Your response to the credit crunch and rising bills ect

[AmandlaEwetu]

I have cancelled my Sky tv contract saving me £18 per month other than

that no change ,for now.(buying non perishable foodstuffs with the

money,just in case lol):roll:

[SickBick]

Trying to drink enough beers to get my name on a plaque at the local Taco Mac sports bar before I end up living in a cardboard box with my AR15.

[wotsnext]

Getting rid of my house and moving on to my boat p-)

[non]

*Pimping my little sister, maybe my gf, depends on the DOW numbers at the particular 30 second interval.
*Asking some Mexican employees at my place of employment if they have any relatives who need a 'trail guide' or a Uhaul driver/chauffer.
*Plasma donations should get me through the weekend.
*Burglarizing recently foreclosed houses to steal a pot to...
*Never underestimate the supplementary advantages of slinging rock. Something 'The Man' frowns upon, but we all know what he done to us, right?

[filochard]

The gas is getting cheaper, the house price is going down, the Euro is going down as well against the dollar, the financial parasites are getting ruined: only good news.
Champagne for me woot

[Pandy]

Nothing... I haven't been hurting...

[shocker1]

People are not buying new cars. They are wanting maintenance and repairs on their old cars, emission testing is making people get repairs. Gas is cheaper, my coins are worth more than my house and traffic is less. I love this, watching rich fat cats with their $2000 suits get hammered is a plus.

GM is in merger talks with Chrysler, that my friends is the end of the world. However I see major opportunity in many stocks. Ford at $2.00 a share? Buy it.

[Hollis]

Shocker, this is not he case in Oregon. I went and visited a friend who works for the local Chevy dealer. I asked him how the credit crunch was effecting sales. He asked, "what credit crunch?".


Just like back East on the fuel shortage and price hike, Never happened here, besides fuel prices dropped.


I wonder how many mismanaged business' are using this as a excuse to cover their own mistakes, how many are actually legitimate?

I keep getting offers to consolidate card debt, one for 0% for a year or so. Maybe this problem effects the regions of the US differently. We seem to be missing it, so far.


BTW, yes, a good time to buy stocks, we transferred some funds for stocks.

[xav]

I work in the admissions in a Unviersity...
Federal loans will remain unchanged, but private students loans will become a hell more complicated to get... They will only grant loans to students with co-signers with excellent credit scores...
This will affect us (we can already feel it) for next spring and fall... less students. (Tuitions average 30,000 for a 4 year degree). Ha well, we will recruit more Saudis students, I guess that's the plan for now...

[DZMouloudia]

Here in the East coast, a bunch of dealers are going under.

Bill Heard Enterprises Inc., one of the largest Chevrolet dealers in the U.S., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a Decatur, Ala., court after shutting down last week amid a prolonged downturn in the U.S. auto industry.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122272847811388021.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Gm credit rating has just been downgraded, not sure how long they will last.

[shocker1]

Dealerships will be effected big time. Warranty work is the prime source of business for a dealership and free service with a vehicle purchase. Ask a technician at a dealer what he think of warranty work. It is half the labor and those techs get paid by the job. This if you ask me is unfair to the skilled techs, if the manufacture has warranty issues they should not cut the pay to the guy doing the work. Which is why the quality and experience of the techs at a dealer is not as good as the aftermarket. Regardless of what a dealer might say. Would you rather get paid for 1hr for a job that pays 4hrs in the aftermarket? That is a negative at a dealer that must be addressed. My skills are worth much more than that.

The aftermarket is more immune to this as the service is cheaper. The average labor rate here at a dealer is near $80 an hour. After market is around $50 so you can see price will push dealers to lower prices. I have seen this with Ford as their Motocraft parts are generally cheaper than aftermarket parts. Rebuilt transmissions and engines are now cheaper from the dealer than say Jasper. Just to point out my shop has replaced over 100 engines this year using Jasper. Of those 100, 10 had issues with comebacks. Sales are going to get hit, there is no doubt there but service of older vehicles is increasing here.

[Abbadon the Despoiler]

just
**** the system
working overtime

[DZMouloudia]

Now that the Gov. is going to buy equities in banks instead of giving them loans, Tax payers can hope to get a return on their investments. I hope this move is going to restore some confidence in our financial market, and credit will start flowing again.

