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  1. #21
    kss's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by hobo finds View Post
    Wife a dental hygienist out of work. I work for a garbage recycling facility in the mechanics shop i am not a mechanic more like the shop ***** lol. But glad we are still working. One thing if you have credit card miles or points look into cashing them out for cash or credit on your accounts. Its free money and going to help my faimily alot. We always charged everything then paid it off at end of month. So its a good amount. After that i will roll up all my change fron the change jars. Lol

    I get back a couple thousand bucks a year from credit-card cash back. Its free money for buying stuff I would buy anyway, plus credit cards give better fraud protection. As long as you pay the balance every month you pay no interest. So that is for sure a good thing. The free government money coming soon will help. Also hopefully with unemployment for your wife from the state (and now from the fed too, with the new stimulus package), you guys will be fine until the corona has passed through



    Edit: Im not here to start anything political, or to debate the merits of how "free" the free money is lol.... just saying, itll help, for now, may not be the best thing, or maybe it is. time will tell, no need to debate on a scrap metal forum lol.
    Last edited by kss; 03-25-2020 at 07:39 PM.

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  3. #22
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    Best to put some of that FREE money in savings
    My bet it will count as taxable income when you file your 2020 taxes

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  5. #23
    kss's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JohnC4X4 View Post
    Best to put some of that FREE money in savings
    My bet it will count as taxable income when you file your 2020 taxes
    I would assume so.... But.... That's fine, they'll give you $1200 and you'll owe some percent back at tax time dependent on your marginal tax rate. So really the gov is giving you $1200-($1200*marginal tax rate)

  6. #24
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    It's likely that you'll have to pay tax on unemployment income if you're laid off.

    From what i read, the 1,200.00 $ checks are supposed to start coming in around mid-April. As John said .... put it in the bank and hold on to it for as long as you can.

    There has been some talk about more stimulus checks but it's just talk at the moment. It's nothing that you would want to plan on.


    On a separate note:

    Demand still remains heavy for groceries at our store. Our new curbside pickup service is popular. We're still getting two deliveries a week from the wholesale grocery chain that supplies us.

    One of the other wholesale suppliers has cut their stores back to one delivery per week.
    Last edited by hills; 03-27-2020 at 04:12 AM.

  7. #25
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    Yesterday i seen 8 other scrappers drive past my house. 2 are regulars in my area.... You would think shred is 250/ton.
    Last edited by greytruck; 03-31-2020 at 09:55 AM. Reason: had to add it to 8, forgot about the green dodge

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  9. #26
    kss's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by greytruck View Post
    Yesterday i seen 8 other scrappers drive past my house. 2 are regulars in my area.... You would think shred is 250/ton.
    none of the scrap yards are open in my area.... So if anyone is out, they are just hoarding for now. But with like everyone getting laid off, people are going to be desperate for money, and have a bunch of time. So competition may increase sharply. I havent been doing my normal routes because i usually go on my way to work, but am working from home now. Plus the risk of corona from touching peoples trash. I did however get bored and miss the hunt, so I went out this morning and was only taking "good" stuff. No metal chair or appliances or bbqs because I would have to just hang onto them until whenever the yards open back up. I passed up 4 grills, 2 washers, like.... 30 chairs, and a hot water heater. I need the yards to open back up so I can keep the larger stuff moving through.

    If anything, there is less people out by me, as indicated by my patented vacuum cords that are cut ratio. All the cords cut == lots of people out, some cut == some people out, none cut == no one out. Today, there was no one out.
    Last edited by kss; 03-31-2020 at 10:29 AM.

  10. #27
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    I'm feeling kinda useless these days.

    The Governor ordered all non essential businesses to shut down recently. Most folks are sheltering in place.

    There aren't many people coming in to the gas station because nobody is driving anywhere. We get a few here and there, but it's mostly just to top their tank off to full again.

    Word just came through that Maine is going into full lockdown in a couple of days. No non-essential travel whatsoever.

    Bummer.

