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[quote=”pebo1″]Our immigration lawyer just filed our docs also and explained we do not have to leave CR when our 90 days expire as we are in the process train.
Some conflicting views for sure again.[/quote]
Make sure that you carry your Expediente document with you at all times until you get your Cedula.
[quote=”davidd”]Never EVER
pay anything here in costa rica with debit card
only credit card from the U.S. or cash
once something happens the premise falls on you to fix it which can takes alot of time.
once i had an atm NOT spit out $100 cash but the receipt stated I got the money
the hassle to get that $$ back was NOT worth the trouble
[/quote]
I’ve never had an ATM short me but if it ever occurred I would still have more faith in the ATM than I would in paying for anything with either a credit or debit card in Costa Rica.
I reserve my credit card for paying for necessities online that I don’t have the cash for.
[quote=”DavidCMurray”]Now wait a minute, Les! If sprite is going to unload all her dollars, I want in on the action. I don’t care if she doesn’t think they have value. Somebody will and I want to be there when they do.
Sheesh! Don’t hog it all!
[/quote]I’m not greedy, just practical.
The illogical logic that Sprite posts here leads me to believe that the comments are argument for the sake of conversation.
If Sprite really believed what she has posted here I would see her cash come my way. I don’t really think that will happen.
Anyone who began dealing with their finances after 1972 has never dealt with anything but fiat currency. Here we are 40 years down the road and the dollar continues to have value albeit somewhat devalued by inflation.
[quote=”barbara ann”]We use a debit card for our gas. Twice we caught the people at the station overcharging and got lucky. the usual station we stop at going out of Jaco is under maintenance so we had to stop at LA PUESTA DEL SOL…
We were very careful to check our receipt and the signed copy.. we checked our account today and they double charged us for the gasoline plus and additional charge for a second transaction. Two charges for 60+ and another for 40+ on the same day and time. which is impossible.
I dont know what we can do except to warn people not to use their debit card at that station and check at all stations to be sure you are being treated honestly. It is a shame.:([/quote]
I do not understand why on earth anyone would pay for anything with a debit card.
Our bank is in the U.S. and we withdraw cash in colons at the local banks to pay for everything in Costa Rica. I never occurred to me to use a debit card to pay for our needs even in the U.S.
You leave yourself open to fraud just as you have experienced. Once they have your debit card number they have free access to your bank account.
[quote=”sprite”]There is no question here as to what Morisi is. Anyone who claims extraordinary powers under ANY circumstances is a megalomaniac by definition. Any cItizens who sit by and let this happen out of fear of foreign armies or terrorism deserve what always follows: permanent loss of any republic they may have had and loss of freedoms.
This has already happened in the US last century. If your freedoms can be removed or so easily taken away, you never really had them to begin with did you?[/quote]
Cut to the chase. What freedoms do you think you have?
Being an anarchist does not give you any more freedom than anyone else.
[quote=”sprite”]The debt is not real if the money in which it is expressed is not real, and we are not dealing with real money here. This is pure logic and is factual, Wagonner. In addition to this ridiculous situation, we have the following:
The Fed creates this unreal, fiat currency (the principal) out of thin air and loans it at interest. But the Fed never creates the currency with which to pay the interest of the loan. So we have debt with no way to pay it all off built into this stupid, fraudulent system of fake money. The debt is a fraud employed on an ignorant population in order to control that population.[/quote]
The money created by any central bank is real as long as everyone has faith that it can be used. Has anyone refused to take your dollars as payment for anything?
If you do not believe that it is real try paying for your groceries, your home loan or anything else that you need with gold or any other commodity that you value. Whether it is in the form of raw bullion or coin you will find that those whom you pay may have a different idea of its value than you do.
Your argument is fallacious. As long as others accept your dollar at its face value it has value.
Do you think that Costa Rica, or any other nation, has enough of any resource to cover the value of the currency that it has in circulation?
Since you don’t believe in the value of dollars and you see them as worthless, send me your dollars. Your refusal to do so will prove the fallacy of your argument. 😆
[quote=”watchdog”][quote=”waggoner41″]Is it possible that no one is satisfied with the type of government under which they live?[/quote] A Benevolent Dictatorship would probably work the best, if you could find the right Dictator. No red tape, small government, and probably low taxes.[/quote]
I agree wholeheartedly.
Watch Morsey in Egypt. I am unsure whether he is the benevolent dictator or just another power hungry megalomaniac.[quote=”davidd”]Waggoner
so in other words and correct me if I am wrong
the DEBT is NOT real??? its all make believe
so what does it matter if the fed keeps printing trillions of dollars more since its only monopoly money.
and what does this do to the purchasing power of the dollar world wide or internally??
nothing???
it’s such a con game it would be funny if it was not true.
fractional banking, leveraged debt, unlawful preemptive wars , these are the true weapons of mass destruction.[/quote]
You aren’t looking at this from a logical point of view. Debt is very real. If you don’t believe it try renigging on a loan. You will find yourself on the short end of the stick.
The value of any commodity is the faith that it has value. It is no different with fiat currency.
If you go overboard and print too much you risk holders losing faith that it can be redeemed for value. That is when you face real devaluation.
Like I said, the purpose of a central bank is to provide elasticity to the money supply. Any central bank can create and destroy money in order to keep the economy functioning.
