Blog: Entries Tagged With 'personal-finance'
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SecureSpend - Friday, February 24, 2023
Priscilla likes maximizing credit card points, and we both have the Chase Freedom card which gives us 5% cashback in revolving categories that change every quarter. This quarter it's grocery stores and gym memberships. So over the past weekend, we each bought $1000 worth of SecureSpend prepaid Visa debit cards (i.e. 4 $500 cards, since $500 is the maximum you can load on a card) from Safeway.
We intended to use those cards to donate to our team members who are participating in the RealOptions Walk for Life on March 4. Our church participates every year, and Priscilla and I both signed up, with her walking and me running.
So we were a little annoyed when our attempt to use the cards online failed, but we chalked it up to an address mismatch since there's no way to register an address with SecureSpend cards. Then, when we checked the balance for each card, two of the cards were reporting as invalid. I found some Reddit posts where people claimed to have lost money due to not being able to access their card funds. And when we rechecked the balance for the previously good cards, those started reporting as invalid as well. We were really freaking out at this point, and it looked like the company was scamming us like some people had reported. The next morning, we tried using the cards to buy gift cards in-person at Costco, and all four cards were declined.
We should've called customer support at the number on the back of the cards, but I had read that people weren't able to get through to a person or got hung up on. And since it seemed so obvious that we were being scammed, it seemed pointless to call. So instead, we returned to the Safeway where we had bought the cards and reported the issue to the manager. We learned something interesting: that gift cards in the display are stocked by a vendor who merely rents space from the store, and the cards themselves are issued by yet other companies. The store doesn't make any money from the sale of each card, not even the activation fee. So the money is tied up in the card, and the store has no ability (or incentive) to refund the money. With store gift cards, the respective store has the ability and incentive to help you out. But with prepaid debit cards, you have two entities before the card issuer, and if the issuer decides to be shady, you don't have much direct recourse.
Priscilla ended up calling SecureSpend customer support and, to our surprise, she was able to get through to a person and get our cards unlocked. My theory is that they locked our cards because we had checked multiple high-value cards within a short amount of time. There's a lot of fraud on the consumer side of gift cards and prepaid debit cards, so I can understand why the company is being extra paranoid. Still, the experience was confusing and frightening, and they can be doing a much better job with informing users.
Priscilla was then able to use one of the cards to donate $100 to RealOptions! But subsequent attempts to donate another $100, then $50, using the same card failed. As did trying to donate $200 with another card. And she tried swiping the first card at Costco to buy groceries, but that was declined, even though the card was still showing up as valid on the website.
Altogether, she had to call customer support 4 times to get them to unlock cards. To their credit, most of the reps were helpful. Priscilla ended up just using the $2000 to make multiple donations to RealOptions, and she had the final rep hang out with her on the phone for 48 minutes while she made the transactions, in case anything were to go wrong.
So in the end, we were able to use up all the card balances, and all's well that ends well. So the company wasn't trying to scam us; their systems are just not great - a true case of Hanlon's razor. But this experience did reveal to us how much we value money and security, and how much it affects us when those things are threatened. We certainly need to be prudent with our money and we probably won't be buying prepaid debit cards again, but ultimately, all of what we have belongs to God and we need to remember that we are just stewards.
We intended to use those cards to donate to our team members who are participating in the RealOptions Walk for Life on March 4. Our church participates every year, and Priscilla and I both signed up, with her walking and me running.
So we were a little annoyed when our attempt to use the cards online failed, but we chalked it up to an address mismatch since there's no way to register an address with SecureSpend cards. Then, when we checked the balance for each card, two of the cards were reporting as invalid. I found some Reddit posts where people claimed to have lost money due to not being able to access their card funds. And when we rechecked the balance for the previously good cards, those started reporting as invalid as well. We were really freaking out at this point, and it looked like the company was scamming us like some people had reported. The next morning, we tried using the cards to buy gift cards in-person at Costco, and all four cards were declined.
