urbangardener said:So, the lady over at Dunkin' told me my approved credit limit is basically right around what I pull in on my pay stubs... so we're looking at roughly $1200...
She also gave me this specific number to call before I go out and drop any serious cash on my Dunkin' card, just to give them a heads-up... she even used a TV from $2333 as an example, saying if I'm planning on financing something that pricey, I should probably check in with them first...
Now I'm wondering, I'm actually thinking about putting my gas expenses on a 36-month plan pretty soon, since the total comes to $2933, which works out to about $82 monthly with zero interest... honestly, let's just say $93 per month...
Is that actually doable? I mean, what does a credit limit actually mean in practice... does having $1200 mean my monthly payments can't go over $1200, or am I allowed to buy stuff as long as the total value doesn't exceed $1200?
Look, if you grabbed a charge card like I did, here’s how it actually works; $1200 you've got a monthly spending limit—that's what hits your bill next month—and then there's that other number they gave you, which is just for authorizing installment plans (I used mine for a few things). Your total balance is basically whatever you spent against both limits (like, say you blew $833 on random stuff this month and bought something on a payment plan where the monthly chunk is about $67; that brings you to $900) and that whole amount is what you owe next month. Obviously, if you load up on too many installments and your total monthly payments hit maybe $333, just assume you only have about 2600 left for your everyday spending (since 3600 limit minus that 1000 installment bit). Just a little heads-up though, don't ever count on having the full amount available. I once thought I still had like $167 left, walked into a Target and 🙈 If you need anything else, just ask! 😉
Look, I’ll throw a smart idea your way, and you guys can decide if it works for you. My wife and I live on a single income—and trust me, you don't want to know what that actually feels like! We aren't making crazy money, we don't have kids, and we don't even own a car. About a year ago, we got stuck deep in the red $3167 and couldn't dig our way out. Then, I had this thought: maybe I should just talk to someone at my bank and work out a deal where, every time my paycheck hits, they shave $167 off that negative balance. That was five months ago, and since then, every month when the money lands, my contact at the bank knocks $167 off the debt. Or, you could try option number two: start hoarding coins. Every month, scrape together at least 400-$167, take them to a shop to swap them, then head down to the bank and tell them to deposit it straight into the account to chip away at the overdraft. Try doing that for two or three months and see if it’s sustainable—it’s working for me so far, because my debt has dropped from $9,500.00 down to $2333. 😉
P.S. I get it, more people in the house means more bills, but believe me, my wife and I have our own separate expenses to deal with, and we're still managing. It's true that half the country is just moving money from one empty pocket to another, but man, I'm telling you, just give this a shot.
darkorca54 said:I just got a notification today that Citigroup slashed my overdraft limit by half. Honestly, we’re talking about a pathetic little cushion of $533 to begin with—I have no clue why it was ever that low, considering my income is way higher than what they're looking at. Now, they've dropped it down to $267. I haven't spent a single cent over my limit, and my paycheck hasn't changed one bit. It's perfectly consistent. Can anyone make sense of this? I’m genuinely stumped, and frankly, I have zero desire to waste hours sitting in a branch waiting for some teller to explain it to me.
Has anyone else dealt with something like this lately?
Banks like Citigroup or Wells Fargo have this little trick where they can hike up or cut down your overdraft whenever they feel like it. Basically, if you aren't actually using that credit, most of the time they'll just shrink it (or kill it entirely!) because maintaining an overdraft facility costs the bank money. They expect you to use it, since they have to hold those funds in reserve—which is a massive headache for them—so they cut it to lower their own monthly overhead. If the bank is acting reasonable, you could probably just walk in tomorrow and ask for more, and they'd likely approve it. Thank God not every bank in America operates this way without giving clients a heads-up... Hope that helps! 😉
Angela Kelly11 said:I wasn't exactly looking for an excuse to throw in the towel, but honestly, I think you might have just handed me one... Diners Club isn't actually pulling money directly out of your account—I honestly don't think they even have a mechanism in place to do that—rather, you're the one initiating every single movement of funds through those mandatory steps on your bank's website, where you log in during the payment process using whatever security codes your token spits out... So, when you hit that "Pay" button on the Diners Club site, it just redirects you to the specific bank portal you selected beforehand, and that's where you have to perform all the standard authorization procedures to finalize the transaction. The Diners Club site is essentially just sitting in the background, logging the activity so they can credit you those extra reward points. I suspect the transaction might not even show up on their end until your next login, though I won't stake my reputation on that exact detail... Regardless, the actual "smoking gun" evidence is simply the record of the transaction completed within your primary bank's app. Which is exactly what you're looking at right now.
