First I am rather surprised about the uproar, especially since you sell your information to people any time you provide it or repeat it sooo...that said I began using Netspend as my primary account 5 years ago after being taken by my bank to the toon of several thousand dollars worth of service and overdraft fees. Now I realize that my lack of accounting skills did not help my situation and that much of it I started, but the avalanche that ensued I didn't see coming. Netspend does charge fees for their service, the same way your bank does, only theirs are much lower. You can get a better deal if you pay a year at a time which is about 70.00, and if you are a smart shopper, you can get cash at point of purchase for no fee, and unlimited debit transactions. They are FDIC insured for 100,000 per account. Everytime I spend money from the card I get a balance update to my phone. If I go slightly over my balance, up to 20.00 they'll cover it and don't charge an extra fee. I have a savings account as well with them that pays 5%. I'm sorry you were unhappy about the marketing ploy of the company but I dare say the freakout is silly, lots of free things are sent thru the mail(deodarant, pampers, swiffer pads, magazines, coupons) Next time you get something you don't understand, take the time to learn about it and opt out.
I was accepted in the the trail of Obama plan. After I completed the program and made all the payments, GMAC denied my application to modify the loan. Then they called to threatened foreclosure if I don't pay up. Worst yet, they threatened to send maintenance workers to change my locks of my home. I just gave up and moved out.
I lol'd at the intelligence level of alot of the posters here.
your son may be 9 but when its time to activate
they will ask for info that will tell them he is too young
and thus
DENY HIM
all they have is a name and address
i mean you people have time to open **** that doesnt concern you?
i dont if i didnt ask for it i trash it
and unlike the genius who activated it thinking it was his bank card
I had just wrapped some birthday gifts and was going crazy on how to store those rolls---great idea! Also the one for soap scraps, (not in my shower tho...), and hanging it from the outside faucet---perfect for that use!
I will add though that the one about rock salt and tossing it on the roof for ice damns----that is very hard on the life of your shingles, so not a good idea at all. Also if you have any plants that it can drip on, it will kill them. The one about a poor man's shredder and putting in the washing machine also----how economical is it to run the washer just for that, since you would not want any clothes in the washer when you were doing this. Also over time those bits of paper that escape the pantyhose are going to cause problems with your washer.
I love Alice. I've been using the service since they opened. Quick delivery, automatic coupons and reminders when you are scheduled to run out of stuff.
right, arcbeauty. when are you to just cut off all relations? if your family is just being a drain on your finances, and they are just too dense to learn anything about money management (claiming that you are just being judgmental) yet keep playing the family or elderly guilt trip card? their behavior only worsens the relationship. wouldn't it be nice to end this emotional abuse?
I was speaking to someone who works for a major bank here in the UK on their anti fraud team last week and she told me that you should only ever use a credit card for online purchases. The reason she gave was that if there is a case of fraud, your card is cloned for example, if it's a debit card it's your money not the banks and they wont be in a hurry to investigate. If it is a credit card then it's the banks money and they prioritise those cases.
She also said that you would only get your money back if it can be proved to be fraudulent activity. If it can't be proved you have to pay up!
There are a couple smart things that families can do to increase the amount of financial aide that their kids get. Two of them that I think make the most sense are the following:
1) Pay down consumer debt with assets that you have
2) Pre-pay your mortgage, houses are generally exempt
In both cases, debt does not factor in to the equation but assets do. So paying down your debt with parental assets makes a lot of sense. And if your child has assets, even more sense to pay down family debt. If you acquired your home around the time your kids were born, you are hopefully 18 years into your mortgage, and using the college money might let you retire your mortgage outright. Once you do that, use what you would have paid for mortgage to fund their education.
Also, don't forget one of the biggest issues. Make sure that you are making the right choice about college for your kids. The ROI on an expensive college is questionable today. Harvard is one thing, but mid tier schools that will set you back $40K a year will likely have a negative ROI.
Fill a leg with rock salt and tie off. Flip up over the gutter to the ice dam on your roof. The salt melts the ice and the salt-filled-pantyhose can be safely removed afterwards and reused. Of course, it may be a little unsightly with a pear of panties hanging from your roof line. :)
Thanks, everyone, for all your comments. I'm glad you enjoyed my article. I'm also glad to see that some of you have a more twisted sense of humor than even I do! ;-)
As for the panyhose model pictured above, I'm always trying to economize, so I posed for that photo myself.
