Paper or Plastic?

beth says:
Mon, 15th Jun 200910:42 pm 

A bank account is a necessity- You cannot buy a car, a house, or even get a loan most times without a bank account, plus carrying excessive cash is unsafe. Not only do you risk losing it if your purse gets stolen, but flashing cash is a quick way to get mugged. You do not have the zero liability with cash that you do with a stolen debit card or credit card.

My biggest advice (I’ve worked for Wachovia for 3+ years) KEEP YOUR OWN LEDGER- and write down EVERYTHING the MOMENT you spend it, and keep accurate totals!! do *NOT* trust calling the 1800 number or online banking to keep you accurate because 99%.999 of the time they are *NOT* updated in real time- and they do not reflect account holds from purchases earlier in the day. Therefore, you call for your balance, they tell you your current balance, but oops, they forgot to mention that venti starbucks caramel frap you ordered this morning, because it technically hasn’t cleared your account yet, and suddenly you’re overdrawn 16 cents and BAM…35 dollar NSF fee- paying 40 bucks for coffee that should have cost 5 dollars is not a good feeling.

Unfortunately, I see this daily, and I truly feel terrible when I am unable to refund somebody’s NSF fees, because it is not a bank error– I get yelled at on a daily basis and it kind of sucks, haha.

It’s so simple to keep a debit card register- they make them small enough to slip your card in and toss them in your wallet, or, with the over-sized purses most girls carry these days, a standard check register works too… or you can just keep one of the cute tiny 3 inch spiral notebooks in your purse. It takes literally 2 seconds to write down your purchase and total your ledger, yet most people rely 100% on unfortunately unreliable electronic means, and it ends up costing them hundreds of dollars in fees a year. PS if you *do* end up making an **occasional, small** mistake, going to the bank with an accurate register seriously that you’ve been keeping religiously SERIOUSLY ups your chance of getting an NSF fee refund, at least once…

Sorry I got on my soap box and went on a CAPS rave– but it frustrates me to no end.

Also- Just an FYI on common bank policy (by the way, I seriously disagree with this… but it is common… and if you fall victim, you won’t get your money back, I guarantee it…) Most banks, when you overdraw your account with multiple purchases, will pull the largest transaction out first, regardless of which purchase was ACTUALLY made first that day. (they say it’s because the largest is probably your most important and they wouldn’t want it to go unpaid (IE your rent)… but honestly, it’s an excuse to collect more fees) Then go down from there, because they know they will collect, on average 3x more fees rather than pulling them in chronological order. EX: You pay for your starbucks at 8AM, 5 bucks; then pay for a new pair of shoes, 50 bucks, at 2 PM; and then your rent, 900 dollars at 6 PM, however, your beginning balance was only 856.00… SO, instead of getting ONE NSF fee for the rent (after the starbucks and shoes brought your balance down to 801 dollars) you end up with THREE because they bounce your rent, then your shoes, then your starbucks. BAM… your 951 dollar purchase cost you 1056….because you got 105 dollars in NSF fees… it SUCKS but it’s the God’s honest truth.

Just keep a register. You’ll be fine.