For some reason Nov.10 sticks in my mind as memorable. I can’t remember why? I know the Edmund Fitzgerald freighter sunk on the Great Lakes in the 70’s. The Berlin Wall came tumbling down on that date 25 years ago. Nope, it is something else. Oh well, it will come to me.
There are things that present financial disconnects for me. Something as simple as a bottle of Diet Coke. On sale at the local grocer, a bottle of coke costs $.45. If you buy a Coke out of a vending machine it is $1.75 for the same thing. If you go to a Badger game you pay $4.00. My math says you pay 10 times more for soda at a sporting event than at the grocer. That is a “disconnect”.
Somehow, health insurance policies have evolved to include high priced deductibles. When I started working, companies paid “everything”. There were no deductibles. Slowly, employees began to contribute to health insurance to help defray the exploding medical costs. $50/month deductibles and $100/deductibles were implemented. Now with Obamacare, $5000 per year is considered low and $10,000 per year is not unheard of? Another 10 fold increase. Did I miss something?
Interest rates earned on your hard earned savings might get you 1/2 of one percent interest at a bank or credit union If you are willing to buy a bank certificate of deposit for five years, you might earn 2%. Okay, interest rates are low. The people that issue credit cards are mainly banks. If you don’t pay your monthly credit card bill in full, most banks charge 25%-30% interest. Really? Did I miss something? How do you go from paying a measly1-2% on savings and charging 25% on a credit card balance?
There are many financial disconnects. Stay vigilant.
Today is Veterans Day. Every person who has served, deserves a hug.
Love,
Dad