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  12. #28
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    Its definitely a buyers market at this point
    Alvord iron and salvage
    3rd generation scrapper and dam proud of it

  13. #29
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    I haven't collected any metal or e-waste in almost 2 months now, forgot what it feels like to drive my truck. Oddly enough I had several consecutive record collections (e-waste and metal) from my regulars (profit not just weight) and work from my IT contracting + sales of items for more than scrap value about 2 weeks before this whole mess started and I decided right after that to take a break for a little while and not because I knew about an possible pandemic.

    Since on lock-down I choose to anyway (take a break) because I am at risk (asthma + diabetes but in remission diet controlled) and far more importantly so is everyone in my family health-wise. In the past week I have needed to use my inhaler twice as often as normal without doing much exercise so odds are I have it or have something but have not been able to get a test and not bad enough to go to a hospital.

    I do have one family friend whom I have not seen in person in about a year that has been tested and she does have it. She's sick but doing OK right now and is not hospitalized as of yesterday.
    Last edited by SKWrapper; 04-20-2020 at 12:36 PM.

  14. #30
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    It's scary isn't it ? My wife was having some breathing problems about a week and a half ago. Had to use her nebulizer and inhalers. I took some time off from work just so that i could stay close to home and keep an eye on her. Since then, i've spoken with others in the community and they've mentioned that they're having problems too.

    There's always that doubt running through your mind. What if it's the covid thing ?

    Rationally ... her symptoms didn't match up with Covid-19. I think between the two of us ... we decided that it was more likely asthma. Asthma is an allergic reaction to something in the air. A lot of folks suffer with spring allergies. Asthma is just a more intense reaction than runny nose & watery eyes. Don't know exactly what her trigger is, but it's more likely some kind of pollen or mold in the air.

    Anyhoo .... i picked up a couple of HEPA air purifiers at big box the day after her attack. She started feeling better about a day after we got the air purifiers going.

    Not saying it couldn't be the covid but it might be something else that's triggering your breathing problems.

    I hope we all get feeling better soon !

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  16. #31
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    Quote Originally Posted by hills View Post
    It's scary isn't it ? My wife was having some breathing problems about a week and a half ago. Had to use her nebulizer and inhalers. I took some time off from work just so that i could stay close to home and keep an eye on her. Since then, i've spoken with others in the community and they've mentioned that they're having problems too.

    There's always that doubt running through your mind. What if it's the covid thing ?

    Rationally ... her symptoms didn't match up with Covid-19. I think between the two of us ... we decided that it was more likely asthma. Asthma is an allergic reaction to something in the air. A lot of folks suffer with spring allergies. Asthma is just a more intense reaction than runny nose & watery eyes. Don't know exactly what her trigger is, but it's more likely some kind of pollen or mold in the air.

    Anyhoo .... i picked up a couple of HEPA air purifiers at big box the day after her attack. She started feeling better about a day after we got the air purifiers going.

    Not saying it couldn't be the covid but it might be something else that's triggering your breathing problems.

    I hope we all get feeling better soon !
    Tree pollen is very bad in TN right now and has been for over 2 weeks. I can hardly breath this morning. You can check what the local pollen count is.

  17. #32
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    Quote Originally Posted by hills View Post
    Rationally ... her symptoms didn't match up with Covid-19. I think between the two of us ... we decided that it was more likely asthma. Asthma is an allergic reaction to something in the air. A lot of folks suffer with spring allergies. Asthma is just a more intense reaction than runny nose & watery eyes.
    Yep, I for sure know what asthma is. It can have many triggers not just for an allergy like pollen. I have had chronic asthma/allergies, food allergies and chronic allergic rhinitis for 48 years. I stopped using maintenance meds for my asthma a while ago - long story short the powder meds gave me pneumonia twice. Last time anything worked for me was theophylline - no one wants to prescribe it anymore. So because I am no longer on maintenance meds, I use my rescue inhaler twice daily when I am perfectly fine, more if I exercise and more when I am sick or having a reaction to lots of dust etc...

    The bad thing is my inhaler doesn't help as much when I am sick, why I have been using it more lately - it's not pollen for sure here, and it's not pollution either. Not saying it's Covid but it's something other than an allergy.

  18. #33
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    It's all guesswork ... even when you go to the doctor. Trial and error ya know ?

