| How to avoid fees
Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to checking accounts. You must be aware of fees if you want to avoid them. For most consumers, a free checking account is the best place to start. You won't have to worry about maintaining a balance or sticking with a preset number of checks that you're allowed to write each month. Some banks give you free checking if you set up direct deposit for a check that you receive on a routine basis -- a payroll or government check. Some institutions might require a certain minimum balance for free checking. If you can live with those stipulations then there's nothing wrong with signing up. One of the best ways to avoid fees is by finding the account that's right for you. But there are plenty of fees that can be charged in conjunction with a free account.
How One Man Beat The Internet Scammers
SCOT Neil Forsyth got his revenge on swindlers who tried to bombard him with email scams and is now set for a best-seller about his adventures. For the book Delete This At Your Peril - One Man's Fearless Exchanges With The Internet, the 29-year-old Dundonian invented a bloke called Bob Servant, to frustrate and ridicule crooks who tried to rip him off. The email exchanges between Bob and the spammers led them to become more desperate, convinced they were just a few mouse clicks away from emptying his bank account. Here are just a few of the emails. FROM HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS JACK THOMPSON Dear sir, My father was a wealthy traditional ruler who was poisoned to death inTogo. Before he died he told me of £75m kept in a security company.
Protect yourself from phishing scams
Posted: Tuesday, November 13, 2007 at 10:55 a.m. We've told you to keep an eye on your email for a scam known as phishing -- when it appears a reputable company you're doing business with, asks you to submit personal information to confirm an account. We got one last week, claiming that an online account with a local bank had expired and that the bank needed the person's current information. We did some checking and found two things that didn't add up. First of all, the bank says its employees will never ask people for this type of information and second. The person who received this email doesn't even have an account with the bank. If you ever get these emails, experts say the best defense is to call the company yourself to see if they do business this way.
$25,000 jackpot winner says she’s never won anything
SHELBY � A $7.50 meal turned out to be the richest food Candy Lawson ever ate. And the Shelby resident�s bank account is going to be $25,000 a year fatter for the remainder of her life after winning the grand prize in Schlotzsky�s Deli�s online contest. �I�ve never won anything, not even a cakewalk,� she told The Star in an interview. The price of the meal, which she purchased at the Scholtzsky�s in Gastonia, turned out to be the best investment she ever made and definitely one that will change her life. She�s already bought a new car. �I did get something nice � a new Nissan, transportation you can count on.� She has not quit her job as a sales representative for Sprint Nextel. Eventually, she does plan to move to Oregon with her boyfriend and son so they can all be with her extended family.
Don't let financial myths derail you
NEW YORK - Whether you're a young adult tackling money management for the first time, or a financial late bloomer struggling to get a grip on your spending, you would do well to heed the warnings of Steven B. Smith, president of Finicity, a company offering online money-management tools to consumers and businesses. Smith debunks four financial myths that frequently derail people's efforts to manage spending, reduce debt and increase savings: • Myth 1: It's always best to open a savings account at a brick-and-mortar bank. .
Spreading accounts helps out
Welcome to cash management, 2007-style. Forget the quaint notion that you should have your checking account, credit card and savings account all at the same bank. Instead, look to cherry-pick the best of these accounts — with the goal of sidestepping fees, piling up credit-card rewards, earning extra interest and building a great credit score. Sound like a lot of work? It doesn't have to be. -Boosting yield. Start by getting a no-fee, no-interest checking account with little or no required minimum balance, advises Greg McBride, senior financial analyst at Bankrate.com. Many banks now offer such accounts. Not collecting interest might seem like a bum deal. But, in truth, this isn't a big loss. On average, interest-paying checking accounts now require a $3,300 balance to avoid fees — and, even then, you will earn interest averaging just 0.3 percent, according to a recent Bankrate survey.
Nigeria/Ghana: Eagles Ready for Showdown With Football Association in Zurich
Despite appeals from Berti Vogts for a smooth build up to January's Nations Cup finals, THISDAYSports can reveal today that the outcome of the proposed Zurich meeting between the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) and Super Eagles players will go a long way in determining the fortunes of the country in Ghana. This is because the players are determined to press once and for all for a settlement of their grievances with the Glass House at the meeting planned to coincide with a friendly against the Swiss national team on November 20th. .
Lifting the lid on Lynn
New documents and reports have shed fresh light on the labyrinthine workings of solicitor Michael Lynn�s property and legal business, writes Ian Kehoe.
When Frank Kelly returned from his honeymoon last month, he switched on his mobile phone and began working his way through a backlog of text messages.
One of the texts immediately grabbed his attention, but for all the wrong reasons - a friend had texted the Mayo-born builder about Michael Lynn, the solicitor whose law practice had just been shut down by the Law Society. The details were sketchy, but Kelly was instantly concerned. .
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