Payments by credit cards/Carlos Pueblo

 

Payments by credit cards/Carlos Pueblo

Recent unexpected activities of the house make several payments by credit cards. The plumber requires half of the payment in the front and the second half when the job is done. The credit card payment is very convenient for me to make such arrangement. The plumber gets his money in time, the bank makes a quick loan advanced and I pay the bank immediately. There are at least three transactions with some fee involved.

Amy makes her grocery shopping with the credit card payment and seldom uses cash. She has her own office to make all payments. We still use some traditional checks and internet banking to make payments. It is much safer than the traditional cash payments.

I also am used to get a short term cash loan from the credit card. The card bank offers 0% interest loan for a year or less with a 3% fee. I take advantage of such loan as my cash flow for different purposes. Early this year, I made two credit card loans for about $37,000 with 3% fee with a term of a year. I make a house loan to Michelle for 10 years with an interest to help her to purchase a rental house. I make payments every month for a year and rearrange funds to pay off the loans before the 0% interest term ends.

People know that you can make a new car purchase with the credit card. The dealer will allow you to pay up to a limit because of the fee involved. It is not wise to make the installment for the credit card debt because that the interest is too high. Even if I have a 0% interest loan from the credit card, it is still not a good deal because I pay the fee 3% up to the front and usually I pay the loan off much earlier than the term ends. The 3% fee is not an annual term actually if you calculate it. The bank is much smarter than us every way.

 

使用信用卡/莊峻華

 

使用信用卡/莊峻華

使用信用卡，已經是習慣，因此不常使用現金，避免丟錢煩惱，而且銀行有書面月報，提供年度支出參考，非常方便。我看信用卡之使用，漸漸取代支票，一起取代現金，有一項中國人常使用之手機付錢方式，在美國則是少見，美國是有現金卡，就是在銀行帳戶扣錢，我不曾使用過。

上次修理水管，是意外支出，修理師傅先要一半費用，完工後再交一半，我就信用卡支付，非常迅速方便，隨後，我在銀行帳戶轉帳，支付信用卡，幾日內，師傅拿到錢，信用卡也領到我的錢，師傅公司有收入，信用卡銀行也收到短期貸款金，我也解決一項大困難，促進社會繁榮。

愛美買菜，也用信用卡，每個月隨時在銀行帳戶，支付各項支出，所以她也有一書房，和元兒共用，元兒在我樓上書房，也睡沙發，我在書房電腦，支付信用卡債，目前我只剩一筆，明年三月到期之信用卡債，年初我交百分之三手續費給信用卡，借錢來貸款給琳兒購屋出租，我有把握一年還清，這就是我的變錢，無中生有，我算過如此借貸信用卡，對我有利，銀行也喜歡我這種有信用者。

使用信用卡，比較使用現金安全，店家瞬時可以獲知有無領錢，買賣得以成交，節省許多時間和麻煩，我的生活中，漸漸不聞家庭倒閉新聞，美國聰明，建立一信用制度，銀行可以有效運用，繁榮業務，現在連保險公司，都開始接受信用卡交費。

Applying for help after the broken pipe/Carlos Pueblo

 

Applying for help after the broken pipe/Carlos Pueblo

The sudden discharge of water from the busted pipe made me uneasy for the monthly water bill. Finally, we receive the monthly bill which is covered those two day’s leak. It is about two hundred dollars more than the previous billing and I am informed that the city will reimburse me half of that amount. I am on my procedure to apply for such help.

I call the water work number on the billing statement. The office is closed. Again I try and it is an hour’s waiting to listen to a repeated telephone recording and the phone is cut off exactly at the end of an hour waiting. I am very stubborn and believe that there are many customers are ahead of me therefore I try again and fail to reach a live operator. It is such a frustrating. Amy hands me a form from the city website for the application. That is it and I don’t really need to ask for the information on the phone. I instantly fill the form and with all paper work attached to mail it to the city. Amy pays the bill via the internet payment. We hope to get a hundred dollars refund from the city within 90 days according to the form.

I have a feeling that the city is getting rid of the telephone service for the customer except for a general 311 and 911. 911 for the public safety while 311 is for the issue other than the public safety. I sense the change recently due to some needs for both. I understand that such change can save some money and still solve the issue efficiently. It is alright for me to spend so much time to know it because that I have plenty of time available to use.

As an insurance agent, I find out now that I have spent very much of my time to explain the policy. What is covered and what is not and the customer can’t remember that much. Now, the insurance company wants the agent to concentrate in selling and let the service do by the toll free number which makes more sense. It cut the expanse and lower the operation cost.

The city takes note of our request from 311 and passes it to the proper unit to make the service. That is it and there is no need to employ so many workers for such simple task. I believe that is an efficient city management.

