And so the COVID-19 job losses and evictions begin

[NorCalR1]

1 hour ago, IndyPoolPlayer said:

Still have a lot of overseas buyers in your market?

Give that man a cigar. Yes, that is a major contributing factor.

 

 

[TheVig]

Local news just reported that 1 in 4 Charlotte renters didn't pay their rent April 1st.

[smartlypretty]

53 minutes ago, TheVig said:

Local news just reported that 1 in 4 Charlotte renters didn't pay their rent April 1st.

Forgive me if this is in response to the broader national stat but I was going to say I'd read similar nationally. I went to fetch a citation and saw this: 

 

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/09/business/americans-rent-payment-trnd/index.html

[cv91915]

Someone I know recently lost her job, which is heavily dependent on tourism.

 

Just last night TAD and I decided to help her remove a financial obstacle to transitioning into another/former line of work that would be more secure long-term (she recently expressed an interest, but can't afford to reinstate  a professional license that's required).

 

This morning she posted on FB that she missed how her old iPhone synced with her iPad so she traded in her Samsung for a new iPhone 11.

 

If we end up getting better phones than she has before this is over, we may still help.

 

 

Edited April 10, 2020 by cv91915

[StarkRaven$]

49 minutes ago, cv91915 said:

Someone I know recently lost her job, which is heavily dependent on tourism.

 

Just last night TAD and I decided to help her remove a financial obstacle to transitioning into another/former line of work that would be more secure long-term (she recently expressed an interest, but can't afford to reinstate  a professional license that's required).

 

This morning she posted on FB that she missed how her old iPhone synced with her iPad so she traded in her Samsung for a new iPhone 11.

 

If we end up getting better phones than she has before this is over, we may still help.

 

 

We adopted two older siblings in 2000. They have an older sibling who was adopted by another family. The older sibling has three little children. He is constantly asking for money for rent, etc. Yet he has an iPhone. On FB his significant other and the stay at home mom posted about her lavish experience at a Float Spa.

 

Go figure.

[cv91915]

51 minutes ago, creditmaze said:

We adopted two older siblings in 2000. They have an older sibling who was adopted by another family. The older sibling has three little children. He is constantly asking for money for rent, etc. Yet he has an iPhone. On FB his significant other and the stay at home mom posted about her lavish experience at a Float Spa.

 

Go figure.

Well, at least it was our idea, and she was unaware of our intentions.  She didn't ask.  😛  

[StarkRaven$]

43 minutes ago, cv91915 said:

Well, at least it was our idea, and she was unaware of our intentions.  She didn't ask.  😛  

That I understand. I realize her situation is far different than the one I mentioned. It does somewhat relates to priorities...expensive iPhones.

 

There is much truth in sucking it up when falling on hard times and eliminating expensive habits. 

 

 

[IndyPoolPlayer]

13 hours ago, TheVig said:

Local news just reported that 1 in 4 Charlotte renters didn't pay their rent April 1st.

Seems to be doing better than the national trend, huh?

13 hours ago, smartlypretty said:

Forgive me if this is in response to the broader national stat but I was going to say I'd read similar nationally. I went to fetch a citation and saw this: 

 

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/09/business/americans-rent-payment-trnd/index.html

I posted something similar from MarketWatch stating 1/3rd of all renters didn't pay rent when it was due for April.

[smartlypretty]

7 hours ago, creditmaze said:

That I understand. I realize her situation is far different than the one I mentioned. It does somewhat relates to priorities...expensive iPhones.

 

There is much truth in sucking it up when falling on hard times and eliminating expensive habits. 

 

 

I agree a lot of people are unwilling or at best ignorant on how they can cut back. I really thought my budget was lean - just essentials, food, and cc payments on that one debt I mentioned. 

 

When I looked closer I cut a LOT of money from places I didn't know I could, and I wish I could help people figure it out some easy way, if it's possible. Admittedly a lot of it was stuff people might already do.