[wildcat]

just remember during the Depression a lot of people made money. I not effected by the changes happening.

[shocker1]

Now that the Gov. is going to buy equities in banks instead of giving them loans, Tax payers can hope to get a return on their investments. I hope this move is going to restore some confidence in our financial market, and credit will start flowing again.
Fat chance, what will happen is the government will sell those assets to the people in the click. Like Paulson who was Pres of Goldman Sachs, his 30 something year old former Goldman Sachs VP bailout chief and who sold off their stocks when they where high. Wonder what they will be doing when they are out of office? The Gov has no business buying stocks with my money. If they were looking for returns on my money they would have put my SS taxes into T-bills and used the return to make the system healthy. Investing in our country using SSI money is win win. OH yeah, they can't afford to fix Social security but 700 billion plus to banks is all good.

[DZMouloudia]

It's actually a good time to buy stocks now, the market did hit rock bottom, so the direction from now on will be only up ( hopefully).

[shocker1]

It's actually a good time to buy stocks now, the market did hit rock bottom, so the direction from now on will be only up ( hopefully).
I would hold off until after the election. There will be some ups and downs but until then the historic indicators say wait till then. After that buy stocks that pay a dividend.

[DZMouloudia]

Fat chance, what will happen is the government will sell those assets to the people in the click. Like Paulson who was Pres of Goldman Sachs, his 30 something year old former Goldman Sachs VP bailout chief and who sold off their stocks when they where high. Wonder what they will be doing when they are out of office? The Gov has no business buying stocks with my money. If they were looking for returns on my money they would have put my SS taxes into T-bills and used the return to make the system healthy. Investing in our country using SSI money is win win. OH yeah, they can't afford to fix Social security but 700 billion plus to banks is all good.

You do get a point there my Friend, but since they already voted for the 700 Billions to be spent, i think that it would be a wiser move to buy equity with it rather than give loans or buy worthless overvalued mortgages. At the end they will have to sell back the equity in he open market.

[The Dane]

Spahgetti and ketchup....

[DZMouloudia]

I would hold off until after the election. There will be some ups and downs but until then the historic indicators say wait till then. After that buy stocks that pay a dividend.

I am big fun of technical analysis,and i use it my self for Forex, all the indicators are saying that it is a good time to buy, because the Dow does not lose 20% of its value in 20 days that often.
Its pretty simple " buy low and sell high" and i dont think it will get any lower, and i think that value is the way to go.

Just my 2 cents.

[Rudolph]

Hoping house prices come down... Might take a stab at some cheap stocks as well.

[shocker1]

I am big fun of technical analysis,and i use it my self for Forex, all the indicators are saying that it is a good time to buy, because the Dow does not lose 20% of its value in 20 days that often.
Its pretty simple " buy low and sell high" and i dont think it will get any lower, and i think that value is the way to go.

Just my 2 cents.
I agree to a point. Some are at the bottom, it is a good time to buy. I just think the big upswing will not happen until after the election. Buying now is probably not that risky at all. Many stocks are way undervalued.

[Moledet]

Nothing, currently there's no recession here. The stockmarket will probably fall tomorrow due to a panic effect after the losses of Israeli companies in the US stockmarkets and the fall in Europe-so it's a good time to buy Shorts but apart of that our economy is extremely stable and healthy.

[Breakfast in Vegas]

So far no effect on me, but am keeping an eye open and have toned down spending. The effect of the credit crunch may hurt my business middle-term if large projects are put on hold due to tied up resources and expensive credit.

[Bia]

Your response to the credit crunch and rising bills ect Work more. Ride bike more. Not much else as I am already poor and adjusted.

I look forward to upper middleclass people losing their minds and a bonus would be to see some wallstreet types jumping out of windows.

[shocker1]

Work more. Ride bike more. Not much else as I am already poor and adjusted.

I look forward to upper middleclass people losing their minds and a bonus would be to see some wallstreet types jumping out of windows.
On the news a week or so ago protesters were on Wallstreet, people were looking out the windows. The protesters were yelling for them to jump.:)

[wotsnext]

i look forward to upper middleclass people losing their minds and a bonus would be to see some wallstreet types jumping out of windows.
x2............:)

[JRT]

Switching from V6 to R4.