Thnx! 👍 Fine, I'll give it a shot when my next bill hits, and then I'll let you know if it actually worked or not!
Angela Kelly11 said:Look, when you use Diners Club, you’re essentially using your own bank account anyway 😉. What Dinersov actually does during the process is categorize the transaction as an online payment—which earns you those extra rewards points—and they provide this little pop-up window that looks like a total mess, but it's useful because you can just copy and paste the invoice number and amount into the fields on your banking site where the whole process eventually redirects you. There isn't really any complicated logic or hidden risk involved here, it's just about getting those extra points 😁 ...
Man, I guess I worded that wrong. Anyway, once my bill actually arrives, I'll go check, but I'm mostly wondering if I can just back out after I hit "pay" in the Diners Club app. And will Diners Club actually pull the money directly from the specific bank account I'm using? Because right now, I'm basically moving money from my account to a Dinersov account myself. But this other way... from what I gather, it pulls the funds straight from whichever bank account I choose to pay that specific bill. Feel free to set me straight if I've got that messed up... 😉
I used to be such an old-school guy when it came to paying bills; I mean, I practically needed a physical stamp and a signature from some official somewhere just to feel sure my bills were actually settled. Then, online banking finally crashed into my life. Man, what a game changer! Now I just knock everything out at once, click, and save the NET confirmations straight to my email. Still, I can't quite bring myself to pay Diners through their site—I'll just stick to paying them directly from my bank account.
ironsurfer10 said:Well, yeah, I know why... it's pretty obvious! The advisors over at Erste are just incredibly pushy and relentless. I've never had an advisor from AZ, PBZ, or Romfo stop me in the street, but those Erste guys practically grab you by the sleeve on every single corner!😲
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Look, I wasn't even asking that for some deep reason, I just wanted to wrap my head around it myself. Can anyone actually explain how this all started? Like, from the moment the fund was first set up—what were the share prices like back then and how did everything move? Just trying to get a handle on things. 🙂 Can we keep the conversation like this from now on, maybe? 😉
Just found out something new; if you have a Diners Club card and you want to switch over to revolving payments, but you already bought stuff on an installment plan... well, when you make that switch, the remaining balance on those installments doesn't just roll into the revolving credit. You still have to keep paying off those old installments exactly like you were before.
Just figured I'd mention it in case nobody knew. I'm pretty new to all this, so I guess these little "details" matter... 😉
I’ve been following this discussion quite closely, but I’m still struggling to wrap my head around one specific point.
Someone is actually suggesting I move my holdings from Wells Fargo (share count $49) over to Goldman Sachs (share count $47). Their logic? It would bump up my total number of shares—plus, I can apparently switch once every three years without paying a fee. The idea is that after those three years, I should scout out another fund manager with a lower share price and jump ship again—just to keep inflating my share count.
(I totally get where my advisor is coming from—he gets a commission for the move. That doesn't bother me, provided I'm actually coming out ahead. If he's giving solid advice, he deserves his cut—it's not coming out of my pocket. 🙂 )
The whole strategy seems to rely on the assumption (if I'm reading this right) that all these funds will perform roughly the same anyway—since their values usually stay within a tight 3-4% range over any five or six-year stretch. Essentially, I'd just be playing the relative differences between them to eke out small gains in my share count.
While the math seems sound on paper, I can't help but wonder if there's a catch! 😕 What are your thoughts?
Best regards,
Yeah, sure, but all you're doing is inflating your share count. You think you're "growing" by jumping between funds, but I guess the real question is how long that actually works? And which fund are you even going to land in eventually to make all that hopping worth it? Maybe by the time you decide to move, the price per share in a decent mutual fund will be so high that you'll end up losing everything you thought you "gained" by playing musical chairs. I mean, why bother with all that extra work? Just stick to one. If you really hate it after a few years, then look for something better. Jumping around like that... I don't know, you probably won't get anything out of it. ☕
Nicole James said:Are you serious? My Microsoft card from JPMorgan Chase keeps getting declined. I even checked with Goldman Sachs, and they told me the same thing—it just won't go through.
I’m weighing my options on picking up a credit card for online shopping. It’ll be rare—really rare—but when the moment comes, I’d rather just handle it myself instead of having to bother someone else for help.
