This blog is intended to look at daily finances and survival which will include the everyday injustices American's now have to endure in simply trying to pay the bills and get by.

We'll cover:

1. Cable bills. They keep going up and up way above inflation rates. What to do.
First cable companies are now, in my neck of the woods, billing a month in advance and demanding that the customer pay in advance,

In effect we are making a  forced loan to the cable company, under pain of shutting down the service if we don't comply. A scant five years ago this was non-existant. You paid your bill 30 days after the delivery of the services. This was true of 90 percent of American companies. Now pre-billing loans is true for 90 percent of American consumer companies- a total reversal which in effect gives these companies a full month free loan. That comes to billions of dollars transfering directly from the pockets of consumers in the coffers of these conglomerates.

Younger people are dropping the cable companies, watching TV on laptops and cell phones. This has cut into the revenue of the cable companies.
 In effect young people are boycotting the cable company which use these strong-arm tactics and the cable companies have had to make up the revenue lost there by overcharging others. 

They are also now demanding, like the cell phone companies, two year contracts which they make you pay for the full two years even if you cancel the service after one month.

The contracts, by the way, force the consumer into forced arbitration, rather than allowing the consumer to sue for damges, for dropped or bad service. The companies choose the arbitration judge and don't you just know how cozy that arrangement is. Read the fine print in these cable contracts.

More, these companies got the FCC to allow them to seperate internet bandwith based on their own needs not those the customer. Some residential people pay the same price now but businesses get better service and faster speeds. Ask about this.

We pay for 557 channels, 95% of which we never watch, but nonethess, are forced to pay for in "bundled packages" . Again paying for a service we don't want or don't need.
And they wonder why we don't like them.

Did I mention the sky high above inflation prices for this as well?
Did I mention that Congress and the FCC have allowed this rip-off of the American public?

Did I mention that cable rates in other countries are half ours and have double the speed?

Tomorow. What to do about the Cable Man?

7/5/13
Solutions:
First you have to extracate yourself from the contracts cable often comes with. You call them up and tell them that want to amend the contract or failing that you tell them you want to disconnect. You have, of course, made other arrangements and conducted high level negotiations with you own family members which is by far the most difficult part of all of this. You have to offer them alternatives and alternate arrangements.

What other arrangements? Here are a few.

1. Netflix.
For a monthly fee you can watch first run movies.

2. Hulu. You can watch your favorite tv shows on your computer for much less than cable companies charge.

3. USTV.
You can watch for free most of the cable stations on your laptop or you cell phone. I mean HBO, Showtime, CSBC most of them.There are other programs but this one I have found to be among the best.

And with an attachment you can watch on your TV not just your cell phone or tablet. (Get a tablet with an HDMI attachment and you can watch on your tablet and your TV simultaneously. There is a tv attachment for the Galaxy three to TV for sale on Amazon for 13$.

4. USA Top 100
For music lovers you can watch for free the top one hundred videos of the day and good video too.

5. Other include Amazon Prime (70$) a year. YouTube Movies, Roku (49$) one time payment.

This is what our more computer savvy young people are doing."

Now be careful in all this to watch, stream, while on WiFI in order not to pick up extra charges on your cell phone bill.

If you have to watch where there is no WIFI invest 50 dollars in "Internet-on-the-Go where the kids can watch all of the above on a pay as you go basis. 50 bucks for 3 gigs. You can hook up five different things on this one "hub" Fine if you only use it when your own free WIFI is not available.

Bundled up? You can make phone calls for free over WIFI with Talkatone. No charge what so ever. This is Google's challenge to the Verizons of the world.
Internet? You can get it for about 30-40 dollars a month from independent vendors. So for cable you are paying about 2,400 a year; with these changes much less.

That is plenty for one day and you might have your own suggestions. My publisher is saying hold back something for the book. So I will.

 2. Telephone bills. We hate the wireless companies don't we--especially since we now know they help the government spy on us.

More:

http://www.alternet.org/economy/telecommunications-and-privacy-laws

8/3/13

http://www.nojitter.com/post/240159206/three-troubling-trends-in-wireless-contracting?google_editors_picks=true

3. Insurance bills

4. Medical Bills

5. Auto bills

6. Housing, renting and buying

7. Utilities. Why is the water, electricity and garbage so high and what can be done about it.

8. Taxes, State and Federal

9. Property taxes

10. Food bills

11. Banks

12. Debt Collectors

First see:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2013/07/09/ftc-fines-collection-agency/2501779/


"Today, there are 4.6 million active payroll cards in the United States, and some of the largest banks in the country are issuing them.  The list includes JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup.  The big problem with these cards is that there is often a fee for just about everything that you do with them.  Do you want to use an ATM machine?  You must pay a fee.  Do you want to check your balance?  You must pay a fee.  Do you want a paper statement?  You must pay a fee.  Did you lose your card?  You must pay a big fee.  Has your card been inactive for a while?  You must pay a huge fee.  The big Wall Street banks are systematically extracting enormous fees from the working poor, and someone needs to do something to stop this.

To boot many of these loans involved have interest rates of 4000 percent!

This is criminal loan-shark ways of doing business.
 From:

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/wall-street-banks-extract-enormous-fees-from-the-paychecks-of-millions-of-american-workers

http://www.marketplace.org/topics/your-money/payroll-debit-cards-know-your-rights

http://moneymorning.com/2013/07/05/abuses-at-mcdonalds-and-jpmorgan-chase-help-keep-america-poor/

And why are banks doing this. Here is a first answer in a long list of answers.

http://rt.com/shows/keiser-report/episode-466-max-keiser-651/

12. Bankruputucy

13. Foreclosures

14. Lawyers

15. Plumbers

16. Internet

17. Local politics

18. Pensions, IRA

19. Banking Deposits

20. Internet Scams

21. Credit Scores

We'll start with this list and move on from there.

These are the real struggles Americans are having every day that you never see discussed in the press. Why not?

This blog will explore the above and I will impart what I have learned and talk about the astoundingly shady practices I have seen ballooning in the last three years.

Perhaps you can add to this list.

We start up tomorrow. Ideas welcome. I will include as many as I can.