SavvySugar

Money Tip: Give Out Your Passwords

SavvySugar — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 12:00:54 -0700

If something terrible happened to you, would your loved ones have to jump through hoops to access your various online accounts? Mine would. I hadn't considered coming up with an online estate plan until a Wall Street Journal article suggested it.

The article recommends a few solutions for making sure your login information is kept safe but is also accessible should you get into trouble, an accident, or worse. The suggestions include giving a lawyer or trusted relative all the information; dividing up different accounts to different people; or storing the information in a safety-deposit box or home safe.

Do you have an online estate plan? How would you go about ensuring your usernames and passwords are safe but accessible?

Avoid These Silly Bank Fees and Save

SavvySugar — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 12:00:23 -0700

You're a pro at avoiding ATM fees and finding free checking, but banks are slapping fees on everything from your standard withdrawal at another bank to helping its customers. Yes, that customer service call could come with a charge. Banks are relying on fee income more than ever, so don't be surprised if your institution starts sticking you with a tab for checking your balance.

The Wall Street Journal identifies 10 fees you should keep an eye on, and while it mentions that you might have some luck asking your bank to waive a fee you catch on your account, wouldn't it just be easier to avoid them in the first place? Two of the fees listed by the WSJ stand out as particularly silly - $2 to $4 fees for visiting a bank teller more than a couple times a month, and $0.50 to $5 for making account inquiries or reordering checks over the phone.

Find out if your bank charges for any of these services; it's relatively easy to dodge them once you're aware. You can take care of most banking business online and make deposits through your bank's ATM.

Do You Know the Exact Balance in Your Bank Account?

SavvySugar — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 06:30:17 -0700

The majority of you check your online account every day and should be pretty familiar with the balance in your bank account. Sometimes it can be painful to look at, but we all need to face the facts sooner or later! Do you know the exact balance or do you have a general estimate of how much cash is available?

Source

Five Reasons People Don't Automate Bill Payments

SavvySugar — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 12:30:35 -0700

Online banking is something most of us couldn't imagine living without, and more than half of Internet users pay at least one monthly bill online. Some of those people pay each bill online by manually entering payment information every month, and the New York Times explored five reasons why these consumers are hesitant to automate their bills.

Errors: Some people worry their bank will make costly mistakes when removing funds from their account, but banks will automatically credit your account for a mistake as long as you inform them within 15 days of receiving a statement showing the error.
Service that won't end.: If you cancel a service and the provider continues accepting automatic payments, it can be difficult to get those funds back. It can be easier to stop automated payments if they're set up through the bank rather than authorizing a biller to withdraw funds from your account.

See three more reasons why people avoid automated bill-pay when you read more.

Expired credit cards.: Expired cards can lead to unpaid bills without a customer noticing immediately, so be sure to call your billers with the new expiration date when you receive your new card in the mail.
Security: Some people are concerned that granting too many companies access to payment information can compromise security. On the other hand, some think nonautomated payments create more security issues.
Complacency: Don't just set it and forget it. Monitor your monthly payments to ensure you're not paying too much for one service and to be sure all your bills are paid.

Source

How Often Do You Check Your Online Account?

SavvySugar — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 06:30:53 -0700

How did we manage before online banking? Sixty-four percent of you track your expenses online in lieu of balancing a checkbook, and I check my online account often - usually a few times a week - for up-to-date balances. How often do you log in to check the status of your bank account?

Source

Live Greener Starting Today: Putting Earth Day into Action

SavvySugar — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 04:07:27 -0700

Lately the only paper bills that make their way into my mailbox are of the medical kind, because I've been suppressing my paper bills and statements since the option became available and pay them online as well. I love living a mostly paperless lifestyle - not only does it create less clutter on all available surfaces in my apartment, but I know it's doing some environmental good, too.

It surprised me to learn that most Americans still pay their bills by sending a check through the mail, as determined by a 2007 Federal Reserve survey. Switching to a system of electronic bill-pay is easy as green-apple pie and you'd be reducing your carbon footprint drastically - the Environmental Protection Agency reports that paper billing uses more than 674 million gallons of fuel each year! Visit PayItGreen.org to learn more about making the switch.

Source

What's the Deal With Bank Security Questions?

SavvySugar — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 03:56:59 -0800

What's your favorite ice cream flavor? What designs are on your library card? Your favorite entertainer? Who was your third grade teacher? Where did you honeymoon? What do all of these questions have in common? They're all actual security questions for online services, and the idea behind these kooky questions is that providing the answers will make it easier to retrieve your password should you forget it.

