Last week I received an email notice from Discover that I was nearing my pre-set spending limit. I was quite surprised because I had just paid off the card and had not used it since I paid it off! So I went online and looked at my recent activity. There were a lot of fraudulent charges on my account – some to Microsoft X-Box and some to Apple Ipod! I immediately called Discover and reported the unauthorized charges. They immediately closed my account and sent me a new card. The new card arrived in less than a week. I have to admit that it was a hassle notifying the different companies that bill my monthly charges to that account, but all in all it was a fairly painless process. Thankfully I’m not responsible for those fraudulent charges so I’m happy about that. Isn’t it nice when a credit card company does somethng good?!
Archive for the ‘Money and Finances’ Category
When my kids first got their driver’s licenses, my wife immediately bought for them a membership in our roadside assistance club. We feel that it is a good idea to do that because the membership covers the driver no matter what vehicle the driver is using – even if the vehicle does not belong to the driver! We’ve had the need to have a jump start or a tow often enough to pay for the membership, so it is worth the expense.
I was just reading an article on the cnnmoney.com website that a lot of companies are refusing to hire people who are unemployed! (Click here to read the article.) I have to say that this kind of news is very alarming! People are still being laid off because companies are downsizing, not because the employee did anything wrong! If this is true, then I would strongly encourage people to take on a 2nd job, so if anything happens to their “real job” and they have to look for a new job, they don’t have to say on their application that they are unemployed! What a mess!
My wife and I used to run our own business a few years ago. It was amazing how much work went into getting the business started. My wife took care of most of the administrative work, but she sent me on a lot of trips to the banks to try to set up business loans and business credit cards. One of the smartest things that she did was to insist that we incorporate in order to protect ourselves from personal liability in the advent of lawsuits. I was frustrated when I learned how much money it was going to cost to set up all of the different insurances and register the corporation with the state.
One thing that I never really understood, though, was why my wife told me that we didn’t need any business lines of credit. She kept telling me that she didn’t want to have to pay the annual fees associated with having lines of credit. And she didn’t want to do the paperwork and write up a business plan. So I went ahead and signed up for one (yes, I ignored her advice.) When the statement came in showing our annual fee, though I was quite upset to realize she was right and I ended up closing the account. Lesson learned here is to really pay attention to the annual fees for any kind of credit account or loan that you might get. You might not really need that account!
I have to say that I’m always surprised when I go out on the road and see a luxury car like the Rolls-Royce Phantom out on the road! In fact, in this economy, I’m even surprised to see a Jeep Patriot out on the road.
I hear so many people complain about how bad the economy is, but they seem to find the money to go and buy (and gas up) the cars they love just the same! For example, my nephew was asking me what I thought a fair Toyota 4runner price is because he thinks that he wants to buy one! I hear that car sales are slumping, but you couldn’t prove it by me!
And just last week my next door neighbor was telling me that he was looking into the toyota yaris price. He wants to buy one for his wife sometime this summer. He’s expecting a pay raise and a bonus and he hopes to use it to buy her a new car.
I admire the sentiment, but right now I think that counting your chickens before they hatch can be a big mistake! I hope he doesn’t put a down payment on the car before he gets that raise and bonus in his hands! After all, a car is to get you from Point A to Point B. A new car IS a luxury that many of us can’t afford right now.