Comments on: Daily Links: Chocolate Chip Cookies Edition

By: allen

allen — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 16:21:39 +0000

Although i find it VERY silly to place something like 28% as a limit as well (100% determined by where you are living of course, and how much a higher/lower cost of rent/mortage would cost/save you in gas/time, &c), i think it is still useful as a tool to get people THINKING about how much are they putting aside?

Besides, let me tell you, living AT that percentage is really hard, anyways!

By: Artdogs

Artdogs — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 22:27:32 +0000

I’ve also rented cars with a debit card. I think the last time was from Hertz. They checked my credit score first, though. Weird.

By: Clever Dude

Clever Dude — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:42:13 +0000

Chocolate chip cookies are my favorite food, especially when with milk. I’ll have to try the recipe out (i.e. hand it to my wife to make for me).

By: mapgirl

mapgirl — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:46:24 +0000

Orangette is fab. She writes for Bon Appetit now while still maintaining her blog. You and Kris should read about how she met her husband through her blog. It’s a great love story.

By: cmadler

cmadler — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:26:01 +0000

“This Garden Is Illegal” seems interesting, but they don’t seem to offer a full RSS feed; I don’t bother with partial feeds. To me, that defeats the purpose of syndication.

By: Lauren

Lauren — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 04:04:20 +0000

Speaking as someone who has never had a credit card and buys everything with cash (including my car) it is a huge pain to try to buy a house. I had three banks and a mortgage broker say they could do nothing for me in the initial interview once I laid out that for all intents and purposes I had no credit score. Even when I had on hand documentation on five different accounts (insurance, phone, rent, power, and cable) that I had paid on time for five years. They all told me to go get a credit card and come back in a year.

Fortunately for me I found a two that were willing to quote me anything so I could do some comparison shopping. It seemed counter intuitive to me. I live within my means, save my money, pay all my bills on time and never needed to borrow money, all of which I can prove on paper. But according to the view of the money guys that makes me a “credit risk”. I’m beginning to think the whole financial sector are nothing but pushers.

By: Susy

Susy — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 03:57:30 +0000

OOO, I love “This Garden Is Illegal” as well! Tell your wife to check out “101 cookbooks” and “Use Real Butter” - fantastic.

By: Will Wright

Will Wright — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 02:54:35 +0000

I remember trying to rent a car with a debit card, and the company had a policy that allowed it, apparently the place I went to pick the car up wasn’t informed. They wouldn’t release the car unless I used a credit card. Irksome to say the least.

Lesson learned: If you are going to do this either take a copy of the policy with you, or call ahead to make sure that the particular place you are dealing with honors that policy. Maybe both.

By: cv

cv — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 02:52:36 +0000

I wonder if a combined housing plus transportation expenses would be a better rule of thumb. Many people in urban areas pay a lot for housing but don’t own cars, which are money black holes. I think 28% is probably a decent guideline for a standalone house in the suburbs, but it doesn’t really work for urbanites.

By: Amy

Amy — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 02:50:48 +0000

I regularly rent cars for business without a credit card. I use my business debit card and have had no problems renting. I use Enterprise and Budget and they do put a hold on a certain amount ($100 - $300) depending on the location and company. I usually see the hold released or refunded within a few days. I’m keep a close eye on my money and budget for this like anything else.

I’ve lived without a credit card for over three years and travel regularly with a debit card. No problem!

By: Adam

Adam — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 02:17:58 +0000

Keep in mind it is 28% GROSS income, not net.

By: J.D.

J.D. — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 02:12:54 +0000

Yeah, it seems a little silly to draw such a certain line in the sand, but the article mentions that this is the average number that years have lending has demonstrated as the point beyond which trouble is more likely to occur. The article also says that cutting back in other areas can allow people to spend more on housing.

By: leigh

leigh — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 02:01:37 +0000

oh geez. living beyond your means at more than 28% income for housing? i couldn’t get a tiny place in GSW central for that. sorry, we lived with a dozen gunshots a night, car alarms, bank alarms, police sirens, etc on the EDGE of GSW central. the stress of that makes 40% (of take-home) for rent in a safe neighborhood worth every penny.

i make ends meet just fine for the most part, and this is all a PART of our long term financial plan.