We should've called customer support at the number on the back of the cards, but I had read that people weren't able to get through to a person or got hung up on. And since it seemed so obvious that we were being scammed, it seemed pointless to call. So instead, we returned to the Safeway where we had bought the cards and reported the issue to the manager. We learned something interesting: that gift cards in the display are stocked by a vendor who merely rents space from the store, and the cards themselves are issued by yet other companies. The store doesn't make any money from the sale of each card, not even the activation fee. So the money is tied up in the card, and the store has no ability (or incentive) to refund the money. With store gift cards, the respective store has the ability and incentive to help you out. But with prepaid debit cards, you have two entities before the card issuer, and if the issuer decides to be shady, you don't have much direct recourse.
Priscilla ended up calling SecureSpend customer support and, to our surprise, she was able to get through to a person and get our cards unlocked. My theory is that they locked our cards because we had checked multiple high-value cards within a short amount of time. There's a lot of fraud on the consumer side of gift cards and prepaid debit cards, so I can understand why the company is being extra paranoid. Still, the experience was confusing and frightening, and they can be doing a much better job with informing users.
Priscilla was then able to use one of the cards to donate $100 to RealOptions! But subsequent attempts to donate another $100, then $50, using the same card failed. As did trying to donate $200 with another card. And she tried swiping the first card at Costco to buy groceries, but that was declined, even though the card was still showing up as valid on the website.
Altogether, she had to call customer support 4 times to get them to unlock cards. To their credit, most of the reps were helpful. Priscilla ended up just using the $2000 to make multiple donations to RealOptions, and she had the final rep hang out with her on the phone for 48 minutes while she made the transactions, in case anything were to go wrong.
So in the end, we were able to use up all the card balances, and all's well that ends well. So the company wasn't trying to scam us; their systems are just not great - a true case of Hanlon's razor. But this experience did reveal to us how much we value money and security, and how much it affects us when those things are threatened. We certainly need to be prudent with our money and we probably won't be buying prepaid debit cards again, but ultimately, all of what we have belongs to God and we need to remember that we are just stewards.
Tags: personal-finance
Inflation Invading My Dreams - Friday, February 18, 2022
In the last few months, inflation has been the talk of the economic world. It was only a matter of time before the insane amount of money the Fed created over the last two years caught up with us. Inflation is now up 7.5% annually, food is up 7%, gas is up 40%, and energy 27%. We've been feeling the pain at the pump, at the grocery store, and at the hardware store. Just yesterday I was at Home Depot to buy some PVC pipe, and a 10' length of 3/4" schedule 40 pipe now runs for $6.46, up from $3.56 ten months ago. That's an 81% increase in less than a year. Sheesh. And don't get me started on lumber prices.
While inflation for me and Priscilla is a minor annoyance, there are undoubtedly people who are greatly impacted by higher prices. The federal stimulus packages only allowed people to get by, not suddenly become well-off, and now that those have ramped down, people are starting to feel the squeeze. I think a recession in the next two years is inevitable.
Last month the S&P 500 took a 10% tumble, then started inching back up, but is now headed back into correction territory. Priscilla and I continue to dollar-cost average into index funds, but to have some more diversification, we bought I bonds, which have a variable interest rate adjusted for inflation. The current interest rate on those is a respectable 7.12%, maybe the only silver lining to high inflation. There's a $10k limit on I bond purchases per calendar year, so it's too bad that we only learned about them this year. I wish I'd bought some last year instead of putting so much money into the stock market, but oh well. I trust that the market will keep going up over the long-term, and if it doesn't, then we'll probably have bigger problems to worry about.
