credit card | Online Savings Blog

Credit Card Activation Fails Over VoIP
04.24.08 | Money Management, VoIP | 0 Comments | by junger

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Debbie and I just got our new credit cards yesterday (the old ones are expiring in May) and, like with all new cards, they needed to be activated.

So I called up the 866 number on the front of the card, listened to the automated voice, put in the card number and found out I couldn't activate my card.

The prompt told me it couldn't verify my location — even though I was on my home phone. And then it hung up.

I tried the international number on the card, but even the real people couldn't help me — they kept on forwarding me around with no success.

Turns out, it's my use of Vonage for my home phone that prevented me from activating my card. Since Vonage is a VoIP service (it runs over the Internet), you're not locked down to one location like with a plain old telephone service (think of it like your cell phone).

Automated systems can't determine your location, and for some reason the credit card company needs to know where you are to activate the card. Pain in the ass, right?

Long story short, I had to call up our credit union (which issue the card) and, thankfully, they've run into the situation before. They were able to activate it with no problem.
Why Paying Cash For Everything is a Misnomer
04.07.08 | Consumerism, Money | 1 Comment | by junger

One of the bigger "disagreements" in the personal finance blogosphere is whether or not it's better to pay for everything with cash, use a debit card, or rack up rewards on your credit card (if you pay your balance off each month).

My personal spending habits are to use my debit card for everything. If I purchase something with my debit card, I know that I can see the transaction online, which carries over to my Yodlee monthly spending reports. I rarely carry cash because I rarely go the ATM (or maybe it's the other way around).

Others say that you should only use cash — specifically, what you have in your wallet. Once you see it leaving, you realize you don't have it any more.

The discrepancy in advice doesn't necessarily mean that some folks are wrong and some folks are right — everyone is working toward the same goal: spend less than you earn.

When you spend less than you earn, you're only buying things with money you actually have. That's "cash" in hand, whether it comes on paper or from your debit card.

Your preference — using cash or debit — depends on your ability to manage your spending. You need to figure out what works best for you.

The only wrong answer is spending beyond your means.
How Paying By Check Cost Me Money
01.31.08 | Money | 4 Comments | by junger

One of the last bills I actually pay by check is my credit card, and it's come to bite me in the ass.

When we moved back in November, I changed my address with the credit union where I have my credit card. But apparently, Visa never updated it in their systems.

So even though I got my first two bills thanks to mail forwarding, my last two bills never came.

Because I didn't get my bills, I didn't pay my bills. Now I've got a past due notice and some finance charges sitting on my balance.

Thanks, Visa.

I called up the credit union, and they have my new address in the system, so they're blaming Visa. Thankfully, they're looking into getting the finance charges removed and I'm paying the bill right now.

If I had automatic payments set up for my credit card, this wouldn't have happened. My bill would have been paid, and I wouldn't need to take time to straighten this out and worry about any repercussions.
Where Did My Money Go?
01.03.08 | Money | 2 Comments | by junger

You know you have to save money. You'd like to start investing. You'd like to go on a vacation.

But you don't have the money for it. Each of these scenarios leads you to the question: where did my money go?

This is the fundamental question to beginning your financial responsibility. The first step in simple money management is to spend less than you earn.

Chances are you know how much money you make. But do you know exactly how much money you spend, and where it goes?

Being as detailed as possible in tracking your spending is a huge first step to proper money management.

Here's how I do it.

I keep receipts for nearly every transaction I make, both cash, debit and credit card purchases. When I get home, I put them on my desk to add to my budget notebook, which tracks all my spending.

The most important receipts to ensure that you get are for purchases with tips and gas purchases. You'll find out why in a minute.

I also log onto my checking account online all the time, to double check that my transactions are correct and to find out when my monthly bills have been automatically deducted.

Online banking also helps when I forget to get a receipt or lose it somewhere in the process.

As I said before, certain receipts are more important to keep: gas and purchases with tips. This is because, when you buy things with a debit card, the correct transaction amount does not appear until the payment has cleared.

When you go out to a restaurant and pay (with tip) on your debit card, you'll notice that the pending transaction only deducts the amount for the meal: not the tip. So you can't rely on this number instead of a receipt — at least not if you add the purchase to your budget that day.

On the gas side, funds do not get deducted from debit cards (even those acting as credit cards) automatically. The process normally takes a few days.

So, I always keep my gas receipts to add to my budget that day, so I don't wait for it to appear online and forget about adding it.

In addition to keeping a budget with my monthly spending, I track my expenses online via Yodlee. The number isn't as precise as my hand-written budget, but once you've categorized a few of your transactions, Yodlee does the rest.

Want to start saving more money? Find out where your money is going first.

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