mrfrugal

I think are fearless leader Mr. W. is trying to protect his cronies on Wall Street.  In his address he did not mention nor did he hint that prosecution will begin once the dust has settled.  He only stated that a bail must begin and soon.  I totally agree that we need to buy these mortgages because capital needs to run through our economies vein.  If something is not done soon we will run into a recession that will last years.  But we must have justice and send the leaders of Wall Street to a six by six foot cell for at least 5 years.  Last justice rains free my fellow Americans and write your congressman to not let Wall Street off the hook.

I say let the investment banks that bought these sub-prime loans fall and throw their leaders in jail.  Why must the American tax-payers pay the bills of the people who can not pay their monthly mortgage?  Why must we, the American taxpayer bail out investment banks that took a huge risk and lost?  Screw them and screw any congressman that votes to give these investment houses $700 billion. Let them fall and let capitalism rain free.  It is these gutless pigs on Wall Street that will keep are economy down for years to come.  Let the pigs sell their houses and yachts before we give them any money to make up for their mistakes.  But me being finance major knows better, bail the son of bitches out or we will all be in a world of shit. 

But still throw the a-holes in jail.

Yes, I know, what is a man living in Los Angeles doing listening to country music.  Well, I really don’t know why I like country music because I do not have any relatives, friends and my wife defiantly does not like the genre. But I love me some Taylor Swift and Lady Antebellum. However, my likes also include the Beatles, Bob Dylan and of course Nirvana (I grew up during the 90s).  And if you seen me you would never think Carrie Underwood was on my mind since I look more retro (only because I’m too cheap to buy new cloths) then the average 30 year old Cheyenne, German, Irish, Spanish and what ever other race I have in me.  My mixture of races makes me look like a brown skinned Mexican, just a little bit taller.  Can you imagine a person like me signing “just another picture to burn” on the MetroLine.

I do not know whether I would vote in a law that bans smoking in public places.  We drive our cars everyday which cause more harm to our lungs and definitely more harm to our environment but yet we keep on driving.  What gives us the right to outlaw a person’s disgusting habit?  Is this not America where people have the right to smell like an ash tray?  Was it not our fore fathers that fought for the right so a man or woman can have yellow/brown teeth if they so wished?  Makes you wonder what direction this country is going.

In case you haven’t noticed I do not smoke. I am a strong individual that does not need nicotine to calm my nerves, that’s what drinking is for.

Are freaking kidding me, honor killing, what king of BS is this.  I read an article yesterday stating that two Pakistani girls were killed because they were dating two other Pakistanis’ from another tribe.  The act was cause for the elders to kill the two girls for dishonoring the family.  What kind of backwards, dumb ass shit is going on in the Muslim world that give a man a right to kill a person because in their minds the victim dishonored the family.  That whole continent is full of crap.  First you have Indians burning their wife’s, Chinese jailing their people for passing out flyers, and do not get me started on the Russians and Georgians.

Now these honor killing don’t happen just in the Asian world and not just women are killed; men and children also face the sword for not “following the rules”. For this backward act to proceed in this day and age is an abomination of all that is right in the world.

If this atrocity of human rights is to end then women must take the lead. I have the perfect solution to this problem, mass suicide by the women of Pakistan.  That will get the men’s attention but more important the world’s attention. I would rather be dead then live under the yoke of the elders.

Well, maybe the women should try a hunger strike first before killing themselves.  Now that’s a sound idea.

I was on the train today and this little Mexican boy probably around thirteen years old asks me “where are you from essay.” Are you serious I thought in my head, I am in my 30s wearing a suit with a laptop bag around my shoulder. My skin color is brown so I figured what the hell is this dumb ass thinking since most Mexican gang members are light skinned. I thought of kicking his ass then my better sense got the best of me since the next day he will show up with his “so called brothers” buddies or with a gun to show how much of a man he really is. So I just ignored him and kept on walking. But if he would had followed me I would had beat the living shit out of him and not take the train anymore. Man, Los Angeles needs to do something with all these illegal immigrants from having kids or at least give these kids something to fight for instead of turf. These gang members will just keep having stupid kids if something is not done.

Okay, I just went to Disneyland and found out that McDonald’s no longer operates in the park. Sorry for the mis-information but I barely found out this weekend. So if you want an inexpensive meal go onto Harbor Blvd. There is also a Starbucks on the corner of Harbor and Ball Rd. Currently there is still a full McDonald’s restaurant in California Adventure; I’ve seen it with my own eyes this past weekend.

Unless you have a car and you can drive north or south on Harbor Blvd or east to west on Ball Rd take my advice and eat a big breakfast. You and you family can also eat at Wetzel Pretzel (located in Downtown Disney) for about $5 per person if you share a drink. One more place you can eat La Brea where you can have sandwiches and drinks for about $10 per person if you take-out. Do not have a sit down lunch or dinner at La Brea because you will be looking at a $15 a person. Ouch.

