My wife and I use PayPal a lot. We buy a lot of things through eBay, and I sell a lot of things through eBay and through other venues. PayPal is a good choice for those who want to be able to accept credit cards but don’t want to go through the hassle of setting … Read more
One of the entrants for H&R Block TaxCut thumb drive giveaway #2 had never heard of such a beast. I had heard the term through my work on the supervisory committee of my credit union, but I didn’t know what the origin was. The passbook dates back at least to the 19th century in America. … Read more
A few years ago I was in a doctor’s office and one of the assistants said, in earshot of everyone in the office, “Is your social security number 123-45-6789?” (No, that’s not my real social security number.) My response: “Gee, could you say that a little louder?” (She probably could have, but didn’t.) Similarly, one … Read more
There are plenty of people who don’t have and don’t like credit cards — for very good reasons — but I love my credit card. (It’s a Chase PerfectCardâ„¢ Visa® but now Chase offers the Chase PerfectCardâ„¢ MasterCard® instead.) This might seem strange, considering I manage a fairly long-running blog carnival on debt reduction, but … Read more
Banks and credit unions sometimes get unusual deposits. A depositor might get a gift from an older relative that has a lot of older coins lying around, or someone will clean out their attic and start to earn interest on money that was hidden away for decades in an old coat pocket. Sometimes, I’ll ask … Read more
The Evansville, IN, headquarters of Liberty Dollar was raided by federal agents earlier this month. The Liberty Dollar is an alternative currency backed by precious metals that is designed, and encouraged, to compete with current US currency as an “inflation-proof currency.” Documents, precious metals, and other equipment were seized. The Liberty Dollar website is a … Read more
Checks aren’t as useful overall as they used to be but they still have their place. They’re useful for donations and such where you might want a paper trail. Our local treasurer’s office doesn’t accept credit cards, so we need to pay water bills, property tax, etc., either by cash or check. Costco doesn’t accept … Read more
Today I opened a savings account for my 2 1/2 year old daughter at our credit union. The savings account only pays 1% right now. This is really low compared with online savings accounts, but is above the national average for brick-and-mortar institutions. I thought about this after leaving the bank, but it didn’t really … Read more