Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Be careful how you use your ATM cards

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Be careful how you use your ATM cards

    Gasoline companies and some other businesses used to put "holds" on credit card amounts (sometimes up to $200 for up to 2 weeks) if you used them to pay for gas and other things. Now apparently, they are doing the same thing with ATM debit cards.

    So if you think you have a certain amount of money in your checking account and you think you have enough in your account to cover the amount of gasoline you're actually buying, for instance, you may be in for a shock when your account gets overdrawn, and you end up paying those awful $25 per rejected transaction fees.

    With the passage of the electronic banking rules last year where money is automatically withdrawn from accounts immediately (from checks and debit cards) rather than having a float of a few days, there is no excuse for any company to engage in this kind of practice anymore. If you get scammed this way, make sure you complain to your bank at the very least. This kind of business practice doesn't help any consumer in this age of rapidly escalating prices and only puts more profit into the hands of the banking industry.

    ""For people who keep very low balances, it can put them in an awkward situation," said Hall. He suggested that consumers have backup forms of payment, such as cash, a check or a credit card.

    The practice of holds is legal, and Badgley and Baarda illustrate the only real options consumers have in dealing with holds: They can frown about the practice and continue to use their debit cards or they can change buying habits to avoid using a debit card in instances when holds typically occur...."

    Miulang
    "Americans believe in three freedoms. Freedom of speech; freedom of religion; and the freedom to deny the other two to folks they don`t like.” --Mark Twain

  • #2
    Re: Be careful how you use your ATM cards

    Mahalo for da info. With gas prices the way they are its easy to over extend if you keep a low balance.
    ~Lika

    \\000// Malama Pono \\000//

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Be careful how you use your ATM cards

      I actually like the idea of instantly debiting your account. It makes balancing your checkbook easier.

      If you don't have the money, you can't buy it. Seems like pretty good and practical financial advice to me.

      One thing I've come to realize is that lots of people say they don't have enough money, yet if they had a budget and an expense sheet, they would see just how much waste they spend every month. When I set up my budget I realized I was spending over $1000 a month on food for my family! Never mind the amounts for entertainment and other single item purchases like candy and soda's from the vending machines every week. It all adds up and you can easily nickle and dime your savings account to a negative balance if you don't track it wisely.

      For me just the entertainment costs (Friday pizza nights, slurpies at the mall, whatever) averaged $500 a month! I was astounded. That's like a car payment every month! We have three cars with a monthly fuel bill of around $735. Now we car pool and consolidate our car trips.

      When you plan a budget and create an expense sheet you'd be amazed at how much you spend in a month. Just packing a home lunch instead of buying every working day can save you roughly $160 per month or just under $2000 a year, there's your 42" LCD flat panel HDTV set right there. Imagine buying two cans of Pepsi at $0.75 each every day at work that comes out to $30 a month or $360 per year! My goodness you could buy two Sony Playstation II's for that amount.

      If you're using the float system to make ends meet, chances are you don't have a budget plan or an expense sheet to guide you. If you saw your daily expenses right in front of you, you could plan your finances better and you will actually see that you do have money left over. It's the nickle and diming that kills most bank accounts.
      Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Be careful how you use your ATM cards

        I learned something fascinating yesterday about budgeting and investing at a women's financial seminar I attended...If you're 18 and start investing like $7 a day ( which is the equivalent of what? 2 SBUX grande lates?) for something like 7 years and then never invest another penny, by the time you're 65, you'll be a millionaire (the power of compounding).

        It's never too late to start (even when you're close to retirement age) but if we can teach our kids the habit of investing rather than spending when they're young, we won't have to worry about them financially after we're gone.

        Miulang
        Last edited by Miulang; October 6, 2005, 01:09 PM.
        "Americans believe in three freedoms. Freedom of speech; freedom of religion; and the freedom to deny the other two to folks they don`t like.” --Mark Twain

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Be careful how you use your ATM cards

          Eh Miulang if you invested $7 a day until you retired...hmmmm eh you goin make what...$14 Ha ha ha ha ha...Ouch eh you get pretty good aim wit dat rolling pin yah!
          Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

          Comment

          Working...
          X