Joe,
I agree. It only works if you have that money in the account.
I remember the joke where the lady swore that "she couldn't be overdrawn...because she still had checks". I think she was blonde. <G>
I like having a debit card since its so much more user friendly than a
cheque: no ID, having it signed off on, etc. If lost/stolen that user needs JM>PIN, etc. Also one can call the bank and put a stop on it starting at the t JM>it was discovered missing.
My bank calls me for any suspicious transaction, and asks for me to
approve or deny it. That speaks volumes when they care about the
customer, and not just having their money in their coffers.
I'll get cash back from the store and use that for small purchases during
week. Usually I get back no more than $10. Many times I still have that $1 JM>the following week.
The only time I use the card anymore is for over the phone medical
bill payments, or if I buy a needed item for ham radio. Two of my
monthly bills are withdrawn via electronic funds transfer.
When I started on the net in the '80s I was on GEnie, which was sort of a
CompuServe knock off.
I never was on Genie, but I used CompuServe quite a bit. I saw an
article the other day, that all of their "forums" were being shut
down...and I think for that matter, CompuServe is now history. But, for
many people, at one time, that was "their internet".
A rebellion against the mad spending on Black Friday was gaining steam cal
"Buy nothing Friday", or the like. One writer replied he has many buy nothi JM>days and I totally agreed with him.
I had to buy a new microwave oven today, to replace the one that
shorted out on me yesterday, and almost caught fire. Thankfully, I had
prepared a casserole conglomeration beforehand of macaroni and cheese,
wild rice, and English Peas. The oven was starting the second cycle to
cook a Marie Callendar TV dinner, when it was making a loud noise, and I smelled something electrical burning. I immediately unplugged the
oven...it likely would've caught fire otherwise. I had to throw out the
TV dinner (since it didn't get fully cooked), but I had that casserole
to fill my belly.
Too many people fall into that easy credit trap, esp. when credit cards ar
sent to them in the mail, unasked for. "Hey, free money!"
And instead of paying on the balance only the interest is paid on, which i
great for the CC companies, esp. those with high interest rates, which most JM>them are. But people don't often read the fine print.
Years ago, these credit card companies would send representatives to
college campuses...and they'd swoop down on the unsuspecting
students...just like salespeople do at car showroom lots...as the
vultures do to carrion. I heard that several campuses finally
implemented a policy to BAN these people from being on campus.
The students would run up this horriffic debt, and never be able to
pay it. They'd get student loans, etc. -- and they always had to have
"the latest and greatest items" in their dorm rooms.
When I went to college from 1978 to 1983, at the time, the University
Of Arkansas At Little Rock was "a commuter campus"...no dorms at all.
But, there are dorms all over it today...although it's way smaller than
the main U Of A Campus in Fayetteville.
For me, I lived at home, but worked at Burger King while I was in
school, so I didn't have to worry about room and board, and I basically
paid my way through college. The last year I was there before graduating
with a Bachelor Of Arts in Radio and Television, I paid $400 a semester tuition, $100 a semester for books, and a $20 per year parking fee. So,
that worked out to just over $1000 a year.
The UALR Alumni Association has a fall campus picnic in early
September, and while they originally had hamburgers and all the
trimmings, the last 2 years, the cuisine has been BBQ. Anyway, I was
conversing with these young ladies, who were at least 35 years younger
(Continued to next message)
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