Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with bills

Money Matters

Anonymous — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:40:02 -0800

Am I being unreasonable to think that my SO should pay for more things in our relationship just because he makes 10 times more than me? My SO and I (I'm a woman) have been together for about 6 months now and we are starting to have money issues. He makes about 10 times more than me. I never thought this would be a problem since I've dated both wealthy and poor men and never had a problem.

For instance, I don't know when I should pay for dinners and trips. At first, I gave him silly, inexpensive gifts and paid for simple dinners – such as eating at home or ordering a pizza and he paid for more expensive restaurants. I am embarrassed to say that I can't afford to pay for both of us to eat at nice restaurants. I can afford to go to a nice restaurant maybe once a week and then only if I pay for just my portion. He suggested that I pay one out of every 3 times or so at nicer places. Thinking about this in a cold, rational sense, I suppose I would come out "ahead," but I don't naturally think about it in this way.
I have to keep a budget, while he doesn't. Going to dinner, I need to plan ahead to know how much I can spend. If we go out, I never know ahead of time whether he is going to want me to pay or not. I feel pathetic asking ahead of time if he wants me to pay. It's taking the spontaneity out of our relationship because we can't just decide at 5pm that we're going out to dinner, I need to know ahead of time. I feel anxious each time we eat out, not knowing if he will want me to pay or not.

He gets upset with me when I tell him I can't afford dinner, but then go and buy big ticket items (which I spent months saving for). He says that if I am going to buy expensive items, then he shouldn't pay for dinner because that's in essence him buying the big ticket item for me. Does this logic make sense to the hive mind?

We're going on a vacation in January, which I suggested because he's been busy with work and it's something to look forward to. I suggested it on a whim even though I have another vacation with my closest friend scheduled for April. I'm starting to get in over my head. I'm ashamed to tell him that I can't afford to go. I feel like a child. I also find myself resenting that he hasn't offered to pay for me at all. He thinks that because I'm going on a trip with my friend (also female, so no sexual jealousy), that he should not help pay for my portion of the trip.

I know he loves me, but I feel like he doesn't think I'm worth spending time with. He could easily afford to pay for the trip and has said he'll just go alone if I can't afford it.

I feel selfish for having these feelings. I'm liberal and think relationships should be equitable. I would never expect him to buy me extravagent gifts or my bills. I am proud that I have money saved and don't have to rely on anyone to help me.

Has anyone else been in a situation where one person is wealthy and wants his/her poor SO to split things equally? How did you work money issues out? I don't want him to think that I'm using him (which I am not), but I still find myself with hurt feelings when he doesn't want to share with me. Am I being unreasonable?

How do you negotiate a bill for medical services already rendered?

Anonymous — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 07:09:01 -0800

What approaches have worked for you to reduce the size of a medical bill after services have been rendered? A friend went to her gynecologist after getting an abortion. Among other tests, the office ran STD tests that wound up costing over $900.

Clearly there's been an exchange of fluids if there's an abortion, so it just makes sense to test for STDs. However, her insurance only covered catastrophic injuries etc., not "routine" tests, which these were considered. None of these tests were covered by her insurance.

She did not realize this, though of course she should have, is an adult, and is ultimately responsible for the bills. I recognize that, but I'm still ticked off about the situation. The health clinic in the area offers free STD testing. Every doctor I've ever been to knew exactly what was covered by my insurance, and how much they would be getting, before providing any services to me.

I feel like her doctor's office failed to take her total well being into account. I think they took advantage of her lack of understanding the situation and essentially robbed her. I'm assuming they had no legal obligation to mention any alternate places to get the testing done, but I'm certain they had a moral one, and I'm kind of furious about it.

Hopefully the above venting also provided sufficient background for the question. I've seen previous threads that talked about how medical bills can be negotiated. Is this a case where negotiating is possible? What tactics would you recommend or have worked for you in a similar situation in the past? Who, title-wise, should she insist on speaking to?