水費善後/莊峻華

 

水費善後/莊峻華

這個月，我有一水管破裂，大量漏水問題，終於水費到來，漏水約一萬三千加侖，多了兩百餘美元，我原來就準備上訴市政府，申請補助，修理師傅告知，檢附收據，約可得補助一半，就是一百餘元，於是我就按照電話，打給市府，市府轉給自來水辦公室，我聽完三次錄音帶，均被切斷電話，到樓上上網，又無法輸入使用人祕碼帳號，真是氣餒，愛美聞訊，在市府網頁，找到一申請表，我填妥加上收據相片，準備元兒簽字後寄出，九十日內有答案。

現在之市政府，沒有職員接電話，一切都是按電話錄音排隊，我深覺有趣，市府有一總機，三一一接案，立案後就有專人處理，等不及可以再打電話催促，無需解釋，像這次申請漏水費補助，有一定表格，填上幾處空白，就甚清楚，再來就是收據相片，師傅在車上，都已轉寄給我，銀貨兩迄，我也付清信用卡，非常迅速，市府前來關水和開水，都在三天內，水也未漏甚多。

現在之政府，尤其地方政府，都需要有效管理，減少不必要之支出，如此，減少行政成本，我原來不清楚一月水費多少，現在看到水費，始知愛美控制甚佳，我聽幾小時電話錄音，始知庭院所種植之，聖奧古斯汀草皮，是一種節水草皮，市府所推薦，平常我兩週割一次草皮，讓草皮充份成長，樹蔭下草皮可以減少水汽揮發，不易枯黃，省水之道也，而且我收集雨水，回收逆滲透淨水器排水，沖洗抽水馬桶，是不方便，但也有環保作用，已成習慣。

The unexpected family expenditure/Carlos Pueblo

 

The unexpected family expenditure/Carlos Pueblo

Recently, I have encountered an unexpected family expenditure such as a busted pipe and a long time plumbing issue. I am lucky because that I have made some preparation to withdraw money from my 401k retirement fund to pay off two credit cards debt, otherwise I will be stretched. Later on, I summarize this kind of expense this such as sharing the back yard fence, cutting down a rodded tree, the co-payment of Arthur’s cataract procedure, etc. I am really not a rich person as I have thought myself.

Living in a single dwelling house is a dream comes true. I don’t have a mortgage and all what I am required is to pay the annual real estate tax for the house, to pay monthly due for the electricity, water, phones, internet fee, and food cost, etc. They are all under my calculation except the unexpected expenditure. I have some regular saving for the federal income tax payment and my Medicare plan B is deducted from my social security payment and I think that I am in good shape.

I feel the pain especially when the fall back of the stock market. My retirement portfolio is down a bit from the summer high. I am very fortunate that I don’t have luxury living and I manage my cost to the minimum. Due to the pandemic, I don’t go to the cruise this year and I feel alright. What the unexpected family expenditure is really covered by the saving of the cost of the cruise trip.

家庭支出/莊峻華

 

家庭支出/莊峻華

自中國之武漢肺炎肆虐以來，我停止所有旅行，以為省下一些錢，結果水管破裂，漏了三天水，修理兩處水管問題，花上四千美元，甚為心疼，幸好我今年多領一些退休金，準備償還兩筆信用卡債，不然就捉襟見肘，愛美幫我算一下，今年雖然平靜無事，我們確實也有一些意外之支出，像是鄰居要我們均攤籬笆，一千美元，老樹幹腐朽落地，砍掉全株七百美元，庭院填木㞕四百美元，幫元兒付白內障手術自備款一千元等等，這些都是平常生活費，年度固定地方稅，和聯邦所得稅等之外，家庭支出。

如果身體健康，無不良嗜好，家庭支出是有限，難不倒我，就是加上這些意外支出，也不是問題，只不過是不習慣而已。我僅需使用社會安全年金，就可以應付每月支出，稅金全靠退休金給付，我們沒有房屋貸款，房屋不到老朽，不加修葺，我們鮮少餐館用餐，口饞我就等特價時，買兩塊牛排回家，愛美膽固醇高，不食牛排。

我現在始憶得，我曾專文描述我之節儉生活，實在無需重復，節約儲蓄是我之生活習慣，我不受外界觀念所影響，最奢侈之享受，就是郵輪旅行，現在郵輪停業，我更可省下旅行支出。

Daily exercises can help our old body/Carlos Pueblo

 

Daily exercises can help our old body/Carlos Pueblo

The other day, I went up to Austin to visit Michelle and skipped two days tennis. I made two adjustments to make up the exercises. After a week, the rest of our group tells me that it is too much for them to play in a week. I understand and also feel very good because that my daily exercises really help my old body; therefore, I recommend them to invest more of their time into exercises regularly.

After the Wuhan corona virus lock down, I have increased my morning walk distance and applied a key to the swimming pool and the tennis court of our subdivision in order to add the swimming and tennis to my daily exercises. I have accumulated 4-5 hours exercises daily.  I do take a long nap in between making sure that my old body can take such heavy task. Hands and feet are covered with tan.

I walk slowly for about 5 miles a day from 5:30 am to 8:30 am or a little bit later if I have pet dogs as walking company. It is not boring at all because that some dogs are already get up and remind me that they have noticed my passing by. If it is a tennis morning, I cut short of my walk and swimming distance in order to make it through continually. I therefore consider myself in better shape than my tennis partners.

There are three neighbors approaching me for joining us in tennis. I welcome them and advise them if they can inform me a day earlier, I can release one of our players a day for rest. My old captain and an old tennis body come to play with us after six months and they do have a good time. They are 80 and 75 years old.

I am very touched when my fellow morning walker approaching me for inviting an old neighbor to join our tennis play. She says that this gentleman has lost his old tennis bodies in the subdivision due to the departure. He likes to play tennis again. Of course, I welcome him and I shall leave my phone number in his mail box for him to call on me.