Some Helpful Banking Tips

Who needs an ATM when you have a smart phone?

By the time you reach college, hopefully you have a bank account…whether it is one under your parent’s name or one of you own; it’s wise to have a safe place to keep your money. Most of the time, within a few weeks of opening an account at a bank, you receive a debit/check card in the mail. The activation process is easy and so is using the card. You just use it like cash.  The money charged to your debit card will come from your checking account. As long as you keep an eye on your account activity and you keep your account and pin number secure, there should be little to no hassle. 

There are some less obvious things to keep in mind though, when using a debit card. Because you are not relying on the visible cash in your wallet it becomes easier to over spend. An easy way to keep track of what you spend and how much you have remaining is to use online banking. Most national banks offer a free online service and some even offer apps for iPhones and Androids. If you check your account daily, you are much less likely to overspend or be a victim of card theft. The only possible issue with online banking would be a security breach if you were to forget to log out of your account and someone else accesses it. So, just remember to log out and never save your password on a computer.

Another tip to remember when banking is that when you do need cash, and your bank doesn’t have an ATM nearby- there are other options besides using another bank’s ATM and being charged. One option is to use a Cash Points ATM. These green ATM boxes may be in random parking lots, but they don’t charge you to withdraw money, which is awesome. Another idea if there isn’t a Cash Points ATM around, is to go a gas station or grocery store and buy something small and ask for cash back at the register. This could be similar to an ATM charge, but if you have to buy groceries anyways, you may as well get cash back at the same time. 

Sometimes, you just have to spend money…as long as you are keeping track of your spending and keeping your information safe, you should be okay.

Be Wary of Online Shopping

The bottomless cart.

After a day trip back home to visit my family this past Sunday, I returned back to school with a little more than I went home with.  It seems that over the past month, my mom has become victim to a Wanelo addiction. For those of you who haven’t heard of Wanelo before…it is a phone app made for shopping, similar to Etsy. Now that my mom understands how to use her iPhone, she is using it to its full potential. She has been ordering jewelry, clothes, bags, and shoes left and right. My dad and I discussed an intervention, but I was distracted once I realized that she picked out a few things for me.

She bought me an adorable satchel bag from somewhere in Hong Kong, a lovely keychain, a pink iPhone USB charger extension cord, and a cute top from Delia’s. I was pleasantly surprised by the gifts she bought for me, but was overwhelmed by all of the goodies she bought herself. For probably an hour straight my mom was taking me around her room and bathroom sharing with me all of her latest purchases. I know my mom knows how to look for a deal (she is the one who taught me, after all) but I also know how addicting online shopping can be and how quickly online purchases add up. 

 Satchel bag courtesy of Wanelo

My advice to my mom and to all you online shoppers out there is just to be aware. Check your bank account often, know how much shipping will cost you, and mainly…don’t go overboard. One of my rules for shopping, both online and in stores, is to avoid purchasing items that you do not need.  Yes, being able to say that I have a pink, ten foot long USB cord is nice…but it’s completely unnecessary. I doubt that I will ever have to use my USB cord as a jump rope. 

Online shopping is fun and easy, trust me- I know. Just try to limit yourself to only one or two online purchases a month.  If you find that your addiction to online shopping is out of control, delete your shopping apps off of your phone. Remember, the easiest way to pinch pennies, is by simply not spending any.