So related to inflation are its ugly siblings shrinkflation and skimpflation. We've seen all of those firsthand. There's also a labor shortage, which in reality is probably just a shortage of good paying jobs. In December, we ate with Priscilla's parents at an Asian buffet and the restaurant had replaced its ceramic plates and silverware with styrofoam plates and plasticware. Probably so that they don't have to wash dishes. My subconscious must've used that memory when I had a dream last night about eating at an Asian buffet where they provided us with paper plates, and each plate came with a layer of rice on it. As in, the restaurant was nudging customers towards filling up on rice so that they eat less of everything else. In the dream, I saw an adjacent table where the guests had left without eating a lot of the rice. But even though this generates waste, if a lot of people eat more rice than they otherwise would have, the restaurant probably still comes out ahead. In the real world, we've seen how people behaving rationally can lead to outcomes that are good for them but bad for society as a whole. It's sad.
Anyway, it looks like inflation won't be letting up anytime soon. To think that the Fed had at first predicted that inflation would be transitory!
While inflation for me and Priscilla is a minor annoyance, there are undoubtedly people who are greatly impacted by higher prices. The federal stimulus packages only allowed people to get by, not suddenly become well-off, and now that those have ramped down, people are starting to feel the squeeze. I think a recession in the next two years is inevitable.
Last month the S&P 500 took a 10% tumble, then started inching back up, but is now headed back into correction territory. Priscilla and I continue to dollar-cost average into index funds, but to have some more diversification, we bought I bonds, which have a variable interest rate adjusted for inflation. The current interest rate on those is a respectable 7.12%, maybe the only silver lining to high inflation. There's a $10k limit on I bond purchases per calendar year, so it's too bad that we only learned about them this year. I wish I'd bought some last year instead of putting so much money into the stock market, but oh well. I trust that the market will keep going up over the long-term, and if it doesn't, then we'll probably have bigger problems to worry about.
So related to inflation are its ugly siblings shrinkflation and skimpflation. We've seen all of those firsthand. There's also a labor shortage, which in reality is probably just a shortage of good paying jobs. In December, we ate with Priscilla's parents at an Asian buffet and the restaurant had replaced its ceramic plates and silverware with styrofoam plates and plasticware. Probably so that they don't have to wash dishes. My subconscious must've used that memory when I had a dream last night about eating at an Asian buffet where they provided us with paper plates, and each plate came with a layer of rice on it. As in, the restaurant was nudging customers towards filling up on rice so that they eat less of everything else. In the dream, I saw an adjacent table where the guests had left without eating a lot of the rice. But even though this generates waste, if a lot of people eat more rice than they otherwise would have, the restaurant probably still comes out ahead. In the real world, we've seen how people behaving rationally can lead to outcomes that are good for them but bad for society as a whole. It's sad.
Anyway, it looks like inflation won't be letting up anytime soon. To think that the Fed had at first predicted that inflation would be transitory!
Tags: personal-finance
A Single Blunder - Tuesday, February 12, 2019
Because I need expensive medication every month and because I'm on a high-deductible healthcare plan, I always end up paying a lot in the first few months of the year as I rack up medical expenses towards meeting my deductible. These expenses are typically offset since I can reimburse myself from my HSA (which my company contributes to), but the idea is that I manage my own money with which to pay for my healthcare expenses until my deductible is met.
Last month, I got a call from a pharmacist at the pharmacy where my prescription is filed, informing me of a manufacturer's coupon that I should try using. This coupon should've saved me a lot of money on one of my prescriptions, but it ended up not working for some reason. So the pharmacist instead scanned a courtesy SingleCare card that they had on hand. This knocked the price of my medication down by $100, so I thought great, I'll sign up for my own card (available for free) and start using it from now on.
SingleCare is a company that negotiates prices with drug companies, sometimes at cheaper prices than what an insurance company might get. SingleCare is not insurance. The thing is, SingleCare is not a way of getting a discount in addition to billing insurance. Getting drugs through SingleCare replaces getting them through insurance. I did not know this at the time, and only found out this month when I returned to refill my prescription, tried to show my SingleCare card, and the pharmacist (a different one) informed me that using SingleCare would mean that my insurance wouldn't be billed and thus the cost of the drug wouldn't go towards meeting my deductible. And sure enough, when checking my insurance company's site, I found that they had no record of the drug I purchased last month. A $500 purchase that won't go towards my deductible.