How do i pay a small hospital bill from France?

doiheartwentyone — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 04:50:04 -0800

How do i pay a small hospital bill from France? GF and I (UK residents) had a holiday in France earlier this year during which she broke her head a bit. We went to the hospital to check it wasn't serious (it wasn't), and filled in the EHIC form and thought no more of it. The hospital didn't ask for money and didn't look like it was really set up for the handling of money either.

Three months later, we receive a bill for 17 EUR, which seems to be 30% of the actual fee. I guess the EHIC has covered the other 70%. It's attached to one of those normal bill payment tear off things, with a note saying something like "For ways to pay, please see over". Unfortunately, the bill seems to be a photocopy or something because there's nothing on the other side.

So, firstly, what are those ways to pay, that a French hospital would normally accept? And secondly, are any of those feasible from abroad? I see the "Eurocheque" doesn't exist anymore, and I would rather not have to pay Western Union or similar 100% of the bill amount to get this done.

If it's at all useful, I will be in Berlin for a weekend next month, so perhaps there is some kind of euro-denomination cheque I could get hold of there ?

The Perfectly Good Use Of Your Time Act.

Doctor Suarez — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 12:57:12 -0800

Name some recent pieces of legislation whose name was actually the opposite of the bill's real intent. Basically, I just need as many examples as I can get of bills introduced in congress that were given appealing names that masked their true, often opposite intent. A hypothetical example would be a "Clean Skies" bill that actually loosened air-pollution standards and thus intended to dirty the skies.

And yes, it can involve SOME subjective judgment on your part. For instance, I find the "Defense of Marriage Act" to be the opposite because it turns marriage into a politicized, exclusive institution instead of the voluntary arrangement it is supposed to be. Also, the "Employee Free Choice Act" is a good example because, by removing the secret ballot, it causes employees to be less free in their voting.

Thanks.

How should I best handle bills when moving in with my boyfriend?

belau — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 09:44:11 -0800

How should I best handle moving in with my boyfriend? I haven't had a roommate for a long time, but will be moving in with my boyfriend soon. How do people handle bills and other expenses when they have a roommate, and especially when the roommate is your significant other? I'm a woman in her late 20's, would like to not get myself into a situation where I'm left with a gap in my own credit history, etc. Any other advice? I'm really looking forward to this, but want to make sure I'm handling it well! I've seen this question but am looking for input geared toward moving in with the future husband-type.

I either need to get a raise or a new job. Help me think of strategies.

Anonymous — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 18:54:06 -0800

I have a job. That job isn't what I stayed in town for and doesn't exactly pay the bills either. I'm looking for tips in finding a new one and maybe keeping it a secret from the current employer for as long as possible. I've set this up as anonymous just in case anyone at the current job sees it. I'll be watching the thread and will send replies as needed, but hopefully I won't need to do that. But in advance, I'm sorry for some of the vagueness that's about to ensue (the current job knows that I've done some of this in the past) and what might amount to unneeded information.

I was promised a job in the private sector (with Alpha) for around $25,000 a year and was very happy to get that due to my lack of formal experience in the area. When I got back from a trip I didn't hear anything from the employer for a while (which in hindsight I should have seen as a big red flag). Right before the job was set to start I was told that the best they could do for me was an hourly thing that nets about $150 a week before taxes (assuming I'm there for the entire time) and is in the mid afternoon running into the early evening (which knocks out a fair amount of other jobs I could have at the same time). I signed the contract knowing that, assuming my wife would be able to find something. She hasn't yet, is waiting less than a week for some expected industry openings, and if nothing comes from that has said she's willing to get anything that pays and is legal.

The boss at my current job mentioned a few ideas for getting me more hours (coming in earlier to help with other things, coming in a lot earlier to help then leave and come back, and running some personal errands that have nothing to do with the job itself). It looks like none of these is going to happen. Which especially sucks for the personal errands because the way it was mentioned really made it seem like it was something that was going to happen (and would have amounted essentially to another hour per day as far as pay goes). The boss has also said that I have the first opportunity at any jobs that arise due to a growth in clientèle, but at this point I'm worried that either that won't happen or the boss won't follow through.

