are we already in a recession or heading towards one?

[iluvcarats]

Date: 6/28/2008 9:59:48 PM
Author: surfgirl
Harriet, how long or since when have you lived in NYC? I ask because the NYC of my childhood was indeed fanfreakingtastic! It really was amazing. I think somewhere right after college it started getting insane and hasn''t stopped since. I lived briefly on Horatio Street, way before it was gentrified, dodging pig carcases flying around the meat warehouses on my way to the subway in the morning. Most of the fabulous little Italian espresso cafes of my youth and college days in the Village are gone now, sadly, and craptastic no-name restaurants are in their places. Sure there are funky areas, but even those are priced out of this world. Even when I was in college, you could get a cool place in the East Village for less than $1000/month, or even a loft with a few people. Now? No way. The essence that made NYC New York City, is becoming less and less, though I will always love the city as my home base. Back in the day, when you went to see a show on Bdway or off Bdway, you dressed up, made a day/evening out of it. Last time I saw a show, fat tourists from Des Moines, dressed in shorts and Lion King T shirts with socks and sandals/sneakers took up most of the theatre. Times Square used to have character. Now? It''s like a big outdoor mall in anywhere, USA. No flavor at all. I could go on, but I wont. I just am thankful when my fav restaurants are still there. I just a couple weeks ago was there and realized that Second Avenue Deli is gone and it''s now a Citibank branch. WTF?!? That was a NYC institution! Gone. It''s a damn shame. Dont even get me started on what SoHo has become!


ETA: I think we know two different NYCs though...I''m definitely a downtown gal...

Hi Surfgirl,
2nd Ave. Deli has moved to 33rd between Lex and 3rdAve. Same yummy food.

 

[diamondfan]

I saw an article where someone''s DOG and a 6 year old child were sent credit cards in the mail with a sizeable limit.

Credit is great if you do not run up all of your cards and only pay the minimums each month. It is like borrowing your own money but the safest way to avoid trouble is to only spend what you can afford to pay off in full each month, so you do not accrue interest and fees. If you cannot do that, then be mindful and try to pay more than the minimum. I had friends in college get cards and just spend spend spend, and then pay the minimums. The interest rates and late fees were nuts. I think a couple of them figured out at the rate they were going, without charging one more thing, it would take them decades to pay their cards down. I also have friends who will not really use cards at all but I think it helps to establish your credit history, even if you use them less frequently. I charge a lot because there is dispute resolution and buyer protection on most cards nowadays, so it makes me feel a bit safer. AmEx has always been great if something happens with a good or service and I feel better about it than writing a check which once they cash it is a huge hassle.

 

[diamondfan]

Also, just came from Boston, where my sister lives. We ate out every lunch and dinner. Went to two malls (North Shore and Burlington) and ate at the Cheesecake each day. Now, we were there at 2:00 at the earliest, so not prime lunch time, but they were EMPTY. Also, along Route One and Route 128 near her home, there were many businesses that looked closed or boarded up, and parking lots were not full. Even Richardson''s ice cream which had a lot of cars in the lot, had lines at the windows that were only two deep versus 10 or 12 deep. I saw much more of a recession type feeling there than I do in my neighborhood.

 

[miraclesrule]

Date: 7/5/2008 10:13:18 PM
Author: diamondfan
I saw an article where someone''s DOG and a 6 year old child were sent credit cards in the mail with a sizeable limit.

Credit is great if you do not run up all of your cards and only pay the minimums each month. It is like borrowing your own money but the safest way to avoid trouble is to only spend what you can afford to pay off in full each month, so you do not accrue interest and fees. If you cannot do that, then be mindful and try to pay more than the minimum. I had friends in college get cards and just spend spend spend, and then pay the minimums. The interest rates and late fees were nuts. I think a couple of them figured out at the rate they were going, without charging one more thing, it would take them decades to pay their cards down. I also have friends who will not really use cards at all but I think it helps to establish your credit history, even if you use them less frequently. I charge a lot because there is dispute resolution and buyer protection on most cards nowadays, so it makes me feel a bit safer. AmEx has always been great if something happens with a good or service and I feel better about it than writing a check which once they cash it is a huge hassle.

I was sitting here trying to figure out what DOG stood for....eesh.... Duh.

I agree that credit is a huge problem. I personally didn''t believe in it, so never had any and then found it hard to to buy my house. We were able to do a lot of stuff to my credit report, such as car insurance, landlord, dentist...long term payment history relationships to show that I was "credit worthy". Yet unfortunately, the way the game of life is played, credit is a necessity. Having said that, I don''t understand why they don''t teach about that in high school. I know I brought this up once and got flamed because teachers get a very bad rap. But I don''t think the teachers are the problem, it is the institutional problem of allowing credit card companies on campus to advertise while luring college kids with incentives. It''s bad enough that many of these students will be starting their adult life with thousands of dollars of educational debt.

