unsigned podcast » Money Honey

Debit Card Holds

podcaster — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 00:54:10 +0000

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

podcaster — Sun, 15 May 2011 05:51:37 +0000

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

podcaster — Thu, 05 May 2011 16:40:13 +0000

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

podcaster — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 04:05:41 +0000

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

podcaster — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 12:10:58 +0000

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.

Cash Talks

podcaster — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 04:34:29 +0000

My personal war on the recession has been to continue spending at the same levels as I always have. But now I spend cash instead of putting it on credit cards and giving the banks more of my money. I don’t leave much money in the bank, either. I keep the minimum balance so I don’t have to pay a monthly maintenance fee. I never ever ever bounce a check. The banks are not going to get rich off of me.

Christmas at Home

podcaster — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 03:15:07 +0000

Looks like I’m the only one who won’t be gathering with the family at the homeplace this year. Everyone in my family lives within an hour or two of my mom’s house except for me. It is a 14 hour drive to get to mom’s house, door to door, which is a long hard day of driving, and to be honest, I’m not up for that long of a drive in one day. I would need to stay overnight at a roadside motel to get some rest and not take the chance of an accident due to driver fatigue.

The cost of gas has risen so that just paying for gas up and back is cost prohibitive. It costs $70 to fill the tank and I estimate it would take 3 tanks to get there, one tank to visit locally and then 3 tanks back. That is a lot of money for gas that could be better spent benefiting my family instead of some Arab sheik.

So we are staying home this year and I guess we will get everyone on the video cam sometime around noon to exchange Christmas wishes among the family.

Merry Christmas to all!

What You Don’t Know About Lawsuits

podcaster — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 01:09:48 +0000

Most people think that getting an attorney and starting a lawsuit means they will be coming into money in a few months. Wrong.

In today’s world, finding a lawyer and getting a good lawyer are two different things. For most cases, if the lawyer doesn’t think you have a good case and a chance of winning but they are desperate for money, they won’t just work on a percentage of the case proceeds when you might win. Most want their expenses covered and often an hourly fee paid each month as time goes by whether you win or lose your case. And if you are lucky, and have a good lawyer and a good case, you might come out with some money in about 2 years. But 95% of the lawsuits end up with little or no money actually ever collected.

Online SAHMs

podcaster — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 18:55:56 +0000

I have a friend who would love to start blogging but she has no internet connection at her house. She is a stay at home mom, which is an important job, but let’s be honest, it doesn’t pay the bills. So I recognize the sacrifices that she and her husband are making for her to stay home and be a full time mother to her kids.

Still, I can’t help but think that there might be ways to help her without chipping away at her dignity. If she had access to the internet she could do so much – save money on things by comparison shopping and printing coupons, finding lots of free entertainment and activities for her family, blogging to stay in touch with family, and even taking some online college courses if she wants to.

Last Minute Savings

podcaster — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 06:01:13 +0000

Yesterday started off like a normal Sunday, woke up and made coffee, walked the dogs, turned on the computer to check emails. That’s when everything went downhill really fast. I had an email from my sister that her husband had died the previous night, they had tried to call but my cell phone went right to voicemail, so they resorted to email to get the word to me.

Of course, I dropped everything and made arrangements to go to Maryland to be with the family. Thankfully, I was able to find some coupons online to take care a lot of the details for this unexpected trip and I saved some money.