Category Archives: Money Honey

Debit Card Holds

Posted on by podcaster

A lot of the gas stations are putting a hold on your bank account for a high dollar amount when you use a debit card to pay for gas. Most of the time it is for a set amount, such as $75, which is much more money than what most people actually spend at the pump.I believe the average purchase at the pump is now averaging about $40-$45. The hold remains on your account making the excess amount unavailable to you until the hold is released – sometimes several days later.

Its not a scam but its a problem for a lot of people who keep low balances. The hold can be left on the account for several days, depending on which day of the week you buy the gas. If you buy gas on a Friday afternoon, it can be Tuesday midnight before the bank processes the batch orders to make your funds available.

The way to avoid this is to pay cash for gas or to put it on a credit card if you are good about paying the whole balance each month and not letting the charges carry over with interest added to it.

A lot of gas stations have ATMS inside their stores with no fees for using their ATM, like the Thorntons chain in Nashville. You can withdraw the cash and pay for your gas with no problems about fees or holds on your account. I pay cash whenever possible.

Exploring New Ways to Earn a Living

Posted on by podcaster

One of my friends has been a manager of a local gas station and convenience store for several. We chat for a few minutes here and there when I stop in to buy gas or a soda, or every once in a while a lottery ticket. He was telling me that his days managing this store are numbered because, ironically, he can’t afford the high cost of gas to get back and forth to work from his home, about 40 miles away.

The corporate office says there isn’t a store closer to his home that he can manage, so he is facing losing his job if the cost of gas continues to go up. So we’ve been exploring ways for him to either supplement his income as store manager or to replace that income with something else. He is currently exploring ways to make money from the internet, and he sent away for a starter package of information on how to start an e-commerce site.

Third Week Money

Posted on by podcaster

Thankfully my company gives out paychecks every week. I’ve gotten used to just every other week or even just twice a month pay periods, so it was a nice surprise to learn that we get paid every single Friday here. It probably sounds silly, but I feel like I have more money when I get a check every week.

The first two paychecks of each month go to the house payment, utilities, and other household bills. The third week’s check is my spending money. That’s what goes toward clothing, sports, trips, concert tickets, books, etc. The fourth week’s check goes into my savings and investments.

Reworking the Budget

Posted on by podcaster

Next week I’m sitting down and going over the entire household budget. We need a better working plan for managing our household finances and we need to make a few more adjustments to offset the extra cost of gas, since that has gone up so much this spring and summer.

One thought that is worth exploring is to completely re-evaluate my insurance coverages and premiums. I think that there is a chance to save money by shopping around for a different homeowners policy and also possibly a new car insurance policy. My homeowners has been with the same company on automatic renewal for over 6 years. I think it is time to shop around and make sure I’m getting the best rates and the right coverage. I know I can do it all on the internet now which is easy and more convenient, and I’m sure I’ll save both time and money by getting new quotes and making some changes.

When Part D Matters

Posted on by podcaster

My mother-in-law shocked everyone this weekend when she announced that she’s going to retire. We honestly thought we would never see the day! She has a little store on a charming little town where she knows everybody and although she’ll never get rich, the store brings in enough money that she never goes wanting for anything. So for her to retire we were first shock and then immediately concerned that something is wrong. So the wife and I dropped everything drove down to see her, face to face and make that everything is OK.

Well, she was glad to see us and acted pretty normal, so that was good. But she says she’s tired, tired down to her bones, and she just doesn’t want to run the store anymore. She’s always had a problem finding good help and she’s never found an assistant manager that she could trust completely, so she’s decided to put the business up for sale and become retired.

Of course, that decision has opened a whole pandora’s box of questions and we have to tread lightly so we don’t offend her, but the wife went nuts with a hundred questions and we finally had to leave because I could tell the MIL was getting annoyed. We asked if there was anything she needed help with and surprisingly she asked if we would help her look into MediCare and the Medicare Part D coverage that I vaguely remember hearing about.

Now I’m not sure she really needs the help of if she just came up with this little task to shut up the wife and divert her attention to a little project, but the wife grabbed onto that request like a boll weevil grabs hold of a cotton ball. And off we went.