On trailer hitches and emails

[EatenByLimestone]

I needed a new 2 5/16" ball so I stopped into Harbor Freight. At the checkout, the cashier spotted my email on his screen and commented on how he liked it. I paused for a second and looked at the young man. It occurred to me that my email address was likely older than he was. I told him so, and he looked skeptical. I told him it dates from 1995. His expression changed, and he said it was close, he was 2.

Excuse me as I grab my cane to go pick up a box of Depends. I got my email my first year of college, lol.

 

[EbS-P]

Just three days with my oldest in the hospital for an EEG. All the nurses we had one nurse in her 40s the rest were nearing retirement (days) or under 25.

My second graders teacher was having a conversation with students about telescopes. And I piped up that they had to send astronauts up to give Hubble glasses. I got a blank stare. I asked what year she was born. 1996. After it was fixed!

 

[stoveliker]

Lol, I remember when my mom used the last paper check.
But given that that was in a different continent that age-showing fact does not work in this place.

It was 1986 and I was learning how to handle money on my own...

 

[johneh]

For the first time in a dogs age I bought fuel from a station that had service
Talking to the young lad told him that as a teenager I pumped fuel at the local Shell station
and when he heard that a gallon of gas was 38.9 cents his jaw dropped and did not believe me
Dam I am old

 

[Northern NH Mike]

The group of professionals that I broke into the field with when we were all in our mid 20s and single are slowly becomeing grandparents. We're greying, running the show now and enjoying having built families, careers and wisdom. We just chuckle at the "babies" we work with; all in good fun.

 

[blades]

Try 17.9/gallon if you want old and you could count the number of taxes we paid on one hand. it was terrible when it climbed to 27.9. mortifying at 35.9, and that late 70's jump to 75.9 was heart attack city. Current pricing puts me in the walking dead zone.

 

[stoveliker]

Try 17.9/gallon if you want old and you could count the number of taxes we paid on one hand. it was terrible when it climbed to 27.9. mortifying at 35.9, and that late 70's jump to 75.9 was heart attack city. Current pricing puts me in the walking dead zone.

Well, $1 in 1970 is the equivalent of $7.81 today.
So inflation only would have meant that 76 ct gallon would cost $5.93 today. This seems that it's lower cost today.

Of course for the real sense of what something costs, you have to look at how earnings increased, and get the buying power of the dollar as a function of time.

 

[NickW]

Lol, I remember when my mom used the last paper check.
But given that that was in a different continent that age-showing fact does not work in this place.

It was 1986 and I was learning how to handle money on my own...

We still have and occasionally use paper checks... My sister wrote one to me yesterday that I could mobile deposit, but will probably go to the bank in person.

Try 17.9/gallon if you want old and you could count the number of taxes we paid on one hand. it was terrible when it climbed to 27.9. mortifying at 35.9, and that late 70's jump to 75.9 was heart attack city. Current pricing puts me in the walking dead zone.

I remember back in the early '90's when the gas station in Lomira was less than $1 a gallon for a time and I was mad when it went over $1.30...

Other nostalgia...

Long distance phone charges. Eden was 7 miles away and long distance, Fond du Lac was 17 miles away (in the same direction) but NOT long distance.

Black and white TV's being common.

Playing outside instead of constant screen time

Ambition instead of entitlement.

Trophy's for the winning team and maybe the runner up.

Being able to work on your own vehicle.

Writing thank you notes.

Family dinner.

Communication, compromise and cooperation.

I could go on and on...

 

[begreen]

Try 17.9/gallon if you want old and you could count the number of taxes we paid on one hand. it was terrible when it climbed to 27.9. mortifying at 35.9, and that late 70's jump to 75.9 was heart attack city. Current pricing puts me in the walking dead zone.

Try 9¢ a gallon. I experienced this in San Antonio, Texas during a price war around 1970.

 

[Pinesmoke]

Lol, I remember when my mom used the last paper check.
But given that that was in a different continent that age-showing fact does not work in this place.

It was 1986 and I was learning how to handle money on my own...

I'm writing one on Monday for a plumber that's going to be here. I always have some but rarely use them.

 

[stoveliker]

I know. Having to tell people here that I didn't know how to write a check (!) was inevitably met with surprise.
Then telling them that most of the developed world abandoned them decades ago for more convenient ways makes people here scratch their head...