If you have been reading my blogs you will know that I was correct concerning the slide of the Euro and Pound against the Dollar. I wrote one article in July and one in early August stating that the Dollar is coming back. What does this mean for the middle income consumer? INFLATION. Inflation may come down on us hard if the price of oil does not continue to decrease, the Federal Reserve raises interests rates from there current level or Russia disrupts economic markets in Asia, mainly China.

Let’s face it, if the price of a barrel of oil continues to drop as a still foresee then transportation costs of our goods will decrease. It is that simple. Plus, even if the would economic view is a little grim that will mean less oil we will have to use to run our cars, heat our homes and offices. A win win I say. Don’t worry; this outcome is most likely to happen.

If the Federal Reserve keeps rates at there current levels then we should be fine. But if the Fed jumps the gun and raises interest rates to curve inflation then we will be in a world of hurt because the housing market is still on a tender foot.

Russia, what can I say but I hate the country. Russian politics have hurt that country more than it has helped but that does not mean the Russian people will not go along with the crowd. But now that I think about it China may need to cash in there US reserve bills and lower the dollar again which will help our exports.

Man, the US is looking good baby.

I will start off with the second costly expense at Disneyland besides the tickets ($69 per adult and $59 per child over 3), you give up, and it’s food. Today’s blog will be for a one day pass to Disneyland with a spouse and two kids, ages 5 and 10. We will also pretend that you do not have your own form of transportation (if you do have a car then better for you).

First, get your family’s asses up early. Your goal is to “open the park” and “close the park.” Now that’s your goal and I know you will not be able to do it unless you have a hotel room nearby and can tap an hour nap. Get up two hours before the park opens and eat breakfast. When I say eat breakfast it means a good size meal. Do not let your kids skip breakfast because they will get hungry around 10:30 and make you spend money in the park. DO NOT BUY FOOD IN THE PARK. Unless you are eating at the Blue Bayou or Café Orleans (both located in New Orleans Square) and know you will be paying high dollars for your meal then wait for tomorrow’s blog of Save Money on Beverages. For the rest of us follow the five ways to save money on food.

1) Eat a big breakfast. Try the Denney’s on Harbor Blvd or even the McDonalds which is also located on Harbor Blvd. Make sure you load up on the carbohydrates such as bread, pancakes. These foods will keep you kids full since they take longer for their bodies to break down the food.

2) Take snacks in the park. Hide snacks such as breakfast bars or those pocket fruit snacks in your kid’s pockets or the bottom of your wife’s purse. Disneyland will not let you take food in the park. But what they don’t know will not hurt them. Give the snacks to your kids around 10:45.

3) Skip your traditional noon lunch and buy McDonalds French fries. Why eat a lunch that will cost you over $55 in the park when you will be eating diner in three hours time? There are two spots to buy McDonalds French fries in Disneyland, one is in Adventure Land near the entrance to the steamboat and the other is between New Orleans Square and Critter Country (the Haunted Mansion exit). WARNING: Please do not give your young kids a full fries side, have them split the $3.50 side because let’s face it, fries are not really good for you.

4) Go Euro. Eat dinner between 4pm and 5pm (16:00 and 17:00 hours) in Downtown Disney. Eat at either the Jazz Kitchen but do not dine in, eat at the eastern end of the restaurant or eat at Tortilla Jo’s. Do not dine in at Tortilla Jo’s, buy some bean and cheese burritos outside. This will be a healthier meal since the beans, cheese and tortillas are a good source of protein when eaten together.

5) And my final advice on saving money at Disneyland is DO NOT BUY FOOD IN THE PARK. My wife and I have probably eaten at every place in Disneyland except Club 33 and let me tell you that the food is not worth the money you dish out. The Blue Bayou and Café Orleans are different stories but we are not eating there today. Today we are saving money.

Have fun and remember to eat a big breakfast.

I was shocked when I saw my credit card’s APR at 13.99%. I opened my credit card statement yesterday and noticed that the APR was way off my original 4.99%. I don’t even know how long the 13.99% has applied to my card since I seldom use this card. The credit card I am speaking is my Visa which happens to have the highest available line of credit. This card is also issued to only me and not jointly with my wife as is my other Visa.

So as you guessed I called my credit card company this morning I told them if they could lower my interest rate since “I am an outstanding customer who has never been late on a payment.” The card representative said she could only lower my APR to 10.99%. I then told her politely to cancel my card. All of a sudden I had a supervisor on the phone thanking me for my loyalty and then lowed my APR to 6.99%. Not a bad APR in these credit crunch times. I did not try to go any lower since once again I seldom use this card.

If you do not have outstanding credit as I do find other means of leverage to lower your APR. You might want to let them know that you have been on time for the past four months (if applicable). Or tell them you are restructuring your finances and are trying to get rid of your other credit cards (this does not have to be true) and wish to carry only one card with a reasonable APR. Remember, some financing charges can be as high as $55 a month and that’s just hard for me to swallow. It would take you years to get rid of a balance at such a high APR. Be smart by getting a low APR on your credit cards.