So onto the question. Do you have any tips for trying to find a job while keeping the current one as long as possible and not letting the boss know I'm looking for something else?

I have a meeting with someone in an organization (Beta) I've done and am currently doing creative work on a freelance basis where I plan on trying to make that a more permanent position. I've also been asked to do some of that same creative work for a group (Gamma) that used to be able to pay me but is not able to anymore (due to the rules they have set up about who can get paid, not due to their lack of money) and we have agreed to look into the possibility of either finding a way around those rules or to get me hired by an organization (Delta) that they work closely with. It is technically possible for me to regain the proper status to be officially paid by Gamma, but the actual chance of that happening is about as close to zero as statistics let you get.

I'm also looking into the idea of asking a group (Epsilon) who is part funder and helps run Alpha if they can find any work for me in their organization. However, I wonder about this since there's a strong possibility that they'll ask the boss at Alpha why I'm having to go to them in order to find enough money to live. Would that be a bad move?

Some things I'm planning on doing are:

- Not saying a thing to Alpha until I have something else lined up.

- Meeting with Gamma on Sunday, which should have minimal interference with Alpha anyway

- Possibly mentioning to Alpha that I can't stay on in my current situation and I am thinking about trying to find something else. As far as I can tell they love having me there and losing me wouldn't be a good thing at all. Plus it's the kind of job they have to have someone in, even if it's just a fill in until they find a more permanent replacement.

- If nothing good comes out of all of these meetings with people, I'm not going to turn down a job that pays. These are just my first choice.

So in short, what tips do you have in convincing the current boss to get me more money and what tips do you have for keeping my job search a relative secret from the current boss (if things need to go that far)?

Drop and give me 36 (months of consecutive on-time payments)

Anonymous — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 19:01:46 -0800

I'm looking for a financial coach, someone who can help me develop better financial habits. Does such a thing exist? I'm irresponsible with money. I forget to pay my bills, and end up paying them late so that I have late fees and the late payments go on my credit report. Or I just ignore them for a few months, until they get big enough that they're difficult to pay off. I set up budgets and then ignore them. I am cheap as hell with big stuff, and then blow my budget on stupid small things like eating lunch out every day. It's stupid and sort of embarrassing and I want to mend my ways.

I realized that what I need is someone who will look at all my regular bills, as well as my income, and help me set up payment plans and a budget, and then help me stick to it. Kind of like a personal trainer, but for money instead of fitness.

I'm not necessarily looking for a blog or a book that will help me do this. I've already read a bunch of books and blogs (Suze Orman is great) and I always come away with all sorts of good intentions, and then do nothing. I need someone who will help me develop a plan, and then hold me accountable to that plan for a few months while I get it going.

Ideally I would like to see someone locally (I'm in Seattle), in person, because it seems like that would be more effective and secure. I'd really rather not give all my financial info to a stranger on the internet.

I know about the credit counseling services, but it sounds like many of those are scams and even if they aren't, seeing one can adversely affect your credit rating (ah, irony). Internet searches result in a lot of these types of outfits. And it seems like financial planners are more for managing your investments.

Argh blargh monopolies

showbiz_liz — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 09:16:30 -0800

My new rented house used to be a duplex, and it still has two electricity meters. Do we really have to pay two bills every month because of this? Five friends and I have rented a large house to live in. Our lease just started, and we are in the process of getting the utilities set up so we can move in.

The house is a renovated duplex, which is why it's so huge. The renovation is so recent that it was still going on when we signed the lease last winter.

Our landlord told us that for most of the utilities, the house still had two meters in place, so we'd need to let the various companies know.

I was in charge of setting up water, and after lots of back and forth with the landlord it came out that, really, it was only necessary to turn on one of the meters. I got it all set up, and it was fine.

My roommate in charge of electricity, however, was told- either by the electricity company or the landlord, or both, I'm not sure- that we had to turn both meters on. And then the power company charged her two separate activation fees, for a total of $300!

