Q on mindset with others on $$

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-12-2004
Q on mindset with others on $$
21
Mon, 07-14-2008 - 11:17am

Ok ladies. Here's the breakdown and progress, albeit a small amount.


l) DH Kohls (21% interest, around $600)--paid off!


2) Car payment: paid until Oct. '08.


3) Kahuna: Down to $7700.


4) Waiting for statement for the 11% interest loan, then want to pay it off in 2-3 months ($1700) Target: October


Q--how does one change the mantra of "You're so rich" or "YOu can afford this". While folks encourage me on my diet, they do not when it comes to money. For example, there's always the can you get me a soda, water, gum, juice, candy, or whatever?

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-12-2004
Tue, 07-15-2008 - 11:54am
Hi, Megan. How I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to set it up on the bank, but havent
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-12-2004
Tue, 07-15-2008 - 12:17pm

Hi, Bex. Thank U a TON for this. It makes more sense to me to do it this way. I know Megan had suggested setting up the bank thing online. The DUMB whiz hasnt quite figured it out yet. Case in point. Yes, I am internet savvy.

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-12-2004
Tue, 07-15-2008 - 1:05pm
Hi, Kelly. Gosh, thanks for sharing your story on the $100-$200/month thing.
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-29-2006
Tue, 07-15-2008 - 1:10pm

Hi There,


I read your post and found it very interesting.

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-12-2004
Tue, 07-15-2008 - 3:03pm
Hi, GA. Wow, so the guys do have a different mindset eh?
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-29-2006
Tue, 07-15-2008 - 4:17pm

I have experienced that male dominated industries don't have the party planner types running amuck at work.

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-26-1999
Tue, 07-15-2008 - 11:16pm

Hi Whiz, I'm replying to your to your post quoted below:

"So, I guess I call Discover Chase, Kahuna, etc to set it up online from my bank??? I looked on each of their websites where I pay, and I couldnt find feature, only how to set it up if you want your payment to be deducted from your account you've set up, say, 3 days from now, or a week from now, etc."

Can you access your bank account online? I assume your bank has a website and you can log in online and check your bank account?

That is how you add all the various companies so that you pay them all out of your bank account instead of using all of the different companies' websites.

Like Bex I also use PC Financial (in Canada, I don't know if they operate in the usa) and I log into my bank account online. Once logged in, there is a tab or a link that I click on to "pay bills online" and you have to add each company that you want to be able to pay from your account.

To do this I had to type in the name of the company and the bank website searches for it. When I typed in Mastercard, for example, it came up with a lot of different companies...and all I had to do was choose the one that my Mastercard is issued by. Then you type in your account number and add it to your list of bills that you can pay from your account. You only have to set up each account once, then they stay added to your account so they are there each time you log in and want to make a payment.

I set up my annual life insurance premium payment this way too, and in order to do this, I called the toll free customer service line (for my bank, not the life insurance company) and spoke to a real live person to add this one properly because it was a little more unusual and I wanted to make sure I did it properly.

For most things that I have ever set up to pay out of my account online, it is really quick and easy. Some bank's websites will also offer an online tutorial for how to do stuff, or if you aren't sure, go into the customer service counter of your bank and ask if they can explain to you.

If you try to do it and just don't understand, calling the customer service line for your bank would likely get you through to a person who can manually add the bills to your account so you can pay them online out of your bank account.

Like you, I am terrified of setting up the recurring thing and then not having the money in my account. I messed that up once and won't do it again. I work on call and so I don't make a set amount of money per month...

After you have the bills added to your account, you just go to the "pay bill online" or like tab when you are logged onto your account and select the bill you want to pay, how much to pay, and when to pay it. With my bank I can do this and set it up so that the payment comes out of my account at a set date after the day I do it (say I log on on Monday morning, I can program the payment to come out of my account on Thursday of that week, as a one time payment, and not being a recurring thing).

I hope that helps. I find online banking from my bank account (and not through the bill companies' websites) really easy and very, very helpful.

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-11-2008
Tue, 07-15-2008 - 11:54pm

I'm so glad to see the co-worker contributions brought up!

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-09-2005
Wed, 07-16-2008 - 2:29am
Hi Whiz,
Do not fear online banking. You had the insurance debited twice because while you cancelled the insurance with the insurance company, you did not cancel your online bill pay for the insurance. The online pay only does what you tell it. It would not know that your didn't want the payments to continue. And since the insurance company had not set up the online pay (only you can do that) then only you could cancel it.
Online pay is safe. You can always use the creditor's web site to track your progress and payments. But once you set up the bill pay with your bank, you are all set.
Good luck with this,
Megan
Avatar for mahopac
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-24-1997
Wed, 07-16-2008 - 10:00am

I never appreciated how lucky I am to have always worked in male-dominated offices. In 25 years, I've never worked anywhere that people collected for parties, etc., but that's probably because I've worked in the auto industry and for consulting firms. I imagine it's a big problem in schools, medical offices, etc.

I keep a fund for donating to my colleagues' causes, but I have some rules about it. For example, if someone is going to do the Avon Breast Cancer Walk because her mother died of cancer, or if someone is going to participate in a Suicide Awareness Walk because a family member committed suicide, I'll sponsor her because I care about *her*. I won't donate to school fundraisers or things like that, nor do I bring my own kids' fundraisers to work. I have a limit as to what I'll donate, too. Again, I think I'm lucky in that my coworkers don't often ask me to donate. I think everyone thinks they've got a right to ask maybe once a year, and most of them don't do it at all.

Kelly