I’d probably go through the Federal Reserve since that’s where I keep my checking, savings, and everything else—plus, I've got a steady contract job lined up with them.
I’m trying to figure out what the deal is with opening an account, what the monthly fees look like if I actually use it, and if there's still a cost just for letting it sit there unused.
Thanks.
Look, if the Federal Reserve is even going to give a credit card to someone on a temporary contract, you should probably just ask them which card has the lowest annual fee and which one has the better interest rates or lower transaction fees. But honestly? I wouldn't rush into spending money on this. If you're just doing occasional online stuff, a regular Intel debit card tied to a foreign currency account works fine. Since you aren't buying things on the NET constantly, just open a foreign currency account, put some cash in it, use the CVV on the back, and you're good. There might be a thread somewhere here about "Cards with CVV numbers," so maybe check that out. Later!
mistycyclist51 said:I've heard rumors about ATMs "swallowing" cards, but can they actually just snatch your cash too?
Anyway, let's walk through this.. Last night, I stopped by a Zabina ATM here in town, thinking I'd just drop off $0.67 into my checking account.. So, I start the deposit, the slot opens up, and I slide the cash in.. The machine starts counting, then suddenly the tray pops back open with $333 inside, and all the bills were all crumpled at the edges.. That little light above the slot—usually a yellowish-green color—was glowing red instead. I figured maybe it just took a partial deposit, so I thought I'd check my balance first.. No luck. No receipt, nothing.. I hung around for maybe half an hour, just waiting.. Nothing happened.. Went back today to see if those $333 had actually hit my account, but there's no sign of them.. Now I'm stuck waiting until Monday because over the weekend, their phone lines are basically just automated recordings.. 🙄 Anyone else dealt with this crap, or got any advice?
What a way to end the week. First the ATM "robs" me, and now Dude gets injured 🙂
You head into a ZABU branch on Monday, and they’ll probably have you fill out some formal dispute form where you explain the whole mess and exactly what went down. Then, you just wait while they audit the ATM's records. If they confirm there was an error, they should credit the money back to your account and let you know. I mean, that's how it's supposed to work at any US bank, but still... Just try to be patient, because honestly, screaming and throwing a fit at them isn't going to get you much anywhere. 😉
Robin Wright27 said:Thanks, Ronald, but you only live once. I've become so accustomed to living on credit that I don't even stress about it anymore; after all, the government is in debt, the whole world is in debt—so why worry? Let's just take it as it comes. Besides, I'm spending on essentials. You know the saying: things will look up eventually...
True. I started looking at life—and money—a bit differently about a year ago too. Like they say, you might as well dance while the music's playing. We should enjoy ourselves, but man, I really do wish we all had a better standard of living so we didn't have to lose sleep over every single monthly bill... 😉
Look, the point is we shouldn't be wasting money on every little thing. I mean, we’re only going to have to give up a few things for those three or four months anyway. We can manage... 😁 But, since I don't want to go totally off-topic, I wanted to mention that I was poking around that online payment thing for my Dunkin' bills today. It's honestly not even hard. Like, barely any effort at all and you're done. Sure, I'm one of those old-school guys who likes seeing a physical stamp and a signature on a paper receipt, but when my wife told me today that I don't even need to get bills sent through the mail anymore—that they just go into an electronic inbox when I log onto their website—I went ahead and messed around with it. All in all, it's pretty simple.
What would it even mean if, despite all those heavy fees, Goldman Sachs has actually performed pretty well over the last two years? I mean, looking at it, even with the highest management costs, the people invested there seem to be seeing the biggest returns...
What kind of fees are we even looking at for an OMF, if there even are any...? 🤷 I mean, I know mutual funds have their fees, but for an OMF... 🤷 Anyway, first thing you should probably do—assuming you’ve actually started contributing through work—is check your total returns so far. Once you have that, it’s easy enough to figure out if it makes more sense to go with a fund that has lower fees versus one where you're putting in more contributions but paying higher fees too...
So, that’s the math for now. We'll just have to see how things play out. Trust me, I'll keep you guys posted. It’s true that when you have more cash, you tend to spend more, but I think I can manage some self-control. Maybe if my wife helps me out by—hopefully—confiscating my Visa charge and only handing it back when we actually need to pick up some groceries, this whole plan might actually work. Wish me luck...
P.S. Robin Wright27, I really hope you get that raise soon. I can only imagine how stressful it gets trying to cover everything for two kids in school. Good luck!