I think SingleCare (and companies like it) might be a decent option for people who don't have insurance, but for those with a high-deductible healthcare plan, it's probably not a good way to go. But they don't seem to make it clear how the program works and what the pitfalls are, and so consumers, and sometimes even pharmacists, may be none the wiser.
Edit: I went back to the pharmacy and they were able to reverse the billing to SingleCare and bill my insurance instead. I actually went in because I noticed that this month, both of my medications were billed to some company called OptumRx instead of my insurance company, so my large bill this month did not go towards my deductible at all. No idea how that happened. The pharmacy was able to correct that and bill my insurance correctly. I guess the moral of the story is to know what you're getting into when trying to change things, and when paying out of pocket for medication, look at your receipt carefully!
Last month, I got a call from a pharmacist at the pharmacy where my prescription is filed, informing me of a manufacturer's coupon that I should try using. This coupon should've saved me a lot of money on one of my prescriptions, but it ended up not working for some reason. So the pharmacist instead scanned a courtesy SingleCare card that they had on hand. This knocked the price of my medication down by $100, so I thought great, I'll sign up for my own card (available for free) and start using it from now on.
SingleCare is a company that negotiates prices with drug companies, sometimes at cheaper prices than what an insurance company might get. SingleCare is not insurance. The thing is, SingleCare is not a way of getting a discount in addition to billing insurance. Getting drugs through SingleCare replaces getting them through insurance. I did not know this at the time, and only found out this month when I returned to refill my prescription, tried to show my SingleCare card, and the pharmacist (a different one) informed me that using SingleCare would mean that my insurance wouldn't be billed and thus the cost of the drug wouldn't go towards meeting my deductible. And sure enough, when checking my insurance company's site, I found that they had no record of the drug I purchased last month. A $500 purchase that won't go towards my deductible.
I think SingleCare (and companies like it) might be a decent option for people who don't have insurance, but for those with a high-deductible healthcare plan, it's probably not a good way to go. But they don't seem to make it clear how the program works and what the pitfalls are, and so consumers, and sometimes even pharmacists, may be none the wiser.
Edit: I went back to the pharmacy and they were able to reverse the billing to SingleCare and bill my insurance instead. I actually went in because I noticed that this month, both of my medications were billed to some company called OptumRx instead of my insurance company, so my large bill this month did not go towards my deductible at all. No idea how that happened. The pharmacy was able to correct that and bill my insurance correctly. I guess the moral of the story is to know what you're getting into when trying to change things, and when paying out of pocket for medication, look at your receipt carefully!
Tags: personal-finance
Saving - Tuesday, February 21, 2017
For about as long as I've known the concept of money, I've always been a saver. I would probably credit my father for instilling in me the value of money, and my paternal grandfather for instilling in me the value of saving that money.
In Christmas of the year I was born, my grandfather sent me a $200 EE savings bond. Holding this bond in my hands right now, it feels like a piece of history. It's printed on cardstock - slightly thicker and heavier than more modern ones. The bond features a picture of John F Kennedy and has several rectangular holes punched through it, for running through what was surely a state-of-the-art computer back then.
The bond is addressed to me with my dad listed as the co-owner, in case future me would stick a fork into an electrical outlet and fry himself. Our names and address appear to have been typed with a typewriter. "Moanalua Branch First Hawaiian Bank" and the date are hand-stamped onto the right side of the bond.
I can picture my grandfather over 30 years ago, when he and my grandmother were living in Honolulu, walking into this bank, filling out a form and paying for this bond with $100 (half the face value) from his checking account, and mailing it to his son 2,500 miles away across the Pacific. Maybe the bond was mailed with a Christmas card, and as he wrote that card, I wonder if he wondered himself what kind of person his grandson (barring any mishaps with electrical outlets) would grow up to be. Did he have aspirations for my career and family? Did he want me to go to good schools, to become an engineer like himself, to marry a good Chinese girl? If so, he would probably be pleased on all accounts with how things turned out. Unfortunately, as he wasn't a Christian himself, he wouldn't have had in mind what is truly most important - learning to live a life glorifying to God.
