Look (both hands chopping in a downward motion) – I’ve recently retired and figure I have done everything right okay – never carried any debt except for an occasional credit card bill and my mortgage payment (considered good debt). Always lived well within my means – paid cash for all of my cars – sold my house for a good price and traded down to a small condo back in 2004 which I recently paid off.
A week or so ago the Federal Reserve released a statement saying that they are keeping interest rates at or near zero through at least mid – 2013. So basically what they’re saying is this is a great time to buy or re-finance a house – thanks Ben (Bernanke) but you see I don’t need a house right now, I have one that is paid off ! Keeping rates low means interest rates on credit cards will remain low – thanks again Ben but I don’t use my credit card except when I am taking a trip or in case of an emergency and I always pay the one credit card I have off every month.
YOU SEE BEN WHAT I WOULD LIKE IS SOME KIND OF RETURN ON MY MONEY FOR CHOOSING TO SAVE AND IT LOOKS LIKE I AM NOT GOING TO GET A GOOD RETURN FOR AT LEAST THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS. BEN, I DON’T WANT TO INVEST TOO MUCH OF MY SAVINGS INTO A RISKIER INVESTMENT LIKE SAY THE STOCK MARKET BECAUSE I AM RETIRED AND I AM GOING TO NEED THE MONEY SOME TIME IN THE NEAR FUTURE – I MEAN A BIRD IN THE HAND IS WORTH TWO IN THE BUSH ISN’T IT ?
So yesterday I’m opening my mail and I come to an envelope that says – Important Information About Your Property Value 2011 Reappraisal. I’ve read numerous stories on the internet about home values dropping like rocks and of course Columbus Ohio is no different right, so I open the envelope and WHAT – my condo is now worth 25% less than what it was in 2005 the last time my property was appraised.
THIS REALLY SUCKS ! Ahhhhh – they say that blogging is therapeutic and you know what I think it is, I feel so much better now ! I wonder what tomorrow will have in store for me !!
Webner House 
Haven’t you already been rewarded for your financial responsibility with a good financial situation? In other words, isn’t financial responsibility enough of a reward without the government giving you anything for it? I think that the things Bernanke is doing are meant for people who have made poor choices. I know it must be painful for someone like you to see people like that receive benefits but if they were just left to fail then it would be bad for the economy as a whole.
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Hmmm – please tell me where in my post I am asking for something from the government ? Since the age of sixteen I’ve never received an unemployment check and I am at the point in my life where I don’t plan on ever asking for an unemployment check. The point of my blog is that Bernanke is manipulating interest rates (by QE2 and possibly QE3 later this year) to keep rates low. I am all for helping a person who is down on his luck and lost a job through no fault of his own or with a medical condition who can’t pay their bills, but I disagree with you that as a country should be rewarding people who have made “poor choices”. You make a poor choice then you have to live with the consequences of a poor choice. My other point being if we paid a decent interest rate maybe people would save more in their savings accounts and not feel like they need to take risks in the stock market where they have a greater risk of losing their money altogether.
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I’m catching what you’re throwing, Ben. Living beyond my means would have made me exceedingly uncomfortable… I was a schmuck, should’ve gone shopping I guess.
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Ah so true, I am not much of a shopper though – ha ha ! I noticed that you occasionally comment on our blog and we appreciate your input. I checked out a couple of your blog posts and it looks like you and your husband run your own business. Good for you – living the American Dream – what kind of business is it ?
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Oh yeah, living the American dream, or a Hitchcock nightmare! We have an established paint contracting business as well as a 20 month old remediation/fire-water-smoke damage start up. Our first business had capital (I could have been shopping….) so we used it to fund the 2nd business when it became apparent that construction was grinding to a halt.
It seems like we work 24/7 but we’re keeping our crew going so they can pay their bills. We pay a living wage and we haven’t outsourced our work to India or China. I suppose if there is anything gratifying about our situation, it is that we contribute to the local economy and it feels good to do the right thing.
I watched Washington Week last night and heard all the blah-blah-blah re: QE3, had to give it up, because my blood pressure rises with each new proclamation. I don’t want a lot but I’d like to be able to earn better interest on my savings and I’d like to see reasonable gov’t oversight. For example, we have a lot of small ag in the area and they have to comply with fed regs enforced by our state dept. of ag which follows mandates created for corps on the little family farmer, making it impossible for him to earn a living. The farmers organized and went to the state house where they were told the state would lose its federal subsidy if it didn’t force compliance on the little guy- Huh??? We need to be more self-reliant in this country before the American dream becomes obsolete. I’m seeing a vanishing work ethic, a demand for instant gratification and a lack of common sense on all levels. Holy cow, I sound like my grandparents!
I really enjoy your blog, I like the photos and points of view and I really like the outfit Kish wore to her son’s graduation.
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Thanks for the compliment on Kish’s outfit! I will make sure she gets that positive feedback.
Hang in there. Businesses like yours are the backbone of our country and our economy.
And I second UJ’s comment. We appreciate your faithful readership and your comments, too.
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Enjoyed the post and the follow-up commentary. Dang – we were getting 5+% on certificates of deposit just a few years ago. Now nada. I was hoping for a 25% decrease in my home value for the real estate tax relief. My letter said it was down just 2% – guess that’s the penalty for living in Uppity Arlington.
As always, thanks to Webner House and all of its contributors.
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Thanks for the feedback – Webnerhouse always appreciates our readers input – boy as a recent retiree what I would give for 5% now. I am glad your property value didn’t go down much – of course it is all relative, if you aren’t selling (I am not) the lower property value is a good thing because you are paying lower property taxes. Unfortunately for the state of Ohio the lower property taxes will probably lead to more state government layoffs in 2012 – we are in a vicious downward spiral and I hope it ends soon.
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