This really seems sketch to me. Why on earth should we have to pay twice as much in electricity bills just because of what the house USED to be like? Is this issue something that should have been corrected during the renovation, or what? Is it legal for them to charge us twice, and is there any way around it? I.e.- if we just had one electricity meter turned on, would the whole house still GET electricity?

Only one of us is in town with the house yet, which only makes this all more complicated.

Help me handle my finances during my last month in apartment

lblair — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 10:01:10 -0800

Can I persuade my landlord to let me use my security deposit for my last month's rent? If not, what's my next best option? ( I'm dealing with paying my credit card bills too.) My lease is up on 8/31 and I'm broke. (I'm moving home with my parents to save money.) I have about $1000. That's about how much my rent is. My security deposit was a month and a half's rent. My apartment is in good condition, and with the exception of being a few days late with the rent a couple times, I think I've been a pretty good renter. (Lived here 2 years.)

My problem is that I am also behind on a bunch of (small) credit card bills. Also about $1000 worth of needs-to-be-paid-asap type stuff. So, right now I can either pay my rent and wait and pay the credit cards over the next 1-2 months. (I have a crappy p/t job and I'm trying to find a better one, but til then . . . ) Or, I can try to convince my landlord to let me use the deposit, and put my $1000 towards my credit cards. (I know, I know, being in credit card debt is a whole other story, but I'm moving home so I can work and save money and pay them off.)

I think it would be better for me to pay the credit cards and try to negotiate about my rent, simply because the cards will ruin my credit a lot more if I'm late on them. If I'm lucky my landlord will agree to taking my deposit for August rent. If he won't, and I just don't pay it, I'm afraid of legal action or ruining my rental history.

I tried to google for the answer and the impression I got was that using the deposit for last month's rent is generally something that you can't do, but people try to do it anyway- sometimes by talking to their landlord, and sometimes by simply not paying the last month's rent. (I live in IL, if that matters.)

So my question is- what is the best way to persuade my landlord to let me do this? If he says no, then what? How bad are those 'over-30-day' hits on your credit report? (I'm not about to be sent to collections, but I think I have gone over/will soon go over 30 days on some of them.)

I'm so over this roommate drama.

wild like kudzu — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 09:56:27 -0800

So, I have a roommate. I love her, we usually get along just fine, but recently we argued over some financial stuff and now we're not really on speaking terms. How the heck should I handle this? (Long post, long story) So, it's a long story, but essentially I paid half of the bills last month with checks and asked her to mail them out. She had no problem with that, but she tried to mail them out of our mailbox at our apartment and the mailman didn't pick them up, so knowing they were slightly late she paid them in full online and ripped up my checks. I had no problem with that, and she said she would sit down and figure out how much I owed her. She said that a few times, but it never happened. Anyway, she let me borrow one of her pairs of sunglasses last week and I left them on the coffee table by mistake at the end of the night. Her cat knocked them off and broke them in the course of the night, and when I got up the next morning I actually stepped on the broken pieces and got a nasty cut on my foot. I cleaned it up, and told her about it when she came home. If I recall correctly, I offered to help pay for it, but there's a chance that I didn't offer anything at first.

Anyway, a few days later she and I went out and she drove my car home because she wanted to leave before I did. I had no problem with that, but when I went out to the car the next day the door was unlocked and my ipod was gone. I assumed she had left it unlocked because she's left our front door unlocked before, but I have no proof and have since let it go. Yeah, it sucks, my ipod is gone and I don't have the money to replace it, so when I saw her next I told her about it and asked if she'd be willing to help me pay for it. She seemed really irritated, and brought up the money I still owed her from last month's utilities (and here I am thinking she's going to tell me how much I owe her). I brought up the sunglasses, and how I was going to pay to replace them. She said she thought I was only bringing that up because I wanted money from her. She said she thought she locked the door on the car. She said if she let someone borrow her car she would have gone down in the middle of the night when she got home and made sure everything was locked, I thought that was ridiculous. Anyway, basically she said she was pissed off and so I went into my room. I thought about it for a while, came back out and apologized for not offering to pay for her glasses sooner, but she said "it's okay that we don't get along sometimes. I'm not mad" so I went back into my room and called it a night.

