And what do you do about saving and investing if the job you have pays little more than minimum wage????? How do you “plan for retirement”? The so-called financial experts as far as I can see have NEVER addressed the issue of how a working poor American can save and plan for the future. I’ve done everything from get a roommate, live at the poverty level, drive a 22 year old car with 350,000 plus miles on it, shop at thrift stores haven’t had new clothes in 15 years, buy bakery goods at day-old outlets, have no extras not even a real phone but just prepaid cellular, no cable, no doctor or dentist visits, dollar theater only for movies….it goes on and on.

The financial experts really need to address what the working poor can do to improve their long-term prospects. Please don’t suggest part time work – there isn’t any available, trust me I have been trying for several years to get weekend only second part time job and those jobs in my area just don’t exist.

1. I get lmost zero juck mail! Well… except for Dish and DirectTV
2. I don’t waste my time on hold dealing with the mistakes Banks make!
3. I don’t waste my time on hold doing the Bank and Credit Card Companies jobs to correct my accounts!
4. I don’t get sold-out by the Banks and Credit Card Companies to Marketers!
5. I don’t get daily mail from Banks or Credit Card Companies.
6. I don’t spend hours every month reading the fine print of every flyer or ad looking for hidden changes in terms or account fee’s the Banks or Credit Card Companies send.
7. I don’t have to deal with jerk-off Bank Tellers.
8. I have almost zero stress!
9. I purchase my autos pre-owned and pay cash.
10. I don’t deal with Auto Sales People or play the Auto Dealers Games!
11. I decided to living in a modest house and now save $$$ on Taxes!
12. I have enough cash to NOT waste money on Home Insurance! That alone will save me lots of grief in filing a claim in the future! Being about to afford to kick the Insurance Money off my back feels great! Insurance thieves be damned! I call the shots and it feels great!
13. No Courtesy Calls from Anyone!
14. I have a go phone, no land line so no Telephone Company BS to deal with!
15. No Bank account and debit card means no place holders on purchases! When I leave the gas pump I’m paid in full! The past stays behind me! The gas purchase is paid, no bill for later or the possiblity of account shortages due to place holders on a debit card.
16. No payment on demand at Bank!
17. No one stands between my money and me. I have cash and live with cash!
19. I don’t sign contracts or agreements I don’t edit. I also don’t play the Arbitration Game!
20. I call the shots, I’m 100% in control of my life. I owe nothing to anyone and I feel great. If I could only get Big Brother out of my life, I would be in Heaven!

First and foremost, I see no advantage in letting a middleman hold my money and then require me to ask permission to access it (often for a fee).

As a sub-head, access may well be impossible during a natural disaster such as fire, flood, earthquake, or storm (tornado/hurricane).

Not only would you not be able to get your money out during these times, you wouldn’t be able to swipe a card at a grocery store, etc…if you had cash though, you could still get what you needed.

Secondly, in a bank, one’s money is publicly ‘visible’, which is to say that anyone with $250.00 and internet access can get a P.I. with a database subscription to locate one’s accounts and view their contents.

Of course, it goes without saying that both creditors and tax agencies could empty your bank account without notice…not to mention banks themselves can go bust (insured or not, your access is delayed).

Third, when one spends the money from a checking account or with a credit card, commercial concerns report the sales into a myriad of databases, often selling or renting the lists derived from those data to aggregators such as Central Point, who in turn provide the results of that aggregation to various other firms and government agencies, allowing them to ‘profile’ the individual user to an amazingly detailed degree.

Of course, if privacy is of no concern, this shouldn’t bother you but the results of losing that privacy may manifest in ways you haven’t considered…and relatively soon if the current economic situation is any indicator.

Rethink the perceived ‘convenience’ of banking and consider how that perception has helped to engender our current consumption-oriented and debt-based economy, there is a more rational middleground upon which to base a sustainable economic model.

My apologies for an overly long ‘rant’, even if this isn’t published, it was a good excuse to explore my thoughts.