 

I thought I had the cheapest cable plan with home internet for work. But I talked to them for 3 hours, and knocked my bill down from $260 to $110. 

 

My cell carrier forgot to cancel my husband's line, which I asked for in secure chat, so it was right there. A rep offered me a $50 credit for the error which was more like $800. They actually gave me $900 so I don't have a cell bill til September. Stuff like that. I did, on the same call, upgrade to a new phone, but they really only work for 2 years, it's an annoying cycle.

 

They start draining battery so as to be unusable, and offload apps, and you can't use apps. And if I DO leave the house, I need work apps. So I eat the dumb cost of smartphones. 

8 hours ago, creditmaze said:

We adopted two older siblings in 2000. They have an older sibling who was adopted by another family. The older sibling has three little children. He is constantly asking for money for rent, etc. Yet he has an iPhone. On FB his significant other and the stay at home mom posted about her lavish experience at a Float Spa.

 

Go figure.

Not excusing it but IDK if you know what a float spa is (probably) and I went to one once, because I meditate, and I've heard it's like amazing for meditating (it may be, but not for the type of meditating I do, I found out).

 

It was like $25 here in the NYC burbs for a Groupon, and most of the float spas are on Groupon. This person may have had it for a long time and decided it would be now free to use, and also is stunting out of embarrassment on FB. People use FB to reinforce things like "I may seem poor but I still went to a spa" when it's not really a spa and it's not an out of pocket cost.

 

Conversely, the same person may have spent full price and bought it that day, but they may be privately airing their financial troubles to family/friends and just stuntin on the gram fwiw. 

[cv91915]

2 hours ago, smartlypretty said:

I did, on the same call, upgrade to a new phone, but they really only work for 2 years, it's an annoying cycle.

How did you upgrade a phone that didn't work while on a call?

 

45 days ago I was still carrying a 6S Plus (circa 2015).  

 

It's a work-issued device, and the only mobile phone I have.  If it was a personal device I probably would have used it at least until Apple stops providing software updates sometime in 2021.  Even then, it wouldn't spontaneously self destruct.

 

My spouse is on his second iPhone, also a 6S Plus, which replaced an iPhone 4 (from 2011).

 

 

Edited April 10, 2020 by cv91915

[centex]

43 minutes ago, cv91915 said:

45 days ago I was still carrying a 6S Plus (circa 2015).  

 

It's a work-issued device, and the only mobile phone I have.  If it was a personal device I probably would have used it at least until Apple stops providing software updates sometime in 2021.  Even then, it won't spontaneously self destruct.

 

My spouse is on his second iPhone, also a 6S Plus, which replaced an iPhone 4 (from 2011).

Blackberry for the win  

 

I did switch to the Priv somewhere in 2016, but the Q10 it replaced still fires up and handles phone and email functions just fine.  Screw a bunch of useless apps...

 

Phones absolutely function for far more than two years...I will never get the demographic that insists on a new one ever six months or so.  But then again, many of them are the same ones that will perpetually be locked on a contract.  And the ones who the four-box forms were designed for at the car dealerships...

[smartlypretty]

49 minutes ago, cv91915 said:

How did you upgrade a phone that didn't work while on a call?

 

45 days ago I was still carrying a 6S Plus (circa 2015).  

 

It's a work-issued device, and the only mobile phone I have.  If it was a personal device I probably would have used it at least until Apple stops providing software updates sometime in 2021.  Even then, it wouldn't spontaneously self destruct.

 

My spouse is on his second iPhone, also a 6S Plus, which replaced an iPhone 4 (from 2011).

 

 

I was lying I made the whole thing up.

 

No actually it just doesn't run work apps - Slack, etc - and doesn't hold charge long out of the house. It's fine if you can be on a charger all day, but in my line of work, I need connectivity with apps if I have to leave my desk. 

