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Tip: Minimum Purchase Amounts Are Malarkey
Parched beyond belief, you dive into the nearest convenience store for a cold beverage. You open your wallet and find that you're out of cash. No biggie, you'll just use one of your cards — or so you think, until the clerk tells you that your $1.59 drink isn't enough to meet the store's minimum purchase amount for using debit or credit cards.
How Should You Pay For Holiday Shopping?
We've procrastinated shopping long enough, and the major holidays are now four weeks away and counting. It's about time we start taking a crack at our lists, but first we need to decide how to pay for all the presents. Consider the easiest way to track all of your gift expenses combined with the most practical method for preventing overspending.
Do You Rely More on Your Debit Card or Cash?
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Do You Rely More on Your Debit Card or Cash?
Debit card!
Cash!
Definition: 401(k) Debit Card
A 401(k) debit card is deceivingly like the debit cards you're familiar with, except the money is drawn from your retirement savings and must be paid back to yourself with interest — essentially, it is a loan against your 401(k). You're responsible for making punctual payments, and if you miss one, you risk having to pay early withdrawal penalties.
While you'd be paying interest now, you'd really be borrowing from your future self.
Do You Open a Bar Tab or Pay With Cash?
Tabs can be dangerous because you're likely to spend more when you open one. Using cash or paying for each drink individually with your debit card are safer bets when you're at Friday happy hour.
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Do You Open a Bar Tab or Pay With Cash?
College ID Cards Doubling as Debit Cards
Something seems a little fishy here. Several large universities have deals with financial institutions to convert student ID cards into debit cards. The colleges can make up to $1 million each year from these deals but the cards come with high fees and surcharges, and students often aren't aware of these costly penalties.
Ask Savvy: My Airline Miles Rewards Program Is Getting Me Nowhere
Dear Savvy,
I have a debit card with Citibank and I have the rewards program that gives me American Airlines miles. I've had the card for over four years and have about 8,750 miles, except I need at least 20,000 to get a free ticket. I want to get out of it because I don't want to wait another four years before I qualify for a ticket.
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Ask Savvy: Should I Use My Debit Card on My Overseas Vacation?
Dear Savvy,
I am taking my first international vacation ever to the Caribbean. I have saved up money for my expenses, but I'm not sure if I should keep all of that money on me, get traveler's checks, or rely on my debit card.
I'm going to St.
Tips for Using Your Debit Card
Everyone I know uses a debit card, and it's been that way for quite some time. I've heard tales of some people who are still holding out and using personal checks and cash only, but debit cards have definitely caught on for the most part.
Here are a few handy tips and things to consider that will make you feel more informed and confident at the cash register.
Free Credit Report Scams Aren't Going Away
By now we all know about the not-so-free nature of those FreeCreditReport.com services; a few of you even say you've fallen for its misleading practices. But even after the government publicly condemned the site, "free" credit monitoring services — which require you to sign up for a paid service, but promise you can cancel at any time — are popping up everywhere.
One friend recently had a particularly nasty experience with one of these companies while apartment hunting.
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