The 1 question to ask about $1,300 in overdraft fees

May 16 17 Comments latest by Peggie

I was having breakfast with someone today who told me the most interesting story. He had been dating his girlfriend for two years before they talked about finances. “It took me that long to get her trust,” he said. She was a public school teacher, so she didn’t make that much money. When he looked at her finances, he noticed that she had a lot of overdraft fees. He asked her to guess how much she had spent in overdraft fees. “About $100 or $200?” she guessed.

It turns out that her overdraft fees totaled $1,300 in the last year.

Here’s where it gets really interesting. He didn’t freak out or start yelling about how to negotiate out of bank fees. He simply pointed out something very gently: “What if you could focus on your overdrafts? If you eliminated just that fee, you’d be so much better off.”

Not set up an entire investment plan and global asset allocation. Not create a fully automated system with multiple accounts and savings strategies. Just focus on one big problem.

Now the question is…what’s your one big problem?

(Mine is eating out too much.)

17 Comments latest by Peggie

Why the lady sitting next to me should pay $2,000 for a computer class

April 22 25 Comments latest by The Best Way To Spend $20, Today at Paul Singh

I’m sitting at my neighborhood coffee shop listening to two women talk about their careers. Yes, I eavesdrop.

One of them is complaining about her job, but says that she can’t get another one because she’s uncomfortable with her computer skills. Which led me to this post.

If you take a $2,000 computer class and it lets you get a job with a $10,000 salary bump, you should do it. No question.

If you buy one book per week, for $20 each, that’s $1,000 per year. If you get one good idea per week, my friend Paul told me, it’s worth it. If you apply that idea, I can’t even guess how much it would be worth.

If you buy a new car for $8,000 more than a used car, it can sometimes be worth it.

Put the numbers in context and look at value, not just cost. A $2,000 conference sure sounds like a lot. But if you make $80,000 off it, it sure looks like an investment. (Which is exactly what another friend, Erica, just did.)

Of course, the excuses will come. I don’t have that kind of money. (Answer: Save up.) How do I know if the class will get me that better job? I could probably take the same class for $100 somewhere else. All this stuff is free online, anyway.

You don’t know. That’s part of deciding what’s valuable and what’s simply a cost. But remember, buying something is not just about a number. If the value exceeds the cost, do it.

25 Comments latest by The Best Way To Spend $20, Today at Paul Singh

How to use a separate debit card for discretionary spending

April 3 43 Comments latest by sandra

[Update: Added ghetto hand-drawn image below.]

One of my friends has been carefully watching her spending for the last few months. When she started tracking her spending, she noticed that she was spending an unbelievable amount going out every week. So she came up with a clever solution to control her discretionary spending.

She set up a separate bank account with a debit card. At the beginning of each month, she transfers, let’s say, $200, into it. When she goes out, she spends that money. And when it’s done, it’s done.

This is a nice take of the envelope system, where you decide how much you’re going to spend in each category and literally put cash in different envelopes. You can transfer from one envelope to another, but once your money runs out, that’s all you can spend for the month.

Tip: If you set up a debit account like this, call your bank and tell them you don’t want them to allow you to spend more than you have in your account. Tell them, “If I only have $30 in my account and I try to charge $35 on my debit card, I don’t want your system to let me.” Some banks can handle this request. (Schwab Checking can do this by turning off overdraft/margin protection, while Wells Fargo can’t at all because they suck and are useless.) If you don’t do this, you’ll run up tons of overdraft fees.

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43 Comments latest by sandra

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