[smartlypretty]

43 minutes ago, centex said:

Blackberry for the win  

 

I did switch to the Priv somewhere in 2016, but the Q10 it replaced still fires up and handles phone and email functions just fine.  Screw a bunch of useless apps...

 

Phones absolutely function for far more than two years...I will never get the demographic that insists on a new one ever six months or so.  But then again, many of them are the same ones that will perpetually be locked on a contract.  And the ones who the four-box forms were designed for at the car dealerships...

iPhones, as I said, do not function on apps and for specific tasks after two years. When you upgrade, it's when it starts degrading.

 

Guess what, there are every other year necessity upgraders who don't get the newest. You get the next one up from what you had, and it's not new. This is not a binary between smart people with dumbphones and clout chasing Instagram fiends.

 

My entire technology ecosystem is Apple-based, not because hur dur I like selfies, but because I need video and editing ability on Mac software on my iMac, which integrates with my phone and iPad, all of which I use for various personal but mainly work-related things. 

 

In mid 2014 I tried to integrate an android, but it didn't work out well and I had to go back to iPhone. 

 

A cohesive setup is necessary in my line of work, and just downgrading to a Blackberry is incompatible with my line of work. Again, this is not a binary. When iPhones begin degrading at 2 years, I usually upgrade with whatever is cheapest for me and whoever needs the upgrade first - my kid or me. 

 

I can't integrate a blackberry for this stuff. I need to run Slack, I need access to very specific apps and functions. I am on call 24/7. I have had to stop and work on Christmas Eve on a MacBook at a relative's house. It is just part of my work expense cluster and costs of being a remote worker.

 

It's cool your job gives you a phone that serves all your needs! My company is small and we can't afford it yet. Best we could do is until recently write off some of it, but that stopped.

 

So I can't just have a partly working phone. My last phone stopped sending on Slack, and that was when I needed to replace it. 

 

The phone I got was an iPhone 11, and this is March, is that sufficiently financially responsible for you? I eagerly await more boomer input on how iPhones are only for selfies  

[cv91915]

1 hour ago, smartlypretty said:

I was lying I made the whole thing up.

 

No actually it just doesn't run work apps - Slack, etc - and doesn't hold charge long out of the house. It's fine if you can be on a charger all day, but in my line of work, I need connectivity with apps if I have to leave my desk. 

Spend your money however you like, just be honest with yourself.  If your phone doesn't hold a charge, try replacing the battery ($30?).

[NorCalR1]

57 minutes ago, smartlypretty said:

.....It's cool your job gives you a phone that serves all your needs!.....

 

 

 

In the Bay Area, this is the norm or so it seems. Everybody has 2-3 iphones. At a minimum, 1 for work and 1 personal, sometimes 2 personal. Pretty outrageous. Many companies stopped allowing new signups to get coveted 415 area codes, and those that do never give them up, like a status symbol or something, kinda like 212 in NYC. 

 

 

[smartlypretty]

 

1 hour ago, cv91915 said:

Spend your money however you like, just be honest with yourself.  If your phone doesn't hold a charge, try replacing the battery ($30?).

iPhone battery replacements are fairly new and fairly rare - it's almost always cheaper just to take the upgrade.

 

If you refer to my lengthy exposition on the matter, my iPhone functionality is tied to my work productivity. If it's $50 more for being able to get into slack (because again, offloading apps) ... I've tried cost-cutting measures, but I just need to keep my stuff upgraded, every two years as part of work. 

 

I buy the cheapest one I can get away with, but I need a fairly functional piece of equipment that can:

• Take and store photographs for work (and personal stuff like recordkeeping);
• Take and store scans of documents;
• Provide easy access to stored documents;
• Never break down when something is critical and I need to be reached through a secure messaging app or need to reach someone the same way;
• Record interviews with sources;
• Act as a hotspot if I am working offsite

And so on and so forth. Replacing the battery may improve drain, but overall performance in my line of work isn't going to be great with like, an iPhone 5. The critical apps only work 2-3 versions back, and then stop supporting. Occasionally I have to pay for apps for these functions.