But my grandfather did teach me the value of saving and of planning for the future. By the next year, he was sending two $500 bonds every year, for my birthday and for Christmas. He started doing the same for my brother after my brother was born. My grandfather kept this up for over a decade before his health started declining rapidly.
He may have intended for the bonds to be used to pay for higher education; college never gets cheaper, after all. But EE bonds reach full maturity in 30 years, several years after a person typically graduates from college. Was he hoping that I would pursue more education after undergrad, or was the money for my older and (hopefully) wiser self to decide what to do with, including redeeming before the maturity date if I thought it prudent? I don't think it was ever made clear to me, and in fact, my dad held onto the bonds for me until I asked for them after I graduated college (he probably just stashed them away and then it was out of sight, out of mind). My parents graciously put me through college, so I didn't have to spend any of that bond money. Now that I'm working, the amount of money I get from maturing bonds, though not insignificant, is not a life-changing amount. But for me to even be in this position of relative security is something I owe to my parents and grandparents. Many others are not as fortunate.
In terms of the value of money, my dad said to me when I was young that "$1 is a lot for a kid." I don't remember the context, but it probably had to do with him giving me some money for discretionary spending at school (e.g. a book fair or something). I guess that idea stuck with me, as I've been pretty frugal my whole life. In grade school, I would enjoy buying the occasional item from the book fair, and in middle school, I went through a phase where I thought it was ok to pay $50 for a deck of Pokemon cards, but by and large, I didn't buy a lot of things.
I was never given an allowance. In grade school, when I wanted a new bike, I had to earn it by doing chores; each completed chore was worth a dollar or two. That was a lot of chores for a bike that cost over $100. My parents trusted me to keep a tally of completed chores and to let them know when I had reached the goal. It was never about them not wanting to spend the money; rather, it was about instilling a work ethic in their children. I think that paid off.
Nowadays I still consider myself to be frugal, but I've learned to spend money on things that really matter - on activities with people, and on quality things that will make my life better. It's still hard for me to be ok with spending $50 on dinner with friends, but if it's a special occasion with people I care about, then I'll do it. Or for me to let Priscilla spend a few thousand dollars on an international trip for us, but I do appreciate the value of experiences.
Someday if we have kids of our own, I hope to be able to provide for their growth and happiness, while instilling in them a strong work ethic. And while I'll teach them the importance of saving, I hope I can also demonstrate the importance of spending money and time intentionally on the things that matter most.
In Christmas of the year I was born, my grandfather sent me a $200 EE savings bond. Holding this bond in my hands right now, it feels like a piece of history. It's printed on cardstock - slightly thicker and heavier than more modern ones. The bond features a picture of John F Kennedy and has several rectangular holes punched through it, for running through what was surely a state-of-the-art computer back then.
The bond is addressed to me with my dad listed as the co-owner, in case future me would stick a fork into an electrical outlet and fry himself. Our names and address appear to have been typed with a typewriter. "Moanalua Branch First Hawaiian Bank" and the date are hand-stamped onto the right side of the bond.
I can picture my grandfather over 30 years ago, when he and my grandmother were living in Honolulu, walking into this bank, filling out a form and paying for this bond with $100 (half the face value) from his checking account, and mailing it to his son 2,500 miles away across the Pacific. Maybe the bond was mailed with a Christmas card, and as he wrote that card, I wonder if he wondered himself what kind of person his grandson (barring any mishaps with electrical outlets) would grow up to be. Did he have aspirations for my career and family? Did he want me to go to good schools, to become an engineer like himself, to marry a good Chinese girl? If so, he would probably be pleased on all accounts with how things turned out. Unfortunately, as he wasn't a Christian himself, he wouldn't have had in mind what is truly most important - learning to live a life glorifying to God.
But my grandfather did teach me the value of saving and of planning for the future. By the next year, he was sending two $500 bonds every year, for my birthday and for Christmas. He started doing the same for my brother after my brother was born. My grandfather kept this up for over a decade before his health started declining rapidly.