[DZMouloudia]

Nothing, currently there's no recession here. The stockmarket will probably fall tomorrow due to a panic effect after the losses of Israeli companies in the US stockmarkets and the fall in Europe-so it's a good time to buy Shorts but apart of that our economy is extremely stable and healthy.

US economy or Israeli economy???

The Israeli economy is doing good, i just hope Israeli banks dont have too many security backed mortgages in their portfolio, as for the US economy, the fundamentals look good according to Macain:) JUST kidding, hope we can avoid a depression.


I hope the dow wont sink anymore, other ways its a depression.

I still think market hit rock bottom already, i MEAN I HOPE.

[Flagg]

People are not buying new cars.

Detroit's short-sighted policy of pulling in future demand with it's "friends and family" discount available to everyone only delayed the inevitable problem, negtaively impacting dealer used car fleets, negatively impacting their lease fleet via depressing resale prices, negatively impacting their own vehicle finance ledgers by the hit to resale values, and negatively impacting on future byers loyal to the brand who now have less equity with their trade ins.


They are wanting maintenance and repairs on their old cars, emission testing is making people get repairs.

Service and possibly parts are about the only departments in a typical US auto dealership likely to do well in the next 12-36 months.


Gas is cheaper, my coins are worth more than my house and traffic is less. I love this, watching rich fat cats with their $2000 suits get hammered is a plus.

GM is in merger talks with Chrysler, that my friends is the end of the world.

There will likely have to be a bailout(as indicated by loan guarantees from Congress)

However I see major opportunity in many stocks. Ford at $2.00 a share? Buy it.

I wouldn't touch Ford shares with a barge pole.

I believe Chrysler is doomed....plus they already had their bailout in the 80's under Iaccoca....they will be absorbed or picked apart.

GM and Ford have a LONG way to go before they would be considered healthy.

Their bonds MAY be a safer bet than their shares.

Their underfunded pension plans will likely require substantial support from Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.....sort of a FDIC of pensions....

[Flagg]

Dealerships will be effected big time.

ABSOLUTELY

One of Detroit's biggest problems is it's incredibly bloated, redundant, overextended, and weak dealership networks.

The actual difference between US and Japanese vehicle quality is mimimal.....perception of quality is a different story. The actual difference between a Toyota dealership and a Chevy dealership is HUGE. Toyota sells more cars than Chevy, yet has approx. half as many dealership.

Toyota places strong emphasis on dealership profitability. Strong and profitable dealers are able to offer far better resourced dealership facilities, recruit and pay the best staff, support the customer better, are far less likely to compete WITHIN their brand from cannibalistic sales, and are far less likely to have to discount.

In a nutshell...Toyota dealers are competing against Chevy.....Chevy dealers are competing against Chevy dealers...which dealer would you rather be?

The US is losing up to 10 dealerships a week. This could last for a few years until we see US brand dealership numbers drop by 25-40%


Warranty work is the prime source of business for a dealership and free service with a vehicle purchase.

I disagree....finance and insurance would be far and away the largets single profit centre in a dealership, pretty much everywhere in the world.

but for the next couple of years I reckon you're right that service will be booming as people keep their cars on the road a lot longer.

Warranty work will get squeezed hard.....fewer paid hours offered by manufacturers pushing costs onto their already squeezed dealers....where they once got 4 hours for a job, they will soon get 3.5


Ask a technician at a dealer what he think of warranty work. It is half the labor and those techs get paid by the job. This if you ask me is unfair to the skilled techs, if the manufacture has warranty issues they should not cut the pay to the guy doing the work. Which is why the quality and experience of the techs at a dealer is not as good as the aftermarket. Regardless of what a dealer might say. Would you rather get paid for 1hr for a job that pays 4hrs in the aftermarket? That is a negative at a dealer that must be addressed. My skills are worth much more than that.

The aftermarket is more immune to this as the service is cheaper. The average labor rate here at a dealer is near $80 an hour. After market is around $50 so you can see price will push dealers to lower prices.

Possibly, but not necessarily.

As Manufacturers have pushed for "closed systems" with proprietary tools, diagnostic equipment, etc it puts the aftermarket guys on the backfoot.......especially within warranty periods.

What's cheaper 3 hours of labour at a dealer or 6 hours with an aftermarket outfit?

Just an example of what can actually happen.