My family has always done this with leftover soap slivers, which were then tied to the outside faucet for easy clean-up after working or playing in the dirt! Quick and easy wash and rinse, and the dirty hands are clean and good to go!
In response to Rick. I would love it if we did what you suggest. But here are the hurdles. Government programs are inefficiently run and costly. (Anyone who's attempted to get consistant income tax info over the phone, can attest.) Inefficiency, because it's complicated, protects itself from dismantlement. (Seven organizations to cover national security that don't communicate with each other.) Do you think any candidate for office would be elected by saying he'd seek to steamline government, to dismantle the medicare system, social security, farm subsidies, school grants, etc? No, we love our programs. Do you really think seniors would give up Part D now that it's in place? Or those "free" scooters advertised on TV, at $9000 a pop? Or that Pell Grant recipiants would appreciate cuts? Or that school systems would turn down cash to build new buildings when they get no grant money to fix up existing structures even though that costs less? We Americans didn't turn down "cash for clunkers" or "help" with mortgages or "stimulus checks". We Americans expect "the government" to absorb so many things when actually these expenses are more accurately seen as "our tax paid" or "paid by money printed with nothing to back it". Would I personally spend $9000 of my own cash on a scooter? No. We can't afford that for a car. But somehow if someone else is footing the bill, it's OK.
People always suggest using the mesh bags onions come in for soap slivers, but I think they are not ideal. Pantyhose are ideal. Great list. I will use this!
Wow. These are really useful. I haven't seen these ideas in other blogs. My site, Creative Wealth, is looking for posts like these to link to. Nice one. Your ideas are fresh and useful.
I use netspend and I love it.
You people freak out over nothing. If you don't want it then throw it away.
I have bad credit and netspend allows me to actually have a bank account that I can't screw up.
First I am rather surprised about the uproar, especially since you sell your information to people any time you provide it or repeat it sooo...that said I began using Netspend as my primary account 5 years ago after being taken by my bank to the toon of several thousand dollars worth of service and overdraft fees. Now I realize that my lack of accounting skills did not help my situation and that much of it I started, but the avalanche that ensued I didn't see coming. Netspend does charge fees for their service, the same way your bank does, only theirs are much lower. You can get a better deal if you pay a year at a time which is about 70.00, and if you are a smart shopper, you can get cash at point of purchase for no fee, and unlimited debit transactions. They are FDIC insured for 100,000 per account. Everytime I spend money from the card I get a balance update to my phone. If I go slightly over my balance, up to 20.00 they'll cover it and don't charge an extra fee. I have a savings account as well with them that pays 5%. I'm sorry you were unhappy about the marketing ploy of the company but I dare say the freakout is silly, lots of free things are sent thru the mail(deodarant, pampers, swiffer pads, magazines, coupons) Next time you get something you don't understand, take the time to learn about it and opt out.
I was accepted in the the trail of Obama plan. After I completed the program and made all the payments, GMAC denied my application to modify the loan. Then they called to threatened foreclosure if I don't pay up. Worst yet, they threatened to send maintenance workers to change my locks of my home. I just gave up and moved out.
I lol'd at the intelligence level of alot of the posters here.
your son may be 9 but when its time to activate
they will ask for info that will tell them he is too young
and thus
DENY HIM
all they have is a name and address
i mean you people have time to open **** that doesnt concern you?
i dont if i didnt ask for it i trash it
and unlike the genius who activated it thinking it was his bank card
i can read AND understand what i read.
with that i bid you goodbye
I had just wrapped some birthday gifts and was going crazy on how to store those rolls---great idea! Also the one for soap scraps, (not in my shower tho...), and hanging it from the outside faucet---perfect for that use!
I will add though that the one about rock salt and tossing it on the roof for ice damns----that is very hard on the life of your shingles, so not a good idea at all. Also if you have any plants that it can drip on, it will kill them. The one about a poor man's shredder and putting in the washing machine also----how economical is it to run the washer just for that, since you would not want any clothes in the washer when you were doing this. Also over time those bits of paper that escape the pantyhose are going to cause problems with your washer.
I love Alice. I've been using the service since they opened. Quick delivery, automatic coupons and reminders when you are scheduled to run out of stuff.