The next day I looked through our bills to figure out how much I owed her, and paid her in cash for all the utilities from the month before, plus $35 for her sunglasses. I left it with a note on her computer, asking to make sure it was right and whether this made us even. I was asleep when she got it, and she hasn't said anything to me about it.

So, I'm totally over all of this bull. I wanted to get us back to square one, with nobody owing anyone anything. Unfortunately, this was clearly not enough as I saw her last night and she barely looked at me, barely spoke to me. I tried to be cheerful and happy (I have not said anything at all about the ipod since that first night) and interact with her, but she just retreated into her room. Her phone is broken, so I can't call or text her at all. I've been trying to give her space and leave her be since that's what she seems like she wants, but I don't know why we're not on good terms at this point.

Here's the thing, too, I will honestly be a little upset if she doesn't help me pay for my ipod, just because I would help her pay for hers if the situation was reversed. I'm insulted that she thinks I would lie "just to get money out of [her]" and irritated that while her cat broke her sunglasses it's still up to me to replace them....

This all seems so petty, we're really good friends usually and we've only been living together a few months. I'm going out of town on Wednesday, and I'm probably not going to see her much before then, I'll be back a week later.

What the heck should I do here? Be an invisible ghost who hides in my room? Give her space? Stop her and confront her? I sent her a message online that she probably hasn't seen yet saying that I'd really like for us to sit down and talk. I guess I'm also just irritated because I feel like I have to coerce her into forgiving me for something I think I've made up for in other ways, including actual apologies. She has said in the past that she hates how quickly I bring up issues, but this difference is evident in the way that none of my aggravations with her ever turn into anything major because I bring them up at the time, when they're just a small problem. She, on the other hand, holds onto small annoyances and then when I talk to her about anything she brings up everything I've been doing to piss her off. They end up seeming way worse than they are that way.

Gosh! So irritating! Anybody have any thoughts?

To pay or not to pay?

downing street memo — Thu, 28 May 2009 13:58:59 -0800

A few months ago, I lived in a four-bedroom group house. Since then, one of the roommates and I have moved into another place, two months before the lease on the group house ended. We've dutifully paid our portion of the rent on the old place, as we're legally obligated to do. Now one of the roommates is asking us for money for utilities that, of course, we haven't used. My default position is not to pay these bills because, well, I didn't use the electricity, water, or cable at that house, and I didn't sign a year-long contract to pay those bills, only a contract for the house itself.

But I realize that there are some differences between these bills; I think it's reasonable to pay my portion of the gas and electric bill, for instance, since heating and cooling a house is a pretty constant expense regardless of how many people live there. I don't, however, understand why I should pay for cable for the roommates who are still there, especially because it's not like they would have bought a different cable package had it just been the two of them (both are pretty constant TV watchers and web surfers). In other words, my roommate and I are not causing any extra per-person expense on these guys; they would be paying the same for cable regardless. What's more, these guys haven't even attempted to find new roommates, so its not like there's been any action on their part to bring down their costs.

I fully realize that I could be being an utter asshole here - what do you think?

Cutting the umbilical cord

sixcolors — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 10:38:23 -0800

This moving out thing, uh...how do I do this (financially)? I often complain about my parents to my friends, random people, and even on here.

The most common comment/question I get is "Hey, why don't you just move out???"

If it were only that simple...

This is something I would love love LOVE to do, but I don't think I can afford it. I am underemployed. Full time jobs are hard to find. I do have the option of getting a second part time job, but that wouldn't give me benefits like a full-time job.

I have 50K worth of student loans, how on earth I would be able to pay rent, bills, gas, and food along with those student loan repayments (I calculated it will be around $500-700 a month)?

Well, I know I am no unique snowflake in this regard. I am assuming most 20-somethings who do live on their own, have some sort of debt...and car payments (thank God I don't have to worry about that one). I am wondering how do they do it? Am I missing something?

With my situation, I want to know what my options are.