56 minutes ago, NorCalR1 said:

 

In the Bay Area, this is the norm or so it seems. Everybody has 2-3 iphones. At a minimum, 1 for work and 1 personal, sometimes 2 personal. Pretty outrageous. Many companies stopped allowing new signups to get coveted 415 area codes, and those that do never give them up, like a status symbol or something, kinda like 212 in NYC. 

 

Probably industry dependent. My industry definitely needs phones the most for the most purposes. But I've never had more than one handset. I HAVE resisted giving up my NYC area code (not 212) and will never ever downgrade to 917. Local codes make me look less local to the city

 

ETA: Like right now, I have not done much work today, because I know it's the last viable day in four days to get supplies. No delivery slots. I have to go, I have to leave my desk and I've been dragging my feet because I need to drive far and be gone awhile. 

 

During that 4-5 hour period of grocery shopping with queues to get in, disinfection etc, I will need to know if I have to run back to the car and help from something with my phone. Probably taking iPad and keyboard to be safe. 

Edited April 10, 2020 by smartlypretty

[cv91915]

52 minutes ago, smartlypretty said:

iPhone battery replacements are fairly new and fairly rare - it's almost always cheaper just to take the upgrade.

Where did you get your quotes for battery replacement?

 

iPhones beginning with the SE have replaceable batteries.    

 

Apple itself replaced 11 million iPhone batteries under a single program.  Toyota didn't sell that many cars globally in 2019.

 

 

[TheVig]

4 hours ago, IndyPoolPlayer said:

Seems to be doing better than the national trend, huh?

I posted something similar from MarketWatch stating 1/3rd of all renters didn't pay rent when it was due for April.

Seems okay. I'm more interested to see the numbers in May and June.

[smartlypretty]

51 minutes ago, cv91915 said:

Where did you get your quotes for battery replacement?

 

iPhones beginning with the SE have replaceable batteries.    

 

Apple itself replaced 11 million iPhone batteries under a single program.  Toyota didn't sell that many cars globally in 2019.

 

 

To my recall, until Apple admitted it coded in degradation of batteries, replacement was $80. It was then $30 for specific phones until late 2018, from what I remember. 

 

But like I said, battery is part of the problem - a major one, since you need to keep the phone near a charger at all times. Another is non-support of major business apps like Slack, which don't work on old iOs installations. So it's a few issues to which the solution is "don't expect to be taken seriously if you don't have working equipment." 

 

In between make it work and know it works is where the problem is. I could **** around with my phone and try to make it work, or I could just replace it every 2 or so years to a newer but not brand new model, and not have work disrupted. By the time I traded mine in in early March this year, a lot of my most used apps were becoming unsupported. That's sort of where you know you should just replace it. 

 

Again, this is use of iPhones for business, not fun. They do have entertainment value, but my primary iPhone use is for work - images, reporting, collecting and uploading data, and staying connected to the rest of the office on the other coast. 

[cv91915]

1 hour ago, smartlypretty said:

To my recall, until Apple admitted it coded in degradation of batteries, replacement was $80. It was then $30 for specific phones until late 2018, from what I remember. 

 

But like I said, battery is part of the problem - a major one, since you need to keep the phone near a charger at all times. Another is non-support of major business apps like Slack, which don't work on old iOs installations. So it's a few issues to which the solution is "don't expect to be taken seriously if you don't have working equipment." 

 

In between make it work and know it works is where the problem is. I could **** around with my phone and try to make it work, or I could just replace it every 2 or so years to a newer but not brand new model, and not have work disrupted. By the time I traded mine in in early March this year, a lot of my most used apps were becoming unsupported. That's sort of where you know you should just replace it. 

 

Again, this is use of iPhones for business, not fun. They do have entertainment value, but my primary iPhone use is for work - images, reporting, collecting and uploading data, and staying connected to the rest of the office on the other coast. 