 

[peakbagger]

I have property in two small towns in NH. My choice to pay property taxes is cash, paper check or some sort of paper bank or paper credit union check. In some occasions, its cash check credit card with a "convenience" fee.

 

[begreen]

I'll often pay by check or cash to local stores. It saves them the 3 % processing fee.

 

[stoveliker]

Well, that is simply a cost of doing business, just like the rent and electricity is. It is already included in their pricing (in an average way).

The cost.of moving around the many pounds of cash, both in terms of real cost of shipping it and in terms of environmental resources (fuel consumption) are not levied on consumers or retail businesses . If hey would be, no one would be paying with cash anymore because of the much larger added cost of doing that.

I do appreciate supporting local businesses - I do too, even when it's more expensive, because I have the luxury I can do so and because I like the interaction better and because I would like to keep the businesses nearby and the taxes local. But I don't think it's sustainable if their survival depends on outdated technology. Then just increase the prices by 3 percent to cover that. (In fact less because they already have factored in these costs simply by being able to still be alive, and because some folks do not.use what they therefore already paid for, by paying in cash.)

I have no cash on me. Ever. For 20 years or so.

 

[stoveliker]

But may be it's time to go back to emails. (No hitches here...)
I got mine in 1995 as.well.
And I lost.that one (college) but got a Gmail address in the first set of invites that went out. (Gmail was by invite only at.that point.) I forgot when that was.

I do have a clean (paid for no data.scrubbing Google behind it) email also after I learned early on that I was the price that I paid for my free Gmail...

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I'll often pay by check or cash to local stores. It saves them the 3 % processing fee.

One of our businesses, the larger of the 2 is card only.

The smaller of the 2 I’ll take cash or check, but I then have to make a special trip to the bank. Currently, that isn’t an issue, but when employees come into the picture there is always an issue with the occasional lost check, or maybe you don’t see the guy for a month as your schedules don’t cross, etc.

 

[begreen]

Well, that is simply a cost of doing business, just like the rent and electricity is. It is already included in their pricing (in an average way).

For a small business, the margins can be small, especially one starting up. Their costs have gone up a lot and many are still recovering from the pandemic hit to business. We have too many vacant stores locally and try to support local business even if it costs a bit more. With online purchasing and megastores monopolizing sales it's no longer a level playing field. We value our local smaller grocery and hardware stores, pharmacy and book store. They go the extra mile in customer support and are what makes a community. They employ locals and their kids go to school with our kids. They support our school teams. They are our neighbors. It's worth a stop at the bank or ATM if necessary once in a while.

 

[Montanalocal]

My bank has an app that allows one to take a picture of a check and deposit it online.

 

[johneh]

My bank has an app that allows one to take a picture of a check and deposit it online.

We have the same thing here in Canada. But because of so much fraud, they put
as much as a 31-day delay on payment. Even when you make a deposit at your
branch in front of a teller they may put a hold on any cheque almost entirely personal cheques
Pay cheques are another thing
I know I know we spell cheque funny what can you say Canadian-born and bred

 

[EatenByLimestone]

You guys do funny stuff to French fries too! lol.

Our old bank had that service for regular customers, but business customers weren’t able to use it. Add bad hours and long holds and we soon changed banks.

 

[stoveliker]

For a small business, the margins can be small, especially one starting up. Their costs have gone up a lot and many are still recovering from the pandemic hit to business. We have too many vacant stores locally and try to support local business even if it costs a bit more. With online purchasing and megastores monopolizing sales it's no longer a level playing field. We value our local smaller grocery and hardware stores, pharmacy and book store. They go the extra mile in customer support and are what makes a community. They employ locals and their kids go to school with our kids. They support our school teams. They are our neighbors. It's worth a stop at the bank or ATM if necessary once in a while.

I agree, but thinking they did NOT include the cost they have for card payments in the price they charge you (also when you pay with cash) is erroneous.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

We charge the same price regardless. I encourage people to use cards.

 

[bogieb]

I use checks when paying people who do small jobs around my house. Most of them don't take credit cards and I don't do venmo, so check is the way to go. I also have a dedicated account for those types of things - I have never used the debit card for that account, and don't even know what the PIN for it is any more. I paid for my mini-split installation by check to get a 3% discount. I believe I did the same when I had the windows and roof replaced back in 2014

I pay cash at a local mexi-style restaurant because it is 3% cheaper than paying by card. Local HHF suppliers and some other local business also do the discount for cash/check over cards. I pay my pet-sitter in cash although I could do check if I wanted.