Pay Canadian bills while in USA (CCs, etc)

Vandal — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 12:14:15 -0800

I'm visiting the US (work reasons) on a visit visa but going to be here for about 2-3 months. I'm looking to pay my CC off (Canadian Tire options mastercard except my BofA account here doesn't list them as a payee. CTFS has said "send us a check", but it might take them about 30 days to clear it. I want the payment to be done fast. Is there any other way to make a payment to them? (Any other ways to pay TELUS, DSL, etc.. would be appreciated as well) Thanks!

Storming the halls of power... with baked goods.

1f2frfbf — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 09:05:41 -0800

How do I nominate a state symbol? After reading this post and realizing my state doesn't have a state dish (at least not according to this page), I would like to nominate a one, but I have no idea where to start on this quixotic journey and the above page tells me nothing about the process.

Who do I owe and how much do I owe them?

simplethings — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 08:18:12 -0800

Is there an easy and preferably free way of finding out if I owe anyone money (and how much)? College was one big money issue for me. I never had enough money, I never saved money, I had horrible spending habits, and I never paid my bills on time (or sometimes at all).
Fast forward some years later and my money handling has become somewhat better and I work a decently paying full time job.

I'd like to work on improving my credit and pay off any debt. I believe that I owe people money but I don't know who or how much.
I remember one year I was suckered into purchasing a local newspaper subscription. I started getting the newspaper and the bill but I never paid it and finally the paper stopped coming. To my knowledge I never received a collection letter... do I still owe them money?
I stopped paying an electric bill at one apartment and a month or so later the electricity was turned off... but it was only 3 days before I moved out and my lease ended so I let it be... do I still owe them money?
I purchased health insurance through a well known company (I'll call them Acme). I stopped paying the insurance 3 months before starting my current job. Insurance from the Acme was offered through my job which I signed up for. I received 2 more bills from Acme which I never paid and haven't heard from them since... do I still owe them money?

These are only 3 examples... I've left a long trail of unpaid bills in my past (I don't even remember some) and now I don't know where I stand. Is there a really simple way to see which of them are still waiting for payment and/or are currently affecting my credit?

Insurance Stuff in Court for Personal Injury?

SlyBevel — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 19:56:13 -0800

In a personal injury small claims case, will the judge want to see insurance bills and payments? They seem secondary to the case, as I have the original hospital/ambulance/Dr bills.

I heard somewhere that judges don't consider anything insurance does for you, because it's just like the insurance company is handing your money (that you already paid to them) back to you.

No clue if that's true, though.

Should I include the insurance stuff in the original claim/affidavit?

-or-

Should I bring them to the courthouse with me just in case?

Do I legally have to set up direct debit accounts with everyone?

phyle — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 05:47:48 -0800

I have moved over to the UK from Australia a year ago and have some questions about bill paying practise, tv licensing and direct debit. The system I would use in Australia- I recieve a bill in the mail for each service, on the back of the bill there was a Bpay number, I could log into my bank account and pay each bill one at a time, I did this at the end of each month. It seemed like a good system, I could keep track of everything.

I am having an argument with tv licensing, I have one month payment to make before I leave the country- they want me to set up direct debit for this one month and then ring up and cancel at the end of the month- aparently this is my only option.

Direct debit just seems like bad financial practice to me. You have to trust the company to take out the correct amount of money. If there are any disputes about payment you will always be fighting to get money back from them. I have to remember to cancel services that I am no longer using. Should I not legally be able to pay them the money that I owe them without giving them my bank account details?

Online Bill Paying...Other than CheckFree?

waldo — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 17:56:15 -0800

After the breach of CheckFree's security last week, I think it's time I find a new web-based bill paying system. I'm looking for something like CheckFree: they electronically hook up with my various vendors, notify me when a bill is due, and it's either paid automatically or I approve it first. What sort of services like this exist, other than CheckFree? This was discussed in the green in 2005, but I can only assume that the market has changed in the past three years.