 

1 hour ago, smartlypretty said:

Where did you get your quotes for battery replacement?

I didn't think you'd answer my question.

 

I'm moving on.  Enjoy your new fax machine.

[IndyPoolPlayer]

4 hours ago, cv91915 said:

Where did you get your quotes for battery replacement?

iPhones beginning with the SE have replaceable batteries.

I had the battery replaced about 2 years ago in my former workplace iPhone 5 after it swelled and caused the case to buckle. $40 including shipping to and from the AT&T depot for battery replacement. iPhone 5 is still functional to this day - no longer upgradable in iOS but it still ran everything I needed - Outlook, Skype4Biz, Cisco VPN client, phone calls, SMS. Only had to retire it to the filing cabinet when I changed jobs and current job is 100% Verizon+Android and I was given a new Samsung Galaxy Note 9.

[smartlypretty]

1 hour ago, IndyPoolPlayer said:

I had the battery replaced about 2 years ago in my former workplace iPhone 5 after it swelled and caused the case to buckle. $40 including shipping to and from the AT&T depot for battery replacement. iPhone 5 is still functional to this day - no longer upgradable in iOS but it still ran everything I needed - Outlook, Skype4Biz, Cisco VPN client, phone calls, SMS. Only had to retire it to the filing cabinet when I changed jobs and current job is 100% Verizon+Android and I was given a new Samsung Galaxy Note 9.

I suspect this is the case for most people in most jobs, but in a virtual workplace running resource heavy apps and having the ability to record and store long phone calls or interviews is like the sort of thing that's just one of the reasons I need it. In a pinch, I need to do actual work on it, but rarely.

 

Even still I keep them as long as they're mostly functional, but I can't work without call recording/storage, image uploading and editing, telegram, signal, slack, GoodNotes, etc. Out of the box I had to upgrade my iMac to use GoodNotes. 

 

@cv91915 battery won't help me run apps like that, your question was indicative of thinking phone = entertainment and mah jong. I can play games on my phone, but its primary purpose is for frequently updated productivity apps. 

[kaylee34]

I wouldn’t be doing a lot of that type of work from a phone. 

[smartlypretty]

4 hours ago, kaylee34 said:

I wouldn’t be doing a lot of that type of work from a phone. 

I'd be interested to hear how you'd manage not to, particularly when your boss is three time zones away, along with your CEO and your other colleagues.

 

How would you receive anonymous secure messages from sources? How would you recall and transcribe phone conversations? I personally hate the phone, and if there's a way around having to use it that way I'd love to know. My last phone ceased storing recorded interviews, which cannot be retrieved, which was incredibly disruptive.

 

Also for note taking apps, would you say hand drawing notes in pen and pencil, scanning them, and emailing them about is more productive than a shareable editable document? 

 

What about Slack? Do you think we should enlist messenger boys to go find one another on a scene to update us? Is there an alternative there? I got seven messages in the time I was out (shopping) today on collaborative projects, and I was able to respond so (colleagues') work was not delayed. What can I do to prevent that? 

 

I could save money by replacing my camera phone with a camera sufficient for these purposes, but then I'd also have to wait to get to a desktop to upload them, which is not ideal when a situation is critical. Should I go to Fotomat and then mail 8 by 10 color glossy photographs to my boss in three working days? 

 

What about secure drops? Should I just tell people who wish to remain anonymous that a phone call is sufficient? Instead of encrypted apps, should I just invest in a 24 pack of BIG sharpies?

 

(If I sound sarcastic, I don't mean to be, I am just explaining the reality of working in my vertical is these are all as business basic as MS Office or a copy machine for most people in office jobs. I am attempting to explain that sometimes people don't know what they don't know.) 

Edited April 11, 2020 by smartlypretty

[TheVig]

It's around 430am. Listening to gun shots coming from neighboring communities.

 

This has become a more frequent theme lately, at all hours of the day and night.