Your blog is full of interesting articles, thanks for good read
... that IS a good deal!
right, arcbeauty. when are you to just cut off all relations? if your family is just being a drain on your finances, and they are just too dense to learn anything about money management (claiming that you are just being judgmental) yet keep playing the family or elderly guilt trip card? their behavior only worsens the relationship. wouldn't it be nice to end this emotional abuse?
I was speaking to someone who works for a major bank here in the UK on their anti fraud team last week and she told me that you should only ever use a credit card for online purchases. The reason she gave was that if there is a case of fraud, your card is cloned for example, if it's a debit card it's your money not the banks and they wont be in a hurry to investigate. If it is a credit card then it's the banks money and they prioritise those cases.
She also said that you would only get your money back if it can be proved to be fraudulent activity. If it can't be proved you have to pay up!
There are a couple smart things that families can do to increase the amount of financial aide that their kids get. Two of them that I think make the most sense are the following:
1) Pay down consumer debt with assets that you have
2) Pre-pay your mortgage, houses are generally exempt
In both cases, debt does not factor in to the equation but assets do. So paying down your debt with parental assets makes a lot of sense. And if your child has assets, even more sense to pay down family debt. If you acquired your home around the time your kids were born, you are hopefully 18 years into your mortgage, and using the college money might let you retire your mortgage outright. Once you do that, use what you would have paid for mortgage to fund their education.
Also, don't forget one of the biggest issues. Make sure that you are making the right choice about college for your kids. The ROI on an expensive college is questionable today. Harvard is one thing, but mid tier schools that will set you back $40K a year will likely have a negative ROI.
Send them to community college or a state school and you'll not have to worry as much about financial aide. And most of all, Make Sure Your Kids Pay Their Fair Share of College Expenses.
Fill a leg with rock salt and tie off. Flip up over the gutter to the ice dam on your roof. The salt melts the ice and the salt-filled-pantyhose can be safely removed afterwards and reused. Of course, it may be a little unsightly with a pear of panties hanging from your roof line. :)
great article, thanks for the tips! Just wanted to let you know I am adding this blog on my "digg"
Never in my entire life would I have suspected that panty-hose could be this economic. :)
this stuff makes no sense what so ever to me!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks, everyone, for all your comments. I'm glad you enjoyed my article. I'm also glad to see that some of you have a more twisted sense of humor than even I do! ;-)
As for the panyhose model pictured above, I'm always trying to economize, so I posed for that photo myself.
Don't leave out tying each other to the bedposts for some special romance! Ha Ha.
John DeFlumeri Jr
yes how can i get a card.
Great Tips, but...Who's he pantyhose model?!?!? WOW! Hubba Hubba!!!
My family has always done this with leftover soap slivers, which were then tied to the outside faucet for easy clean-up after working or playing in the dirt! Quick and easy wash and rinse, and the dirty hands are clean and good to go!
In response to Rick. I would love it if we did what you suggest. But here are the hurdles. Government programs are inefficiently run and costly. (Anyone who's attempted to get consistant income tax info over the phone, can attest.) Inefficiency, because it's complicated, protects itself from dismantlement. (Seven organizations to cover national security that don't communicate with each other.) Do you think any candidate for office would be elected by saying he'd seek to steamline government, to dismantle the medicare system, social security, farm subsidies, school grants, etc? No, we love our programs. Do you really think seniors would give up Part D now that it's in place? Or those "free" scooters advertised on TV, at $9000 a pop? Or that Pell Grant recipiants would appreciate cuts? Or that school systems would turn down cash to build new buildings when they get no grant money to fix up existing structures even though that costs less? We Americans didn't turn down "cash for clunkers" or "help" with mortgages or "stimulus checks". We Americans expect "the government" to absorb so many things when actually these expenses are more accurately seen as "our tax paid" or "paid by money printed with nothing to back it". Would I personally spend $9000 of my own cash on a scooter? No. We can't afford that for a car. But somehow if someone else is footing the bill, it's OK.
People always suggest using the mesh bags onions come in for soap slivers, but I think they are not ideal. Pantyhose are ideal. Great list. I will use this!
What happened to just using them for bank hold ups and liquor store robberies?!
Wow. These are really useful. I haven't seen these ideas in other blogs. My site, Creative Wealth, is looking for posts like these to link to. Nice one. Your ideas are fresh and useful.
I love sex and cocaine. So drug dealing pimping is the way to go?