I have seen this with Ford as their Motocraft parts are generally cheaper than aftermarket parts. Rebuilt transmissions and engines are now cheaper from the dealer than say Jasper. Just to point out my shop has replaced over 100 engines this year using Jasper. Of those 100, 10 had issues with comebacks. Sales are going to get hit, there is no doubt there but service of older vehicles is increasing here.

I reckon it will continue....things like reman motors could become quite popular, especially with business vehicles and fleets.

The new car smell has never affected me......motorcycles is a different story ;)

My ute has about 230,000 miles on it...I reckon it's got about another 200,000 to go before I even think about another used ute :)

[Creeper]

Getting rid of my house and moving on to my boat p-)

I did it. No regrets.

[shocker1]

I reckon it will continue....things like reman motors could become quite popular, especially with business vehicles and fleets.

The new car smell has never affected me......motorcycles is a different story ;)

My ute has about 230,000 miles on it...I reckon it's got about another 200,000 to go before I even think about another used ute :)
As usual your insights make me rethink my opinions, one of the benefits of MP.net. What I meant by primary business being warranty work is in the service center. Apart from the selling of cars, but yeah you made me rethink my opinion of Ford and GM stocks. I still lean towards they will rebound. The key to that are vehicles that people will buy. Let's see what happens over the next year.

[helomech]

Will drive my motorcycle more if possible,I normally drive it 3 days a week but will make an effort to do so 5 days a week-bad weather and all
Just had it serviced and had a windshield and new tires installed so it should a bit more pleasant during the commute

The current shop rate for maintenance where I go is $130.00 and hour,damn expensive(I do have the maintenance warranty card,so there's another way of saving money)

Only buying what food we need and not straying from the list,and it does help being on a doctor enforced diet too

[shocker1]

I am still driving my 3/4 ton Chevy, cause I am a Joe 12 pack. It does get nearly 19mpg and tows my gas hog boat well.

[helomech]

I am still driving my 3/4 ton Chevy, cause I am a Joe 12 pack. It does get nearly 19mpg and tows my gas hog boat well.

That's the Joe Sixpack spirit!!!!!!!!!!!!!:)

[shocker1]

I am waiting for the Honda Clarity to be sold nationwide. I have natural gas and a hydrogen generator fueling it from home sounds like a good idea. I wish they would hurry.

[bd popeye]

Your response to the credit crunch and rising bills ect

Humm? there's a credit crunch??;)

Oh well. Personally I'm not affect by any stinkin' credit crunch or rising prices. By the way the price of gas in Iowa is pummeling. Some food items have falling prices also. Noticed that today after a trip to the grocery store today. My wife and I budget our money very well thank you.p-)

I have no money in the stock markets. That's gambling.

Why am I not affect? I don't use credit. For nuthin. I pay cash for everything. That's right. I wanted an HD Tv..What did I do? Saved the money and bought one..Same with my new computer or anything else I've bought for some years now... Save the money and then pay cash. We need a newer car. I'm saving up the cash. Soon as I get enough saved..I'll buy one..Not before. Simple.

[panzrman]

Humm? there's a credit crunch??;)


Why am I not affect? I don't use credit. For nuthin. I pay cash for everything. That's right. I wanted an HD Tv..What did I do? Saved the money and bought one..Same with my new computer or anything else I've bought for some years now... Save the money and then pay cash. We need a newer car. I'm saving up the cash. Soon as I get enough saved..I'll buy one..Not before. Simple.


Ditto. I don't use credit aymore and haven't for quite some time. My truck is paid off, credit cards paid off and disposed of, etc..
Only debt I have is my mortage, and that isn't really that much since I didn't purchase outside my realistic means of support. If I can't pay cash for it, then I really don't need it and I keep enough money tucked away for emergencie costs.

But, then again, it took 40 years to get to that point too, lol.

[Calanen]

I have no credit cards - no mortgage - no overdraft. Owe the gov money from time to time on a rolling basis as the cash comes in for taxes, but thats the same with everyone.

I've never invested in stocks - life's too short to waste a minute on such tedium.

I dont see my lifestyle changing a whole lot, no matter what happens.

[bd popeye]

But, then again, it took 40 years to get to that point too, lol.

I hear ya' there. I'm 55..getting to the point where I am now as no easy task.I assure you. Like many I learned some hard lessons...very hard. Freedom from debt won't happen over night but it will happen if you have a plan to make it happen...and see the plan through!