Money Tips Network

We’ve talked before about scams that target your banking information and how the best way to combat these scams is to avoid sharing your information in the first place, but can you be scammed or hacked after providing your bank account information for a legitimate reason, like for employee direct deposit? We dig into some instances where you might find yourself having to share bank account information, things to consider beforehand and how to decide whether or not to share.

When would someone ask for your bank account information?

There are a number of instances where someone would ask for your bank account information. These include enrolling in direct deposit through your employer, sharing the information digitally (via email, text message or to sign up for an online payment service like PayPal or Venmo), writing a check or filing your taxes to get your refund deposited into your account, among others.

Whether you’re juggling balances on multiple credit cards that are all earning high interest or you’re carrying a balance on one high-interest credit card, a balance transfer is likely the perfect tool for you. Completing a balance transfer is a lot easier than you think, as you can usually submit the request via your credit card application, but things may not always go as planned. That’s because you aren’t guaranteed to be approved for any amount, and you won’t know that amount until you actually apply and get approved. So what happens if you’re approved for the card, but your transfer amount isn’t as high as you were expecting? We detail everything you need to know.

There are so many credit cards with competitive rewards available right now, to the point that it’s difficult to settle on a single card. Just look through our credit card reviews and you’ll see cards that are great for dining out, fueling up your car or transferring your balances. However, what if you just opened a new credit card? If you see a different offer that you like, should you just go ahead and apply for another credit card? Unfortunately, sending out too many card applications in too short a period of time can lower your chances of getting approved, and may hurt your credit scores as well. For a rundown of why you should spread your credit card applications out, and guidelines on how long you should wait between them, keep reading.

Just five short years ago, a nationwide shift occurred in the way people made purchases with their debit and credit cards. Financial institutions started replacing magnetic stripe cards with EMV chip technology. While the new “chip-and-pin” cards provided a more secure way to make purchases, it slowed down payment processing at checkout.

Now, there’s a new shift coming to the U.S. with contactless payment cards. There’s no swiping or sticking your card into anything. You just hold the card close to the checkout terminal until it beeps a payment confirmation, and you’re done.

This improved way to pay promises to get you on your way faster than chip cards ever did. But before you start using this new technology, we’ll explain how contactless cards work, and what the pros and cons are of using them.

Because I write a personal finance blog, I read a lot of books about money. I'll be honest: they're usually pretty boring. Sure, they can tell you how to invest in bonds or how to find the latest loophole in the tax code. But most of them lack a certain something: the human element.

Over the years, I've found that it's fun to read a different kind of money book in my spare time. I've discovered the joy of classic biographies and success manuals, especially those written by (or about) wealthy and/or successful men. When I read about Benjamin Franklin or Booker T. Washington or J.C. Penney, I learn a lot — not just about money, but about how to be a better person.

Here are some of the most important lessons that these books, written by and about great men of years gone by, have taught me.

One of the biggest challenges I had to overcome during my own financial turnaround was the instinct I used when deciding whether to buy something. That instinct provided pretty good guidance during an earlier phase in my life when I had very little money to spend, but once I moved to a better paying job after graduating from college, that instinct that I had come to trust proved disastrous.

Basically, my old instinct operated like this: if I felt like I wanted something, and I felt like I had enough money to buy it, I bought it.

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