Category Archives: Lifestyle - Page 2

The Grand Dillusion

Posted by on August 8, 2011 No comments | 113 views

Another huge “down day” on Wall Street. Today’s excuse? The S&P credit rating drop. Everyone keeps saying S&P made a huge miscalculation and that America’s credit rating is still AAA. How can this be? We have a deadlocked government, two wars, a faltering global economy, and a hopeless unemployment situation.

But there is one thing that everyone, besides S&P, seems to agree on; that America is still a AAA credit bet. I believe in staying positive and moving forward and holding strong and all that, but at some point, when will we face reality?

The reality is things are not good. And nobody is able to do anything about it. Now, why should a credit rating agency ‘pretend’ along with the rest of us, that everything is fine. I think it’s time to stop pretending, hoping, and praying, and start doing something about it.
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Right off a cliff

Posted by on August 3, 2011 No comments | 116 views

Being Poor is Getting Expensive…and it’s Your Fault

Posted by on July 25, 2011 1 comment | 196 views

Unfortunately, the American people are only just now realizing the mess their short-sightedness has made. Losing patience last year with President Obama then electing the loud-mouth, broken record, pseudo-Tea Party Republican Congress we have in place now, in hindsight, seems to have been a huge mistake.

Now what do we do?

The Republican majority Congress has dug their heels in pretty deep on keeping the ultra rich and multi-billion dollar corporations their Bush-era tax breaks and loopholes.

Where’s my “tax loophole” for being poor? As a small business owner why do I pay tax just for being self-employed? (that’s compounded with regular income tax?) Shouldn’t large corporations pay more taxes instead of breaking the backs of the self-employed, small business owner? We goofed. We voted as if we were rich, because we wanted to be. Protect the rich because I might be one someday…right?

So, what to do? Contact your Congressman. Pressure your Congressman. Here’s a link to get you started…and yes…it matters.  Click this link to Contact your Congressman.

 

Beware of eBay’s Final Value Fee ‘Inconsistent Policies’

Posted by on April 22, 2011 1 comment | 430 views

There is either a blatant inconsistency in eBay’s Final Value Fee policy or an intentional loophole for the online auction site to squeeze even more gratuitous fees out of its customers.

Last month I listed an item for sale on eBay, a buyer placed a bid on the item, after several days, the buyer never paid. The buyer also wasn’t responding to contacts or re-sent invoices so I used eBay’s support system to open a “case” associated directly with the item. Unpaid items are so common with the eBay experience there’s a ready-to-click Open “Unpaid item” Case button, how convenient. So, I opened one.

After several weeks of no response, from either eBay’s support team or the buyer, suddenly there was some action Read more »

“FEE”-bay Strikes Again! Sellers are livid at eBay’s new fee structure (UPDATED)

Posted by on March 15, 2011 2 comments | 522 views

UPDATE – A poll taken on Squidoo.com asking eBay auctioners if they’d move their auctions to a Google-run Auction site received renewed votes with overwhelming results…Take a look here!

eBay announced this morning changes to their fee structure that, after getting past the sugar coating, is just another fee increase for sellers, cutting even deeper into their profits.

The popular auction website has been known for some time now as being an ‘expensive place to sell your goods.’ Read more »