He may have intended for the bonds to be used to pay for higher education; college never gets cheaper, after all. But EE bonds reach full maturity in 30 years, several years after a person typically graduates from college. Was he hoping that I would pursue more education after undergrad, or was the money for my older and (hopefully) wiser self to decide what to do with, including redeeming before the maturity date if I thought it prudent? I don't think it was ever made clear to me, and in fact, my dad held onto the bonds for me until I asked for them after I graduated college (he probably just stashed them away and then it was out of sight, out of mind). My parents graciously put me through college, so I didn't have to spend any of that bond money. Now that I'm working, the amount of money I get from maturing bonds, though not insignificant, is not a life-changing amount. But for me to even be in this position of relative security is something I owe to my parents and grandparents. Many others are not as fortunate.
In terms of the value of money, my dad said to me when I was young that "$1 is a lot for a kid." I don't remember the context, but it probably had to do with him giving me some money for discretionary spending at school (e.g. a book fair or something). I guess that idea stuck with me, as I've been pretty frugal my whole life. In grade school, I would enjoy buying the occasional item from the book fair, and in middle school, I went through a phase where I thought it was ok to pay $50 for a deck of Pokemon cards, but by and large, I didn't buy a lot of things.
I was never given an allowance. In grade school, when I wanted a new bike, I had to earn it by doing chores; each completed chore was worth a dollar or two. That was a lot of chores for a bike that cost over $100. My parents trusted me to keep a tally of completed chores and to let them know when I had reached the goal. It was never about them not wanting to spend the money; rather, it was about instilling a work ethic in their children. I think that paid off.
Nowadays I still consider myself to be frugal, but I've learned to spend money on things that really matter - on activities with people, and on quality things that will make my life better. It's still hard for me to be ok with spending $50 on dinner with friends, but if it's a special occasion with people I care about, then I'll do it. Or for me to let Priscilla spend a few thousand dollars on an international trip for us, but I do appreciate the value of experiences.
Someday if we have kids of our own, I hope to be able to provide for their growth and happiness, while instilling in them a strong work ethic. And while I'll teach them the importance of saving, I hope I can also demonstrate the importance of spending money and time intentionally on the things that matter most.
Tags: family, personal-finance
Goodbye WaMu - Another One Bites the Dust - Thursday, September 25, 2008
Sad to hear news today of WaMu collapsing. Since their assets are being sold to JPMorgan Chase, I hope they will keep the WaMu brand and level of service that people like me have grown to enjoy. I don't want to have a "Chase" bank account; two Chase credit cards is already enough.
Credit crunch. Mortgage crisis. Economy in turmoil. When will it end? Compared to many other people, I have it easy. I have no mouths to feed but my own. No home mortgage to worry about paying off. I'm not rich, but my quality of life is pretty good. For that, I am blessed.
Still, there's no doubt these are tough times for everybody. But my faith gives me hope. In God we trust.
Credit crunch. Mortgage crisis. Economy in turmoil. When will it end? Compared to many other people, I have it easy. I have no mouths to feed but my own. No home mortgage to worry about paying off. I'm not rich, but my quality of life is pretty good. For that, I am blessed.
Still, there's no doubt these are tough times for everybody. But my faith gives me hope. In God we trust.
Tags: personal-finance
The Rising Gas Prices - Thursday, May 29, 2008
Gas prices in my area climbed a further 14 cents to $4.23 in two days, and there's no indication that the end is in sight. Everybody's disgruntled, and businesses and airlines are finding it ever more costly to operate -- and passing those costs back down to the consumer. At this rate, we'll soon be seeing gas selling at $5 a gallon, and even that will quickly become a distant memory.
