A Personal finance blog to get rich
We are quickly becoming a cashless society. As we rely more on technology and less on the change in our wallets, internet banking is now something most of us use on a daily basis. While convenient and efficient, digital banking does come with risks.
Cybercriminals spend their time looking for vulnerabilities, in an attempt to steal one of your most valuable possessions: your identity.
There is simply no denying that today’s era could be described as an online retail one. Just look at the number of consumers that are shopping online these days. In addition to this, you can literally buy everything that you need online. Do you want groceries delivered to your door?
Sure, no problem! You want to order your favorite takeout and track it right to your front doorsteps? You can do that do! Not only are consumers shopping online more, but they use the Internet to research their products before shopping.
A few years ago I had my bank account frozen. I had no clue about the reason. Later I found out that it was due to my wife’s missing social security number, which she didn’t have, being a non-resident with a dependent work visa.
We had to give an affidavit of that fact to unlock the account. And it took more than a week to unlock the account. One my credit card auto payment was declined and I was assessed a late fee. I got the fee waived anyway, but that forced me to open other checking accounts.
I don’t use bank checks very often, I’d prefer e-check facility most banks provide today. Where in you can send payment via email ID, phone number or simply by name and address. But there are often times when you need to write a paper check. When I last ordered paper checks it cost me around $40 for 50 leaves. This time, I did my research and obtained 200 leaves for only $12 from Bradford Exchange Checks.
Based on this experience my advice to you would be to go for cheaper online check ordering sites, rather than ordering them directly from your bank. It’s secure, convenient and cheap. While ordering I did my research on the sites that offer check order service. Here I’ll list of 5 tops sites to order checks from.
Different factors need to be considered when you plan on ordering checks online. You would definitely be considering the price, the delivery options, the security. Here are some factors that you can use as a guideline when choosing the company to order check from:
One fine day you may wake up and discover all your bill pays are not just going through, the schedule transfers to your other investment accounts failing, or your systematic investment plans are failing.
You call up your bank and find an answer, a reason code ’16’ which is nothing but ‘account frozen’ status. There is no immediate way to recover from this set back, there is no way to not become delinquent on your credit card bills and utility bills. It is deadly situation, handle with care and take prompt action, without wasting time.
After my posts on having a second checking account and steps to switch your bank account, here’s the another one. This one emphasizes on the importance of having a joint checking account. Having a common checking account works for us. It may also work for you, this article can provide you food for thought when it comes to managing your separate checking accounts within your family.
Here, at this blog, we grow One Cent at a Time, this tip is not going to make you rich overnight but, it may help you protect your finances and become more efficient in managing it.
This is a guest post from Martin of Studenomics. Martin loves to write about financial issues on helping you find out what is a good credit score and more fun topics like deciding what to do after college.
For the longest time I was hesitant to join ING Direct. The interest rates were pretty decent a few years, but I simply felt a sense of loyalty towards my local bank that wouldn’t let me leave them. The employees at the local bank knew me on a first name basis. Some of the employees at the bank were even high school friends of mine. If any issues ever came up, I could walk over to the bank in 5 minutes and have everything resolved. Long story short, I’ve never been good at chasing the highest interest rates.
This is why I decided to keep my brick-and-mortar account even after I joined ING Direct.
Tired of paying fees for using your debit card or withdrawing money from the ATM? I am, and I switched my checking account. In the process of switching, I learned few valuable lessons that might help you.
If you intend to switch, start the process soon. You should not be paying any fee to your bank – by keeping the money in the bank, you are entitling it to loan your money and earn interest. A bank should not ask customers to pay for basic services. There are various banks that offer interest on your checking account balance.
Changing your longtime checking account is by no means a small deal or a 15-minute job, as various other people suggest (including one of my blogging idols). If you are dissatisfied with your bank and want to switch, you might want to follow the steps below.
Since realizing the vulnerability of my personal finances, where I got my one-and-only checking account with Bank Of America frozen, for no fault of mine, I started considering having a second checking account as a back-up.
I wanted a back-up from where I can pay monthly bills and can meet emergency expenses, especially when primary checking account becomes unusable for any reason. This is not second chance checking account, but a second checking account in addition to an existing one.