The failure of the Federal Rerserve to provide this elasticity deepened the Great Depression.
Bernanke is doing exactly what the Federal Reserve is legislated to do.
[quote=”ddspell12″] They felt like they were misled by many people and or organizations. I have a very good retirement and was planning on settling in The Grecia area also.
Although it not affect my plans it does throw re flags up about the information you receive.
[/quote]Sounds to me like they misled themselves. If you are not experiencing inflation in the U.S. DO NOT COME to Costa Rica. I guess we don’t talk much about inflation because it’s all relative.
Since somewhere around 2009-2010 the value of the dollar to the colon has dropped from 596 to 492. That’s a decrease of about 21%. You can look to congress to find the fault for that.
On top of that we have the same inflation going on here as there is in the States.
My property taxes have increased by more than 100% over the past five years.
We moved here because we love the country and the people not because we thought we could pinch a colon.
[quote=”jmi82060″]If this does not seem to be too personal of a question for you, I would like to know how some of you spend your time in your daily lives. What gives you meaning to your lives? I was wondering how a retired expat fills his/her time if not working or managing a job. Thanks.[/quote]
I have researched economics and economic history for years and now I spend about half of my time writing articles on economics and the economy.
The rest of the time I spend repairing things or teaching the kids in the house what I know about a variety of subjects.
[quote=”johnnyh”]I think not Waggoner. When the Dollar hits the fan, or at least devalued as it is being done as I type this through Benny Shalom Bernankes’ money printing, you will see gold going up dramatically. The only reason you don’t see those inflationary high prices on gold is because the banksters and the yol kedoyols are suppressing the price. Ditto for silver.
No way that I’m going to trust monopoly money, and as fast as I get it I convert it to silver eagles or junk silver.
It’s funny how they call it junk silver, but when you put a token coin which is worthless next to a shinny silver quarter or dime or a gorgeous 50 cent Kennedy halve Dollar, or better yet a beautiful silver Eagle you can instantly see the difference.[/quote]Understanding the function of a central bank helps quite a bit.
One of the primary functions of a central bank is to provide flexibility to the monetary supply. Thus a central bank has the ability to create money as needed and destroy it as it is no longer needed. The cash created by QE1 and QE2 totalled only $1.6 trillion in spite of what the idiots have been saying and has been, for the most part, destroyed again. The Federal Reserve is the central bank of the United States and has acted accordingly.
If you have been keeping up with the news the central bank of the EU is doing exactly as the Federal Reserve did with QE1 and QE2. It is creating money to lend to Greece, Spain, Italy, etc.
If you started handling your finances after 1973 the only money you have ever dealt with is “monopoly money”.
Since the dollar was removed from the gold standard cash has only been a concept. A dollar has no value above the paper and ink needed to print it other than your trust that it has a value of a dollar.
The idea that the Federal Reserve is responsible for devaluing the dollar is a fantasy. If you want to see the real culprits look to those you elect to congress.
[quote=”sprite”]I am not sure if you are joking or serious BUT, just in case;
how many dollars did you need to buy an ounce gold in 1973?
How many dollars DO you need to buy an ounce of gold today?[/quote]
As I (mis)noted in my post, before the dollar was removed from the gold standard you could buy an ounce of gold for $35.00.
As of November 27th you could buy an ounce of gold for $1,742.18 on.
If gold was the great hedge against inflation that the sellers claim it is gold would be selling for $6,147.75 thus equaling the difference in inflation between the two dates.
A better investment would be in peanut butter which would at least go up in price as inflation increases allowing you to sell it at the inflated price. 😆
[quote=”maravilla”]two years ago they were doing the same thing — re-assessing values all over the country but not in my district. just because it happens elsewhere doesn’t mean it happens where i live. i’m going to the muni tomorrow to find out if there have been increases. they are always so helpful there, so i will see what they tell me. i looked at the website and for the life of my couldn’t figure out how you would calculate anything!!![/quote]
I think you are right.
Your taxes seem to depend on what the canton and/or municipalidad are doing. My taxes have increased every year with the municipalidad adding a new tax for parks and public improvement this year.
[quote=”DavidCMurray”]The safest approach, therefore, is to have your documents submitted to Immigration as early as possible and to leave the country before the end of your current tourist visa if only long enough to get a new one.
It’s also important to know that Immigration is beginning to crack down on “perpetual tourists” who leave and re-enter time after time just to get a new 90-day visa. Some of them, those who cannot show that letter from Immigration that says their residency application is in process, are being given tourist visas of as few as five days.
Immigration is going to do what Immigration is going to do. There is no practical avenue of appeal from their decisions, so the safest approach is to play it conservatively.[/quote]
Immigration accepted my documents in August 2008 and I didn’t get approved until May 2010.
In dealing with the office of Controloria (ombudsman) I found that Migracion (at the time) did not require me to leave Costa Rica once I had my Expediente in hand. COSEVI did require that I obtain a Costa Rican drivers license within the 90 days. With my Expediente and drivers license on my person at all times I was no longer needed to leave Costa Rica.
This may not be true anymore. Migracion seems to change:shock: the requirements about every ten days.
Best bet is to seek out the advice of the persons in the Office de Controloria at Migracion. They can give you the latest information.