But Chris Pummer, a writer for MarketWatch, remains optimistic. He cites eight reasons we'll rejoice when gas hits $8 a gallon. Undoubtedly the changes and innovations brought on by these continuously rising gas prices won't happen overnight, but I do think more progress is to come. For one, I'm seeing more people riding bikes, and I'm looking to buy a pair of rollerblades for commuting to work. =)
But Chris Pummer, a writer for MarketWatch, remains optimistic. He cites eight reasons we'll rejoice when gas hits $8 a gallon. Undoubtedly the changes and innovations brought on by these continuously rising gas prices won't happen overnight, but I do think more progress is to come. For one, I'm seeing more people riding bikes, and I'm looking to buy a pair of rollerblades for commuting to work. =)
Tags: personal-finance
Business Credit Card - Saturday, April 21, 2007
I love using my credit cards. If you're fortunate to not have debt and aren't the type to go on spending binges, plastic in your pocket beats cash any day. Buyer protection, convenience, and perks like travel miles or cashback leave virtually no benefit to using cash over card. Unless you're trying to buy stuff anonymously, like drugs or something.
At any rate, I've always found the card companies to be very responsive to everything I've asked for, including rushing me a new card by UPS overnight delivery when I needed it in a couple days. Responsive, that is, until I got a business credit card from Chase.
I have a personal card with Chase and the service has been stellar. Recently they sent me an offer by mail, saying that I qualified for the "Business Card with Premier Cash Rebate." And indeed it did sport a great cashback plan- 3% on purchases from gas stations, restaurants, office supplies, and home improvement stores; 1% on everything else. It was better than the cashback plans on all my other cards at the time, and thus too good to pass up.
But little did I know that a business card was on the other side of the hill of my experience with credit card companies. And in this case, it was the side where the grass wasn't greener. So when I made up a business name to get the card, I found myself in uncharted waters.
After receiving my new card in the mail and activating it, I placed a call to business card customer support. I could instantly tell that the representative who took my call was pretty out of it from the sound of his voice. Probably because of being hassled by business people the whole day.
"Thank you for calling Chase, my name is <indistinguishable mumbling, like he didn't want his name to be known> can I have your name please?"
So after the standard procedure of me verifying that I'm not somebody off the street who jumped me and stole my card, I told him that I wanted a higher credit line. Instead of the usual "Ok let me run that through the computer ... ok it's done" I was told that it would take 2-3 days because it was a business card. Fair enough.
The next day I got a call from a Chase representative whose tone sounded like I was on trial for a murder.
"What is the name of your business?" he asked.
"Dragonskies Media."
"And what is the nature of this business?"
"Oh, web development, and... that sort of stuff" I feebly replied.
"How long has this business been in operation?"
Well I've been doing web development, and that sort of stuff, for quite a while but I gave an estimate of how long this site has been up, "About half a year."
He continued uncaringly, "And what is the annual net income of this business?"
"Well, our household income is-"
He cut me off. "No, your business income, not your household income."
"Err.. I'd say about... five thousand." That was all he needed to hear.
"Ok I'm sorry but at this time we will not be able to give you a higher credit line." That was it. Game over. I tried to gripe, but my Jedi mind tricks had no effect on his powerful psyche, or rather, years of dealing with real business people.
But no matter. I do enjoy the cashback rates I'm getting on my new card that has "Dragonskies Media" embossed beneath my name, and I still have a higher credit limit on it than my struggling "business" makes in a year. I'll get them to bump up the limit later when I have more credit history to make me look good, and when it's time to buy that Ferrari.
At any rate, I've always found the card companies to be very responsive to everything I've asked for, including rushing me a new card by UPS overnight delivery when I needed it in a couple days. Responsive, that is, until I got a business credit card from Chase.
I have a personal card with Chase and the service has been stellar. Recently they sent me an offer by mail, saying that I qualified for the "Business Card with Premier Cash Rebate." And indeed it did sport a great cashback plan- 3% on purchases from gas stations, restaurants, office supplies, and home improvement stores; 1% on everything else. It was better than the cashback plans on all my other cards at the time, and thus too good to pass up.
But little did I know that a business card was on the other side of the hill of my experience with credit card companies. And in this case, it was the side where the grass wasn't greener. So when I made up a business name to get the card, I found myself in uncharted waters.
