I have found what I think is the most convenient way to manage all my income. I'm not saying I have a lot of income, but it does come in from multiple sources - paycheck, investments, odd jobs, and other occasions like when a group of us want to pool some money to buy pizza or some other group purchase.
Traditional banking used to require an account and then they still held a check for several days before making the money available to spend. Sometime in the late 80's many employers started offering direct deposit for their employees. No more checks. The money just magically appeared in your bank account and you could spend it. No more delays.
Then along came the ATM card. Now if you're not careful the ATM card can eat you alive. Some out of network systems charge $3-4 dollars per transaction. But if you operate within your network, or get cash back when you make purchases, ATM's can be a great convenience. Some banks even let you use the ATM to deposit cash to your account.
Now, here we are almost 30 years after the advent of Direct Deposit and we have a new, easier, more convenient way to send, receive, spend, and track our money. The system takes the best of all available technology and puts it to use for our convenience. Direct deposit, debit cards, automatic teller machines, internet, and cell phones. Yup I said cell phones.
Here are some of the things you can do with this new system - have your paycheck direct deposited to your debit card - no more expensive checks to order, no more "I'm sorry we only accept local checks," no more minimum balances, no more monthly bank fees. (Side tangent- my old bank required me to keep at least $500 in their nearly zero interest paying savings account in order waive the monthly fee for having a checking account).
With your debit card loaded you can shop anywhere that accepts MasterCard. You use an ATM to get cash (no fee within the 4,200 location network). You can deposit cash onto your debit card at an ATM. You can get cash back when you buy things at the store just like you can with your current debit card. Your account includes online bill pay - say goodbye to checks, check ordering fees, slow delivery etc.
You can even manage your finances online with the complete suite of money management tools. Track income, expenses, and debts all from one web page. If you don't realize the value of this, read one of my articles about budgeting and debt reduction.
And, drum roll please....
You can send and receive money using the text function of your cell phone. Imagine this, you're in the middle of nowhere and your car breaks down. You need some money, but the only ATM in this little town is out-of-order. The bank doesn't open until Monday. You really need to get moving.
In the old days you would have to get someone to send you money order via wire from one of the commercial wire services (fee) then you would have to cash that money order (another fee). Or you would have to wait until the bank opened on Monday. But now you can call friends, family, whom ever you need to and they can text you the money you need. As soon as then press send the money is credited to your card and you can spend it.
Want to get those pizzas? Everyone texts you a few dollars and instantly your card is loaded. No more splitting the bill. No more getting short-changed by the deadbeat who never has enough to cover their share. You have a record of who gave how much and you can make sure you have all the money in hand before you order the pizza.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ron_DuBois
Traditional banking used to require an account and then they still held a check for several days before making the money available to spend. Sometime in the late 80's many employers started offering direct deposit for their employees. No more checks. The money just magically appeared in your bank account and you could spend it. No more delays.
Then along came the ATM card. Now if you're not careful the ATM card can eat you alive. Some out of network systems charge $3-4 dollars per transaction. But if you operate within your network, or get cash back when you make purchases, ATM's can be a great convenience. Some banks even let you use the ATM to deposit cash to your account.
Now, here we are almost 30 years after the advent of Direct Deposit and we have a new, easier, more convenient way to send, receive, spend, and track our money. The system takes the best of all available technology and puts it to use for our convenience. Direct deposit, debit cards, automatic teller machines, internet, and cell phones. Yup I said cell phones.
Here are some of the things you can do with this new system - have your paycheck direct deposited to your debit card - no more expensive checks to order, no more "I'm sorry we only accept local checks," no more minimum balances, no more monthly bank fees. (Side tangent- my old bank required me to keep at least $500 in their nearly zero interest paying savings account in order waive the monthly fee for having a checking account).
With your debit card loaded you can shop anywhere that accepts MasterCard. You use an ATM to get cash (no fee within the 4,200 location network). You can deposit cash onto your debit card at an ATM. You can get cash back when you buy things at the store just like you can with your current debit card. Your account includes online bill pay - say goodbye to checks, check ordering fees, slow delivery etc.
You can even manage your finances online with the complete suite of money management tools. Track income, expenses, and debts all from one web page. If you don't realize the value of this, read one of my articles about budgeting and debt reduction.
And, drum roll please....
You can send and receive money using the text function of your cell phone. Imagine this, you're in the middle of nowhere and your car breaks down. You need some money, but the only ATM in this little town is out-of-order. The bank doesn't open until Monday. You really need to get moving.
In the old days you would have to get someone to send you money order via wire from one of the commercial wire services (fee) then you would have to cash that money order (another fee). Or you would have to wait until the bank opened on Monday. But now you can call friends, family, whom ever you need to and they can text you the money you need. As soon as then press send the money is credited to your card and you can spend it.
Want to get those pizzas? Everyone texts you a few dollars and instantly your card is loaded. No more splitting the bill. No more getting short-changed by the deadbeat who never has enough to cover their share. You have a record of who gave how much and you can make sure you have all the money in hand before you order the pizza.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ron_DuBois
No comments:
Post a Comment