Flashinglights0101

Flashinglights0101 OP t1_j9rnupk wrote

Reply to comment by Flashinglights0101 in NJ consumers lost $231M to fraud last year. Here are some tips to avoid becoming a victim by Flashinglights0101

New Jersey consumers reported losing $231 million to fraud in 2022 according to the Federal Trade Commission, up 77% from 2021 when they reported being scammed out of over $130 million. 

Federal data published on Thursday shows that while the number of reported fraud cases year over year has gone down, the amount of money they’ve reported losing has in turn skyrocketed. 

There were 48,226 cases reporting over $231 million lost last year, compared to 2021 when there were 57,435 cases reporting $130 million lost to fraud. The median amount lost to fraud last year in New Jersey was $800, up from $508 the year before. 

The most common type of fraud was imposter scams, accounting for a third of New Jersey fraud reports last year, according to federal data. 

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Flashinglights0101 OP t1_j6n4ref wrote

Reply to comment by metsurf in In light of Biden announcing funding for the Hudson tunnels, let’s not forget Chris Christie canceled the original project which would have been done by now and cost half as much. by Flashinglights0101

Feds were funding $3 billion with a commitment for more. That was about half of the expected cost at the time. Today, Feds are funding double because the overall cost is double which is still half of the total cost. We are basically in the same place, just a decade later.

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Flashinglights0101 OP t1_j6n2u52 wrote

Reply to comment by PracticableSolution in In light of Biden announcing funding for the Hudson tunnels, let’s not forget Chris Christie canceled the original project which would have been done by now and cost half as much. by Flashinglights0101

NJ & NY agreed to the deal, Christie torpedoed it. Port Authority, Amtrak, Fed government, New Jersey and New York all agreed. Christie came in last minute and walked away. Later on we find out it is because he needed to use the funds to prevent the gas tax.

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Flashinglights0101 OP t1_j6mxjbv wrote

Reply to comment by KamikaziSolly in In light of Biden announcing funding for the Hudson tunnels, let’s not forget Chris Christie canceled the original project which would have been done by now and cost half as much. by Flashinglights0101

He had a really good chance if it wasn't for Trump. Christie was the loud candidate that would have outshined the other candidates (like Jeb Bush). Also, coming from a dark blue state, he would have done well if not for Trump ruining his political career.

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Flashinglights0101 OP t1_j6mxal8 wrote

Reply to comment by LikeFrankieSaid in In light of Biden announcing funding for the Hudson tunnels, let’s not forget Chris Christie canceled the original project which would have been done by now and cost half as much. by Flashinglights0101

Dude that is not even the whole picture. New Jersey may have been on the hook for the additional cost but that is because of the infrastructure improvements that were required in New Jersey. Also, by canceling the project, NJ had to pay back the federal government about $600 million for work already completed by the Feds. The deal may not have been the best at the time but it is a whole lot better than today.

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Flashinglights0101 OP t1_j6mwsyo wrote

Reply to comment by PracticableSolution in In light of Biden announcing funding for the Hudson tunnels, let’s not forget Chris Christie canceled the original project which would have been done by now and cost half as much. by Flashinglights0101

For a project of this size, complexity and scope, it is always going to be underbaked. This project is going to go over budget, full stop. Even if we spent another decade planning, it will still go over budget. But I would rather have a project go over budget with pre-Covid construction costs than have to pay what current costs are. We should be thankful there was not another disaster that could have closed the tunnels.

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Flashinglights0101 t1_j6ilyk1 wrote

Reply to weather in NJ by xrt679

I have noticed we usually just have 30 to 40 degree weather in the winter with one exceptionally cold week. Then back to spring. My relatives in the Carolinas get more snow than us!

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Flashinglights0101 t1_j642hfz wrote

Reply to comment by BitterDropToSwallow in How Much Do You All Spend on Groceries per Week? by BitterDropToSwallow

Go to the customer service desk and buy a gift card. You can then shop without a membership to see if it is good for you.

Fruits and vegetables are really cheap at Costco. Cereal is retarded cheap. You get two huge bags of brand name cereal for like $6 compared to a small box at the supermarket for $4. Washing machine detergent is amazingly cheap at Costco.

The key to Costco is self control and not buying random stuff.

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Flashinglights0101 t1_j63ll9e wrote

Reply to How Much Do You All Spend on Groceries per Week? by BitterDropToSwallow

If you live near Costco, you should consider shopping there. A lot of basic items are stupid cheap at Costco compared to the supermarket. If you are a creature of routine and buy the same things every week, buy them in larger quantities and save a ton of money. Most of the items are not even bigger in size.

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Flashinglights0101 OP t1_j4w8qgv wrote

Reply to comment by Melodic_Record9737 in If Governor Murphy is serious about equity in this state, he should push for improving public libraries. by Flashinglights0101

Growing up, I used to go to my local library after school almost every day (both parents worked and I took the bus there). The library was always accepting of anyone. There was always something new to explore - books, services, computers, etc. I was young but there were a lot of older adults getting help with mundane tasks like paying their bills.

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