    Could be food allergies. Could be something running around that is a virus but isn't the covid. Heaven knows ... it's the right time of year for it. Everybody seems to come down sick in the spring when there's that temperature change from cold to warmer in the 40's & 50's.

    Just wondering .... have you made any changes inside your home lately ? Anything like new furniture or carpets. Any new insulation maybe. That stuff can outgas formaldehyde and create sick building syndrome.

    Maybe take in any scrap recently that could be outgassing ?

    Any strange smells that you can't account for ?

    Any teenagers in the house ?

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  20. #34
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    Quote Originally Posted by hills View Post
    It's all guesswork ... even when you go to the doctor. Trial and error ya know ?

    Could be food allergies. Could be something running around that is a virus but isn't the covid. Heaven knows ... it's the right time of year for it. Everybody seems to come down sick in the spring when there's that temperature change from cold to warmer in the 40's & 50's.

    Just wondering .... have you made any changes inside your home lately ? Anything like new furniture or carpets. Any new insulation maybe. That stuff can outgas formaldehyde and create sick building syndrome.

    Maybe take in any scrap recently that could be outgassing ?

    Any strange smells that you can't account for ?

    Any teenagers in the house ?
    Okay Hills I'll confess. The outgassing was me.

    A few years ago my 2 teenage daughters had some friends over. Boys and girls about 6 total. They came in the front door after playing outside all sweaty and stanking like a bunch of wet dogs. I made them go out on the deck, got them something to drink and proceeded with a short speech about proper hygiene and the use of deodorant.

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  22. #35
    snorton1 started this thread.
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    Well, a month has gone by since I started this thread, and by the looks of it, I better add a second month to my scrapping hiatus. No real complaints though as I continue to work from home. I pray that you are all safe and healthy, and that you will prosper once businesses can reopen.

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  24. #36
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    Things were starting to slow down and then they picked back up again. Had a large boiler manifold come into the shop yesterday. All kinds of brass, copper, circulator pump motors, and black iron threaded together. The non-ferrous was there but you really had to work for it. (It doesn't take much to keep one man busy.)

    Back in my regular job and serving the public tomorrow. It was nice to have a few days off, hide in the shop, and not have to think about the pandemic for awhile. Ahh well ... you gotta do what you gotta do. I'm thankful that my wife has been able to stay home and still draw a paycheck. I'm thankful that so many others have been able to stay home and still have something coming in for awhile as well. The more folks out of the way of this thing the better it will be for everyone.

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  26. #37
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    Quote Originally Posted by hills View Post
    The more folks out of the way of this thing the better it will be for everyone.
    Indeed. I am feeling better now myself, my wife isn't yet. I just learned of 2 technically 3 more of my family friends in the hospital, one I have never seen besides pictures cause she was just born prematurely. Her mom is on a ventilator. The mother is in her late 20's. The baby's father has not been able to see his newborn or his wife since she's been in the hospital.

    Stay at home order was just extended here for most of the Denver metro area and the city I work in - my guess is because a great deal of people stopped taking it seriously and just stopped complying as the end of the previous stay at home order approached.
    Last edited by SKWrapper; 05-31-2020 at 09:02 PM.

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  28. #38
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    Our state stay at home order is set to expire in a few days. No word yet on whether or not it will be extended.

    My guess would be that it will be pointless to try and extend it. We live in a democracy. Folks are getting restless. From what i'm seeing ....there's already quite a bit of non-compliance with more breaking ranks by the day.

    If it's the will of the people .... you kinda have to go with that and suffer the consequence.

    I get the feeling that it could be a terrible summer this year with all of the vacationing "people from away" pouring into the state from all over the world. Our seasonal residents started filtering in about a month ago to get away from the pandemic.

  29. #39
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    In case anyone cares update - my friend is still in the hospital and is improving. She was off the ventilator yesterday for an hour. Her husband - previously tested negative now tested positive for the virus, although showing no symptoms.

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    We all hope your friends get better. Coronavirus is not a joke or “the flu”. As Denzel Washington said “you don’t know what death is!” in Equalizer 2. Going to the beach or non important activities can wait. Life is precious. Be smart. Be safe.

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