. Plus, you're given a 20 day grace period to replay balances before being it with a finance charge. All these terms can change as quickly as any other card's, though, once you're past the intro period, so be careful when you do sign up for a new card...