I hadn't really contemplated the motives banks have for utilizing these questions until I read a thought-provoking Slate article called "In What City Did You Honeymoon." Online services use the secret question method because it's cheap - calling to have a password reset can cost a company between $10 and $15 each time, while resetting your password with your secret question costs nothing at all.

It does make me wonder how hacker-safe these questions are, and I like the suggestion the article gives for banks to convert to a phone-based authentication system. If you forget your password, you just have to call from one of the phone numbers that you used to set up the account. Then, they'd call you on that phone and you'd have to type in a number that would appear on your screen. Seems easy enough.

Can you think of any funny bank security questions you've come across?

Source

Do You Use Online Banking?

SavvySugar — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 10:31:32 -0800

I bank online because waiting in line just isn't my thing. I need the ability to access my account whenever I want and from whatever computer happens to be in front of me.

Our friends at WaMu know your time is precious and make online banking as easy as store-bought pie. Most applications to open a checking and high-yield savings account online take only seven minutes, which means you can get started on organizing your finances in the same time it takes to shower, and do it all while wearing your comfy robe and fuzzy slippers! If questions come up, customer service is always around to help.

When you bank online, all of your latest balances, statements, and transactions are available for your viewing pleasure. Worried about your privacy? Many banks will send you email alerts to keep you informed about your account activity.

One of the biggest benefits is the option to pay bills online; you can pay all of your bills in one place and even have the ability to set up your account for automatic payments. That leaves more time for yourself, something all of us could use. Tell me: Do you bank online or visit your local branch?

Thank you to WaMu for sponsoring this post.

Total Deposits at Washington Mutual are FDIC insured.
Source

Would You Enroll in a Financial Planning Bootcamp?

SavvySugar — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:45:03 -0800

I’ve always been kind of intrigued by Stanford grad Ramit Sethi’s New York Times bestseller I Will Teach You to Be Rich. I dismissed the book at first because the gimmicky title brought to mind images of the question-mark guy on late-night infomercials, but the more I heard, the more interested I became. To hear why I changed my tune, read more.

Sethi recommends setting up free checking and savings accounts at dependable banks, and automating all your bill payments and transfers to savings. He thinks scrimping on things like lattes to save a couple bucks is useless financial advice, and says you should start to invest while you’re still young. Sounds pretty practical, huh?

So when I heard Sethi was holding a six-week online financial boot camp, I was actually pretty excited. It wasn’t until I was looking at the registration page, credit card in hand, that I backed out. It’s not that I didn’t think the boot camp would be helpful, but I decided spending a couple hundred bucks to find out how to save money wasn’t a wise choice for me.

I’m sure plenty of others felt differently, though, and you might, too. So tell me, have you ever paid for a workshop, class, or boot camp to whip your finances in shape? Or would you ever consider it?

Source: Flickr User Kyle T. Ramirez

Ask Savvy: My Husband Spends More Money Than He Should

SavvySugar — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 10:30:10 -0700

Dear Savvy,

My husband and I share a bank account. We both work (he makes more money than I do) and it was his idea to combine bank accounts when we got married a year ago. The combined money situation was going smoothly until recently, when he started spending like he did when he was single.

He used to be a pretty bad impulse shopper but improved so much over the course of our six-year relationship - now, it seems like he's falling into old habits, but this time it affects me. I'm not someone you'd call super frugal, but I'm also acutely aware of how I spend our money. How can I talk to him about this without making him feel like I'm trying to parent him?

Savvy says: Your man's defenses might spike when you start a conversation about his spending, so instead of placing blame on him and starting a fight, find a way to pin-point the problem without a lot of finger-pointing. See my advice when you read more.

Begin the conversation by saying that you've noticed the bank account has been lighter than usual, and you think it would be a good idea to look at your transaction history together to see where your money is going. If you use an online money management system (like Mint), this will be an even easier process. If not just take the time to itemize transactions from the last month or two. Categorize your expenses as an online system would, looking for grocery, gas, household bills, and of course, retail purchases.

When it becomes obvious that your man has been spending more than he should, ask him if he thinks it would be a good idea for you both to have your own smaller accounts for discretionary purchases while using the joint account for shared expenses. Say that because there are two of you using one account, it makes it difficult to really pay attention to where your money is going and it would make it easier for you to track your own expenses. You could automatically transfer a certain amount of money into your individual accounts on paydays.

Because you and your husband have different spending profiles, I really think the best idea is for you to get separate accounts to use as you wish. If your husband blows through his personal account and starts using the joint account for his shopping habit, then you can have to have another, more serious, conversation about your shared financial goals.

Have a question for me? Ask away by posting your questions in my Ask Savvy group.