Future Comcast Customer Looking For A Deal

shew — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 19:24:34 -0800

Looking for the best deal on Comcast! I'm moving into a new house in the Denver Metro area tomorrow and I'm looking to get Comcast service. I need television service and high speed internet. I'm willing to commit to up to a year of service. Where can I get the best deal/discounts/perks for signing up as a new customer? I don't -want- to get the voice service (home LAN line) but I'm willing to consider if it sweetens the deal. Mostly I use my cellphone and that works, so I'm open to ideas. I'm also ready to call -right now- and secure the service so any deals only applying to November are fair game.

Is it worth it to keep paying the bills?

chrisinseoul — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 09:05:07 -0800

Is it worth it to keep paying my American bills while permanently overseas? Much more after the jump. Greetings MeFi's,
I'll start by saying this isn't a moral, ethical, or financial question - merely a practical one that happens to belong in each of the aforementioned realms. I think that's important to mention right off the bat for some reason...

I work as an English teacher in Seoul, South Korea, though I'm otherwise a pretty typical twentysomething American. In America, I have nearly $16,000 in debt ($6,000 in credit cards, $10,000 in student loans). In Korea, I have a decent enough paycheck from being a teacher, but sending money from Korea to America is barely making a dent considering the wiring fees, interest, credit card fees exchange rate, etc. It also seriously crimps what would otherwise be a wonderful lifestyle.

Making more money isn't an option - I'm contractually obligated to the school as a condition of the work visa. Spending less isn't an option - expenses are essentially fixed at a moderate level. I'm not an idiot, and know that 7 years of bad credit (FWIW) is in store. I've had a sub-500 credit score since the day I graduated college (another long story I won't get into), so that doesn't seem too big a deal. I have no plans whatsoever to return to America, buy a house, rent an American apartment, get an American job, or have much (if anything) to do with the country. I never plan to have another credit card (actually carry cash and only cash when I do spend money). I suspect declaring bankruptcy from abroad is much more of a hassle than it's worth... In Korean currency, I have an emergency fund, and have otherwise gotten myself into good financial habits (some learned from lots of reading, others from the school of hard knocks).

I'd love to simply walk away from my American debts and think I'm untouchable now that I'm more or less off the grid. Again, not a moral / ethical / financial question, just a practical one. Is there something I'm missing? What happens after 7 years of not paying? Again, the credit score is just a three-digit number to me - and that system is far from being adapted worldwide.

How can I reduce my electric bill?

Kosh — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 18:27:06 -0800

First time living alone, and just got my first electric bill... what's using so much power? How much power does my computer really use? This may seem like a stupid question, but any apparent stupidity is just lack of experience, as I've never lived in situations where I was completely and solely responsible for all bills before. I live in a 600 sq ft apartment with central air. Stove/oven and water heater are both gas, so the big draws on electricity are (presumably) the AC and my 24" iMac, which I use as both a music server when I'm around the apartment and connect to remotely from my laptop when I'm at school, so it's running 24/7. A large and bright display like that probably draws a fair bit of power, but when I'm not using it the display shuts off very quickly, so the display is usually off. (I have a TV as well, but it's also usually off.) I generally have the AC on at night, but off otherwise. I'm very good at shutting lights off when I'm not here, keeping the fridge door securely closed, etc. The computer is not doing processor-intensive activities when I'm not here... it has the standard set of OS X background processes going, an hourly Time Machine backup, and an IRC session in the terminal that I'll connect to remotely from my laptop or my phone when I'm out. That's it.

So, I didn't think I used a lot of power, but I received an $80 bill for less than a month's worth of power use (I moved in on 8/17). This was a good deal higher than I was expecting, because I thought I was fairly judicious about energy use and I'm not sure what I can target to reduce that bill. Is most of that bill going to be the AC, or could I put a significant dent in it by putting my computer to sleep when I'm not here? I can learn to live without the convenience of remote access or a streaming music library if it'll reduce my bill in any significant way, but my (potentially incorrect) understanding was that computers didn't use a ton of power these days and that displays were where most of the power use came from. Maybe I'm wrong?

