August 2011 Archives

Imagine if your neighborhood pharmacy could only accept cash because it wasn't allowed to open a checking account and had to pay exorbitant fees on credit card transactions. Same with your favorite spa or local health food store.

All perfectly legitimate businesses. All coping with an unendling string of banking bad dreams.

That's what medical marijuana dispensaries in Colorado have repeatedly faced. Colorado voters legalized the use of marijuana for medical purposes in 2000, and since that time, dispensaries have flourished.

I may be stuck to my seat here in Austin, Texas, during the record-breaking heat (we tied a record high at 112 degrees on Sunday -- and I was at a hot sauce festival in that heat), but at least my blog post can soar into the cool expanse of outer space.

Stumble Forward chose my blog post, "Data breach deja vu," for the latest Carnival of Personal Finance, which collects interesting money-related blog posts from around the Web. The carnival host has chosen the theme "The Universe Edition" for this weekly installment.

Does legendary pro athlete Bo Jackson know banking? A recent profile on LostLettermen.com reveals the 48-year-old former NFL and MLB player is a co-owner and director at a small community bank in suburban Chicago.

What he does bring to the table is his popularity and marketing appeal as a pitchman. The bank's website features a prominent picture of Jackson. Smart move.

It's risky business opening a bank in the kind of economic climate we have today. Banks larger than Burr Ridge fail every week. But then, they don't know Bo!

The other day, some friends and I were debating whether you should tip at a casual sandwich shop. Many restaurants in Austin have old-fashioned tip jars, but since so many people use plastic, the credit card receipts also have a line for adding a tip. I think this makes it feel almost impolite not to tip. Then again, do I really want to give $2 to the guy who just made my easy sandwich without making eye contact or talking to me, and who is not paid based on tips?

I feel like a tip jar at quick food places makes tipping feel much more optional -- like an extra if you think your few moments of service were super. Having it be on a line of credit card receipts makes me feel like if I don't give a tip, I look mean or stingy. Or should I get over it and not feel bad about not tipping? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments section.

For other personal finance insight, read on to learn about 10 of my favorite money-related blog posts from the past week!

For the second time this year, my credit card's security has been compromised.

Back in January, I learned that my credit card was reported stolen by FIA Card Services (a Bank of America subsidiary) after I got an email notification from the AAA Texas credit monitoring service about a change to my credit report. At that time, when I called the bank, they confirmed that I was among a group of cardholders who had their information possibly exposed due to transactions at an unnamed merchant. They had decided to preemptively issue me a new card, which I later got in the mail.

And in a case of near déjà vu, late last week, I received both another notification from AAA and a letter containing a new replacement card from FIA. So I decided to find out what merchant was the source of this latest breach.

I got an expected but still surprising reminder this week of the South Florida vacation I took a month ago. It was a $7 charge on my credit card for tolls on the Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike.

Rental car companies should warn customers that automated toll plazas may be encountered in a city and that those charges, plus administrative fees from both the toll collector and the rental car company, will be billed to the credit card. Had I been given a heads up by the car company, I would have taken steps to avoid the toll road. There are alternative routes that take longer but avoid the tolls.

The U.S. economy's problems could make it harder for you to get a credit card, according to one chief economist.

If you recently applied for a new credit card, you may have found the bank was more likely to grant your request. And you weren't the only one: A recent pair of reports from the Federal Reserve showed that consumers opened 10 million more credit card accounts in the second quarter of this year (April to June) as banks became more willing to approve borrowers for new credit.

But even if you're celebrating now, don't expect the party to last.

Every morning, I wake up to an inbox clogged with deals from Groupon, Living Social, Buy With Me, Localiter, Eversave, and many other social deal sites. I usually buy ones when I see a deal for a restaurant I love, or a service I've been wanting. Sometimes it works out perfectly and they are put to great use. Other times, I realize too late that I have wasted money.

I've forced myself to stop before I buy one and do a real self-check to see if it's something I will use and save money on. One thing that's so darn convenient -- and horrible -- is that they store your credit card information and let you check out in so few steps. I have also had to remind myself that there's a reason I unsubscribed from all of the similar fashion flash sale site emails last year -- I don't need the temptation.

Keep reading for my top 10 favorite personal finance blog posts from the past week, many of which have advice about breaking bad financial habits and saving money.

How much are you spending on back-to-school supplies or clothes for your children this year?

I haven't set up a budget, but being the frugal mom that I am, I'm hoping it's as little as possible. My teenage daughter, however, may have different thoughts about this.

With her, cost is often an afterthought. A Capital One survey released this week found teens and parents have vastly different views of how much school supplies cost. Only 41 percent of the teens surveyed said they expect their parents to spend more than $100 shopping for school, but 68 percent of parents expect they will spend more than $100. To me, that says teens often don't have a clue about how much things cost today.

Visa, which once refused to get on board with implementing chip technology, has fortunately changed its mind. An announcement was made this week that it will finally begin migrating to chip technology in the United States. These cards will also be enabled to make NFC-based mobile payments.

American magnetic stripe cards still work on most of the machines abroad that now read chip cards, but they aren't foolproof. I hope that in the near future, all of the world will have the same payment standard so that payment while traveling will be seamless.

Earlier this week, I returned from a delayed honeymoon to Seattle, Vancouver and Whistler. I didn't have any issues with my regular magnetic swipe cards, but I did observe some other interesting things. For those and more insight about personal finance, keep reading for my roundup of my 10 favorite personal finance blog posts from the past week!

Could social welfare programs be to blame for Americans' tendency to save less and spend more?

Two new studies highlight the different attitudes between the Chinese and Americans toward borrowing and saving.

Bank of America cardholders, if you're looking for a free way to get out of the summer heat Labor Day weekend, try your local museum.

The bank's Museums on Us program provides Bank of America credit or debit card holders with one free general admission to 150 different museums, zoos, science centers and more around the country on the first full weekend of every month through the end of the year. Some people will find the program lacking -- for example, 22 states have no museums participating -- but it's just another example of a perk given by a card issuer to lure new cardholders and keep current ones happy.

If you had asked three weeks ago, I would have told you my financial future was set. My belongings were boxed up, and I was on my way to law school with plenty of financial aid from Uncle Sam. But my plans changed, and like so many others, I found myself unemployed and unsure of how to meet expenses.

Things turned out well, and I learned an important lesson about the relative importance of what you know versus who you know.

For me, the highlight of the Teen Choice Awards wasn't Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber or the Harry Potter tribute.

It was Ashton Kutcher giving financial advice.

Seriously.

Gesturing forcefully, and almost Howard Beale-like in his zeal, Rep. Hansen Clarke used his five-minute speech to call on all Americans to cut up their credit cards -- and then whipped out a pair of blue-handled scissors to demonstrate. Roll the tape, C-SPAN!

"Hello." "All Night Long." "Say You, Say Me." Lionel Richie has always had a gift for penetrating insight into the human condition, set to music. But who knew his heartfelt words could also be applied to the recent political wrangling over the U.S. debt ceiling?

My blog, "Dancing on the (debt) ceiling: Will card rates really rise without a deal?," drew its title (but not exactly its content) from Richie's songwriting catalog -- in this case, the mid-'80s party-starter "Dancing on the Ceiling." While Richie sought to upend the convention of Newton's Law, my blog simply looked at how a downgrade for U.S. debt could mean an increase for credit card APRs.