But a DOG???

I hope you had a great time in Boston!!

 

[diamondfan]

I cracked up when I read it. The dog had a person''s name and if I recall. Year ago, when I had my dogs a at home before I got married, I used to get reminder cards from my vet addressed to my dog, Casey Mymaidenname. I am sure some list company got the name and thought it was a person but it was a riot to me. And the 6 year old, not like he had previous credit or could have applied for one either! Boggles the mind.

I agree that fiscal responsibility, from check book balancing to saving, should be taught sooner. I was of the "how can I have no money in my account I still have some checks left" camp in high school, and I got a Neiman Marcus card and a Saks card that I ran up pretty quickly (not much has changed there!). But I do think when kids are often shouldering loan debt and then have other big expenses like rent food gas and car payments, it is important for them to see that while it is fun to consider buying that flat screen tv or go on a trip or whatnot, it is on them to pay for it and they will make huge issues for themselves if they do not think and allocate well. I know it is tempting, ads everywhere, buy this, have that for only x a month, but it has to be paid and if you do not make enough, you are saddling yourself. They tempt kids with goods and having a card to buy it all and somehow it does not seem so scary til the bills pile up. course that is sooo extreme, and I am NOT saying most people would do anything of the sort, but teaching kids about money and saving and spending in a proper manner is only going to be a help to them.

I had a ball in Boston, I really like it there and we just hung out, ate, shopped, slept, read, watched movies and laughed.

 

[miraclesrule]

Date: 7/5/2008 11:28:29 PM
Author: diamondfan
I cracked up when I read it. The dog had a person's name and if I recall. Year ago, when I had my dogs a at home before I got married, I used to get reminder cards from my vet addressed to my dog, Casey Mymaidenname. I am sure some list company got the name and thought it was a person but it was a riot to me. And the 6 year old, not like he had previous credit or could have applied for one either! Boggles the mind.

I agree that fiscal responsibility, from check book balancing to saving, should be taught sooner. I was of the 'how can I have no money in my account I still have some checks left' camp in high school, and I got a Neiman Marcus card and a Saks card that I ran up pretty quickly (not much has changed there!). But I do think when kids are often shouldering loan debt and then have other big expenses like rent food gas and car payments, it is important for them to see that while it is fun to consider buying that flat screen tv or go on a trip or whatnot, it is on them to pay for it and they will make huge issues for themselves if they do not think and allocate well. I know it is tempting, ads everywhere, buy this, have that for only x a month, but it has to be paid and if you do not make enough, you are saddling yourself. They tempt kids with goods and having a card to buy it all and somehow it does not seem so scary til the bills pile up. course that is sooo extreme, and I am NOT saying most people would do anything of the sort, but teaching kids about money and saving and spending in a proper manner is only going to be a help to them.

I had a ball in Boston, I really like it there and we just hung out, ate, shopped, slept, read, watched movies and laughed.

Sounds heavenly...

Oh, I meant to ask you...sorry for the thread jack..but I know you like Broadway as much as I do, so I was wondering if you ever saw "Mamma Mia". I never wanted to see it, despite the reviews, because I don't ever think Abba is okay...

But I saw the previews for the movie and it looked awesome....

Feel free to reply on your thread if you think people will get peeved at my thread jack.

Sorry...back to the recession.

 

[diamondfan]

I will just say I did not, but LOVE ABBA for some odd reason. I saw this documentary on them when I was a kid (in the ''70''s) when cable was a hot new thing and I watched it countless times as there was not a lot on tv back then. I actually watched that show and Rocky Horror, when my parents were out, which at 10 I found to be very odd...A few years before the show became a hit I was listening to ABBA Gold and Greatest Hits (I think it was the later ''90''s) so I have to say I like the music and maybe ahead of the curve on the whole ABBA front. I just never got around to seeing it, though I would like to. I like to see the original Broadway cast if I can, now the show has been around so long I do not know who is in it and who is great. Will definitely see the movie, hope it does not spoil me for the play if I ever decide to go. I think their names were Anni Frid, Bjorn, Bennie and I always forget the other girl (Agnetha)...

And now back to our regularly scheduled thread...

 

[Skippy123]

http://www.ajc.com/services/content/business/stories/2008/07/13/seventies.html?referrer=search_buy I thought I would post this related article here.

Looks very similar to the 1970's.