Why invest in treasuries?

justkevin — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 09:21:57 -0800

What's the advantage of treasuries over savings accounts? A majority of my money is in the market, mostly index funds. I have some cash reserves as well (probably higher % than experts recommend for my age, but I'm overly cautious) currently sitting in a savings account.

Savings accounts currently pay 3-4%, but the yield on short term treasuries (under 5 years) currently seems to be below 2%. Even a 10-year note is only a slightly better investment, and that's assuming interest rates don't rise. Is there an advantage to treasuries that I'm missing?

Why don't electric companies take credit cards?

OTA — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 06:10:21 -0800

Why do electric utilities either not take credit cards for payment or charge ridiculously large surcharges ($5) to do so? I've gotten into the habit of paying most of my bills via credit cards due to the cash back/skymiles. Every single company (phone/cable/etc) gladly take them, EXCEPT the power company. They send you over to some 3rd party who wants to charge $5 for the privilege of paying your bill with plastic. I did a quick check of the major power companies I'm aware of in Florida and all of them have similar services, although most charge $3-$4 instead of the $5 my local power company wants.

I'm fully aware of merchant fees & such, but find it odd that only power companies in this state seem to do this.

Roommate owes me money. What do I do?

bondgirl53001 — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 14:04:54 -0800

My roommate owes me $500 in bills and will likely owe twice as much until our lease is up. I need the money. What do I do? My roommate has paid his half of the rent every month but has not paid any bills since we moved in last year, because he was unemployed and strapped for cash. I stupidly said he could pay me when he had the money.

About two months after he got a job, I mentioned the money he owes me and how it'd be nice if he paid his half of our bills. He moaned something about student loans and said he would pay me back when he could. Fair enough. I mentioned it again weeks later -- same answer.

It's been a while and I'm looking to make a large investment. He now owes me about $500 in bills and this sum will grow (unrelated, but noteworthy -- I don't watch TV and he does constantly. I am currently funding his videogame and digital cable addiction).

I never got it in writing that he would pay his half of the bills. I had assumed stupidly that it was a given. The only proof I have is....the bills.

What do I do? And -- this is a big if but I am covering all my options -- if he never pays me, can legal action be taken?

For the record, we are cordial but we are not friends. I would not accept giving up $500-$1,000 just to have him like me.

Help me understand US Treasury securities.

Flunkie — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 22:18:56 -0800

Help me understand US Treasury securities. I've invested in the stock market for quite some time. I've recently decided that I want to also invest some money in less risky securities, such as those offered by the US Treasury. I've been investigating, but there are still questions that I haven't found answers for.

Question 1. Is the only real difference between "treasury bills", "treasury notes", and "treasury bonds" the length of time until they mature? I understand that their price and interest rates will differ as well, but that obviously depends on the maturity length. So I guess I mean something along these lines: If the Treasury started offering "30 year treasury notes", under exactly the same rules as their current treasury notes except that they have a 30 year maturity, should an intelligent market value them exactly the same as it would "30 year treasury bonds" offered at exactly the same time?

Question 2. Let's say I use TreasuryDirect.gov (which seems like a good idea). How is periodic interest paid out? I don't mean "when" or "how often"; rather, I mean for example "Does it automatically get plopped back into the bank account that I linked to my TreasuryDirect account?"

Question 3. I use Quicken. Investigation reveals a profound lack of information on how to deal with this stuff in Quicken, but seems to indicate that it can't automatically track your US Treasury securities' values like it can your stocks' values. But this is almost unbelievable. So, my question is: Seriously? Quicken can't deal with United States Treasury securities, except manually? And if the answer is "Yes, seriously", then a followup: How do you personally deal with this?

Question 4. I gather that these things are only sold on very specific days. Do I have to log on to Treasury Direct that day, between some hour and some other, and tell it "Hey, I want some of that"? Or can I just tell it in advance that I want to buy such-and-such an amount of security such-and-such, at the noncompetitive price, whenever it becomes available? If the latter, how far in advance can I do so?

Any other hints that you think might be helpful would also be appreciated. Thanks in advance.