That's fucked up.

Welcome to my life as a Vendor. I wish that I could say this was the exception, but it's much more then rule with almost every company that I have to deal with. The bigger the company the more likely they won't pay on time, and the larger the check will be.

The bigger the company the more likely they won't pay on time, and the larger the check will be.

I've heard that from all over. Even if you accept that as SOP, though, not answering their phones like they are deadbeats ducking creditors, dude, Disney should not be pulling that shit.

You should be able to hit 'em with a big old late charge like the credit card companies do. And up your rates for the next job.

I try to build headaches like this into my rates. It's very hard to get the late charges to stick, and if it comes to taking them to court even if I win it just isn't worth it. I'm too small to go head to head legally with a company the size of Disney.

That wasn't meant to be advice, just ranting at the wrongness and unfairness.

I'm a little overly irate because I haven't had lunch yet. I think I will go fix that, since that's something under my control.

we kept getting our newpaper subscription cancelled at work because we had to forward the bills to corporate and the LA Times just stops delivering if you don't pay on time.

Too bad you can't do something like this.

That's great news, Susan. I'd echo the people who suggest consulting with a fee-only financial planner. You can find one through their professional society. [link] The advantage of fee-only planners is that they don't charge commission, and therefore aren't tempted to put people into investments that will make them higher commissions.

Clark Howard, the financial guru I listen to, suggests that people allocate 10% of an unexpected windfall to fun things. His theory is that if you get a lot of money, human nature says you'll blow some, and it's better to just budget for it. So you might want to take a percentage and put in money market funds or ladder it into CDs. Then when you get ready for your trip, you can plan the trip to the money.

I worked for one company that always paid vendors late because it was deliberately working the float and one that paid vendors late because it had the world's least competent accounting department. Either way, it wasn't the accounting department who worked with vendors every day. It was me.

why won't Victora's Secret show me the backs of their panties? I'm willing to invest in some quality underwear but I don't want to go to the mall!

Yeah, both of my last companies, as things got tight, started enforcing their "we have 60 days to pay an invoice" thing that was in their contracts. Whereas before that they'd usually pay a lot more quickly.

I'm trying to work out my budget for the summer. I've got a decent amount in savings, but I'll be earning close to no money this summer. Savings can cover rent (I always put away enough each month during the year so that I'll have enough for summer rent if I need it), and I signed up with a CSA, so a lot of food is already taken care of -- just add rice and pasta and beans and fruit. Definitely need to cut back on the number of books I'm buying.