After receiving my new card in the mail and activating it, I placed a call to business card customer support. I could instantly tell that the representative who took my call was pretty out of it from the sound of his voice. Probably because of being hassled by business people the whole day.
"Thank you for calling Chase, my name is <indistinguishable mumbling, like he didn't want his name to be known> can I have your name please?"
So after the standard procedure of me verifying that I'm not somebody off the street who jumped me and stole my card, I told him that I wanted a higher credit line. Instead of the usual "Ok let me run that through the computer ... ok it's done" I was told that it would take 2-3 days because it was a business card. Fair enough.
The next day I got a call from a Chase representative whose tone sounded like I was on trial for a murder.
"What is the name of your business?" he asked.
"Dragonskies Media."
"And what is the nature of this business?"
"Oh, web development, and... that sort of stuff" I feebly replied.
"How long has this business been in operation?"
Well I've been doing web development, and that sort of stuff, for quite a while but I gave an estimate of how long this site has been up, "About half a year."
He continued uncaringly, "And what is the annual net income of this business?"
"Well, our household income is-"
He cut me off. "No, your business income, not your household income."
"Err.. I'd say about... five thousand." That was all he needed to hear.
"Ok I'm sorry but at this time we will not be able to give you a higher credit line." That was it. Game over. I tried to gripe, but my Jedi mind tricks had no effect on his powerful psyche, or rather, years of dealing with real business people.
But no matter. I do enjoy the cashback rates I'm getting on my new card that has "Dragonskies Media" embossed beneath my name, and I still have a higher credit limit on it than my struggling "business" makes in a year. I'll get them to bump up the limit later when I have more credit history to make me look good, and when it's time to buy that Ferrari.
Tags: personal-finance
The Real World - Sunday, April 15, 2007
I thought I would be exempt from filing a tax return this year due to me not making enough money, but my dad abruptly came into my room and told me that I needed to file because I got $600 in dividends from stocks my grandfather willed to me. So for the first time I had to file my federal and state returns.
Tax forms are the most confusing things ever invented. The government didn't think it was good enough to just take our money.. they needed to make it hell. Sadists.
Fortunately things like TaxCut from H&R Block make filing easy... or easier. Though it was pretty straightforward to put in all my data, I didn't understand many of the big financial terms. It's not too bad right now since my financial life is relatively simple, but later on when I'm out on my own, filing taxes will be a lengthy pain. But if I get married to Silly Goose, she can help me. :)
Income tax. Woohoo. Welcome to the real world.
Tax forms are the most confusing things ever invented. The government didn't think it was good enough to just take our money.. they needed to make it hell. Sadists.
Fortunately things like TaxCut from H&R Block make filing easy... or easier. Though it was pretty straightforward to put in all my data, I didn't understand many of the big financial terms. It's not too bad right now since my financial life is relatively simple, but later on when I'm out on my own, filing taxes will be a lengthy pain. But if I get married to Silly Goose, she can help me. :)
Income tax. Woohoo. Welcome to the real world.
Tags: personal-finance
Credit Card Comparison - Thursday, July 7, 2005
My old credit card: Capital One
Credit Line: $200
Perks: None
My new credit card that I received today: Citibank
Credit line: $3000
Perks: 5% cash back on purchases made at supermarkets, drugstores, and gas stations; 1% cash back on everything else
I wonder which one I should use?
Credit Line: $200
Perks: None
My new credit card that I received today: Citibank
Credit line: $3000
Perks: 5% cash back on purchases made at supermarkets, drugstores, and gas stations; 1% cash back on everything else
I wonder which one I should use?
Tags: personal-finance
Credit Card Offers Galore - Saturday, March 19, 2005
Seems like once you get a credit card, new offers just pour right in. My mom stopped by UCLA on her way back from work last night to drop off my jacket, and she brought 5 pieces of mail that had come for me. Four of those were credit card offers, and one was my monthly credit card bill. o.O