WWTBAM Bored

Just because we can do it-doesn't mean that we should.

Got a call yesterday that Li'l Spock had his debit card hacked. The debit card issuer was pretty fast-it was used in Florida at 12:09 AM and we got a call about noon.

I forgot to tell him to not give your number to exiled Nigerian princes (LOL).

I told him, in the future-get cash at an ATM-or our bank and use that at McDonald's and so forth.

I got after my folks too, they use their debit card everywhere. Their card number is floating around at a lot of places.

I use cash or checks as much as possible.

Spock wrote:I use cash or checks as much as possible.

I always have used cash for daily expenditures but not because of a fear of hacking. I do it as a budgeting mechanism. If I "know" that I have $50 left to last me until Friday, then I'll spend (or more likely not spend) accordingly. Now obviously I have more money so if I need to I can access it, but it's a good way for me to decide against splurging for an extra lunch out or impulse purchase I don't really need and don't really want all that much.

I've always liked using cash for most purchases, but there are lots of circumstances that are gradually changing my behavior. For example, I have a credit card that gives me 2% cash back on everything I buy. And it's certainly much easier to pay at the pump when you buy gas than to go inside and wait in line to pay cash. Paying at the pump might also prevent several dollars in impulse purchases of Cheetos, Big Gulps, cigarettes, lottery tickets, etc.

My bank gives me the option to get a text notice of a transaction above the limit I set

themanintheseersuckersuit wrote:My bank gives me the option to get a text notice of a transaction above the limit I set

Mine does too. It's like closing the barn door after the horses have escaped.

For years and years, I was a cash only person. I didn't even have a checking account. Part of that was due to so much of my income at that time being mostly on a cash basis. The checking account came first. When it became next to impossible to book a hotel room without a credit card I got one and now have two. I still do the majority of my transactions in cash with the CC card use coming in second. Checks are for getting cash out of my bank and paying the credit card bills.

It never fails to amaze me how some people have so little discipline about their spending habits. And I think that the ubiquitous proliferation of debit cards makes it worse. Swiping a card isn't the same as pulling $5 or $10 out of your wallet. Do it enough times and it adds up. I've never gone into a Starbucks on my own, and I'm a prolific coffee drinker. The only times I've gone have been to meet someone at their suggestion. I was astonished when the recession hit and people talked about cutting back and one of the things they had trouble adjusting to was not going to Starbucks every morning.

One thing I've convinced myself of over the years is that I can buy anything that Mrs. SSS or I have wanted, and we have. I've never been able to buy everything I've wanted, so I don't try. Some people do.

I would rather use my rewards credit card instead of carrying around cash in Manhattan any day. And I have had my credit card number stolen at least four times that I can remember, and I never lost the card.

themanintheseersuckersuit wrote:My bank gives me the option to get a text notice of a transaction above the limit I set

So does mine (Bank of America), but they're so slow it's often over 12 hours afterwards.

I think we need biometric sensors on either the right wrist or forehead in order to be able complete any financial transactions...

Jeemie wrote:I think we need biometric sensors on either the right wrist or forehead in order to be able complete any financial transactions...

We don't? Well, I guess they're not actually imbedded yet.

We won't get debit cards nor an ATM account. We both drop by the bank for cash. I use cash a lot -- we don't have a structure at bridge to take credit cards, and the treasurer says no checks, which makes sense. He says just wait and pay double next time, but somebody always steps up and lends the $3.

There seems to be an epidemic of credit/debit card thievery. Every person at book club this week had a story to tell. a couple of them victimized in the weeks since Christmas. There must be a better way.

SportsFan68 wrote:Every person at book club this week had a story to tell. a couple of them victimized in the weeks since Christmas.

How many of those people did not recover their money? Compare that to any who had cash stolen.

Estonut wrote:

SportsFan68 wrote:Every person at book club this week had a story to tell. a couple of them victimized in the weeks since Christmas.

How many of those people did not recover their money? Compare that to any who had cash stolen.

One person lost $400 that she says she can't get back. Nobody reported having any cash stolen.

Just yesterday I had someone with a clone of one of my bank cards try to use it at a Kroger gas station in Indianapolis. The only place I've had the card out of my hands and out of my sight in the last couple of months has been at a restaurant down the street where I joined a Mensa lunch bunch also yesterday.

Bank of America caught it and rejected the transaction. Their anti-fraud software probably calculated there was too little time in-between the time I used it in Chicago to get to Indianapolis. So it cost me nothing, even temporarily. Their website makes it very easy to see and verify recent transactions. The only thing that sucks is that they take about a week to replace the card while other banks and credit card companies will FedEx a new card overnight.