Evolving Personal Finance » checking
Losing Half Our Buffer
Keeping a certain amount of money in a checking account to prevent overdrafts/denied transactions is a pretty common practice among moderate PF’ers. Beginners haven’t yet figured out that they can avoid fees, interest, and embarrassment by keeping such a buffer. Ideally, you wouldn’t overspend the amount of money you have available for that month, but we are all capable of making mistakes. I personally like to play chicken with a zero balance, though – I … Read entire article »
Six Years of Internet Banking
I can’t believe it’s been six years since I opened my first account with an internet-only bank! There have been so many changes during that time and I think internet-only banks have really come into their own. I believe they can go toe-to-toe with brick-and-mortar banks and even beat them in many ways. I opened an account with ING Direct (now Capital One 360) after I graduated from college when I realized that Bank of America … Read entire article »
Evolution of Our Relationship with Bank of America
Let’s get one thing straight from the start: I think Bank of America is terrible. You will hear that repeatedly through this post. Kyle thinks Bank of America is okay. They haven’t done anything major to annoy him – or perhaps I should say he has not let the things about their service that drive me crazy get to him. This post details the stages of our use of BoA and concludes with why the heck … Read entire article »
Frugal Practices I’ve Grown to Love
It’s wonderful when a positive, self-beneficial act becomes automatic and even better when you enjoy or look forward to doing it! Being frugal doesn’t come naturally to me; I had to learn many of my current practices over time and fight against my upbringing. My husband will attest that I’m certainly not frugal in all aspects of my spending! But I’m so glad I started doing the activities that I list below because they have … Read entire article »
Filed under: cars, checking, found money, frugality, insurance
Vestigial Bank Accounts
I’m sure if you’ve been managing your own money for long enough you’ve come to this point: your banking structure makes no sense. You can’t justify with any current logical reasoning why you still have certain accounts. You know why you opened those accounts, but you probably wouldn’t again given what you know now or how the situation has changed. Inertia has played a big role in their continued ties to your name. Kyle and I … Read entire article »
Filed under: checking, marriage, savings, transitions
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