I pay my water, sewer, vehicle registration and house taxes by check. If I use a card there is a convenience fee.

If it is the same price regardless of payment method, I use my cash back card (whcih is paid off every month). If there is a difference, I use the cheapest method.

 

[peakbagger]

Be aware that the whole credit card cash back option may be changing, there is a billion dollar lawsuit against the two major credit card firms regarding merchant fees that are charged to the merchant for use of the networks (visa and mastercard), a portion of those fees are used to pay the cash back. The proposed settlement of the suit includes reducing these fees which will probably reduce cash back.

I have never used a debit card that can access my savings or checking account, the protection of a credit card from fraud is superior to a debit card. I also never autopay a credit card, folks who do so are potentially giving away some of the fraud protection as once the bill is paid, a fraudulent charge is then the liability of the account holder until resolved.

My ATM card that does access my savings and checking has a daily limit on withdrawals. and I keep the savings limit low and the checking account balance relatively low and move money electronically from a money market fund to replenish it. Its a one way transfer, the checking and savings do not have access to the money market account. I do have a couple of gas station debit cards tied to checking that are limited to pumps and store purchases. There is one predominant gas station chain in Maine and a lot of NH called Irving Oil and I get at least 10 cents a gallon cash back for using the card although with my plug in hybrid, I dont buy much gas of late. There are bonus cash backs on occasion and I save them up until I need to fill up the Unimog's (30 gallon tanks).

I also locked down my credit reports several years ago so they cannot be accessed by anyone (except current firms that I have accounts). I can check my credit score from various sources and I always get dinged for "lack of recent loan activity". This can be a PITA on occasion as the US government sometimes uses a credit agency to verify that I exist when trying to create secure accounts, like Healthcare.gov, but there is usually a clunky workaround. I can unlock the credit reports but it takes a few days and on occasion I need to pay a fee

I use typically use cash for restaurants instead of debit or credit cards, even though I tip, I hate those suggested tip screens that pop up with electronic transactions and more than few small firms are "creative" in handing tips received back to employees. There are frequently cases in the news of small businesses getting busted for skimming or outright taking tips. They tend to be the places with high turnover of staff, as in tight employment market, employees figure it out pretty quick and work elsewhere. Talk to most waiters and waitresses, and they prefer cash.

The sad part is that very few if any folks get any sort of financial education, most of them learn the hard way if they ever learn and many do not even realize that overdraft fees, monthly interest payments on credit cards and other financial fees dont have to be normal and are the reason that they burn up their paycheck each month.

 

[Max W]

Well, $1 in 1970 is the equivalent of $7.81 today.
So inflation only would have meant that 76 ct gallon would cost $5.93 today. This seems that it's lower cost today.

Of course for the real sense of what something costs, you have to look at how earnings increased, and get the buying power of the dollar as a function of time.

I’m a little late picking up this thread but this got me wondering. I’ve long thought that starting out I had the benefit of a dollar going much further at that time. Maybe the numbers shed some light.

In 1970 I was back in school, married with 2 kids. Tuition was $100 /semester (x $7.81 would be $781). Rent for the 2 bedroom first floor apartment was $95 ($742 using that inflated adjusted number). The G.I. Bill paid $243/ ($1898) /month during the school year. While in school I worked different part time jobs. That summer I earned $2.50 /hr ($19.50), $88 take home ($687), at a basic entry job moving and stacking boxes at a factory warehouse. Our income vs expenses allowed my spouse to stay home with our kids. She already had finished school. We could pay the bills and still be able feel free to go out for an occasional diner or for recreation and later buy a very nice van laid out for camping. In 1970 we were able to do just fine with one income all told roughly equivalent to $35000 (per the $7.81 figure).

I don’t know how representative state college tuition and rent were for that time but guessing they are close. We did pay more for rent a couple of years later in a prime location.

My best or worst gas story is back in high school. On my $25 dollar salvaged Vespa motor scooter with its gas on reserve I pulled in to a station and asked the surprised attendant for 10 cents worth, all of what I had in my pocket. At .25 / gal. that and with a little oil mixed in and I was good for another 35 miles or so.