PocketCoinage

Just the other week I made my final, 0% interest payment on the flat screen TV that hangs above the fireplace.  It was an 18 month payment plan that I paid off in 14 months.  At the time, getting the store credit card and taking advantage of this offer seemed like a really good idea.  If you are not careful, however, the 0% interest can jump to their default percentage (20-30%).  This is something that many people do not take into consideration.  I did, however, consider it carefully and made sure that I had enough funds to cover it before I made my purchase.

Why did I use a store card even though I had the cash to pay for it? I did not want to touch my savings account to pay for it up front.  I was able to keep my money making money (even though it wasn’t much) while I sent the payments in every month.

These store cards can be really tricky, for instance, if you are late or miss a payment they can charge you a late fee, all of the deferred interest, and take away the 0% interest on this item for the remainder of the balance!  This can leave you up a creek, spending money you didn’t intend to.

To give you an idea of the amount of deferred interest, here are the numbers on my final statement.  This is after 14 months of deferred payments:

Initial Purchase: $1,241.16
Deferred Interest Charge @ 26.99%: $237.22
Late Fee: $39.99

Grand Total for Missing Payment: $277.21

Imagine spending an extra $277 on an item because you missed a payment?  I know I’d rather spend (or save) $277 elsewhere.  This is how credit card companies make their money.  Imagine if they gave 0% to everyone and they all paid on time and in full?  Credit card companies wouldn’t be in business!

All-in-all, I feel more free not having another bill to pay every month.  This monthly payment is now going to my “Gotta Live a Little” fund for weekend trips and vacations.  I just felt that having this extra, non-essential bill every month made things a bit more complicated in my life.  As of right now, my goal is to simplify things.  To me, this means de-cluttering the house, reducing my debt, and spending more time doing things I love to do.

What experiences have you had with credit cards?

Picture this: You just came back from an over budget vacation to find your pet unable to go to the bathroom.

First panic sets in because you notice he is in a lot of pain.  Once you bring him to the vet, you find out he is going to be just fine and will need to stay for a few days.  You request a quote for the approximate cost and they tell you $800.  A few hours later the vet calls you back to let you know your pet is doing well.  He’s also requesting authorization for more tests to determine why the problem started in the first place.  The new estimate is now peaking $1,000.  You then find out he needs to stay an extra night and he will need to be on a special diet; the estimate is now at $1,100.  Once all is said and done the total bill comes out to almost $1,300.

This was me the day we came back from our Maine vacation.  Our cat Rocky had bladder crystals that made it impossible for him to use the bathroom.  The vet needed to unblock him and watch him for a few days.  They said this is caused by the type of cat food he was eating.  The only thing I did was switch him from Meow Mix dry to Blue Buffalo wet and dry.  I guess this was a big, painful mistake for the both of us.

I learned that cats, especially males, should not eat dry food.  Think about it, if they were in the wild would they have dry food?  They should stick to wet food and make sure they have plenty of water.  Needless to say, all my cat are now on a wet food diet.  The vet also recommended a Drinkwell Pet Fountain.  I picked one up for my cats and they love it.  They play around with the water and drink from it more often than their old water bowl.  I think it’s because of the constant recirculation of water.

This whole experience didn’t come cheap.  I tapped my Emergency Fund for the $1,300 vet bill.  I thought about pet insurance even before this whole experience occurred, but I felt it was not worth the cost.  The plans the vet had me look at was roughly $20/month per cat, plus you have the $50-100 deductible, and 80% reimbursement.

Have you experienced a vet emergency?  Do you carry pet insurance because of it?

Last week I joined the local credit union.  I’ve been putting this off for a long time actually.  What mainly kept me back was the poor interest rates being offered through the credit union at work.  For the longest time, I though I could only join one through an organization.

Listening to a local radio station, I heard them mention a website to find local credit unions.  After all the fun we had the past few years with bailouts for the “national banks”, I wanted to take my money elsewhere.  My goal was to find an institution that’s stable, local, and here to stay with me.  Through research, I found out that one of the requirements to join one is to just live in the community.  Their interest rates are very competitive for CDs and savings, plus they have low interest loans.

After finding this excellent news, I took Dasha and we went to open our accounts.  Upon stepping in, I noticed something different about the credit union:  you are treated as an individual, not as an account number.  It was an excellent experience signing up for an account there.  One huge advantage is I am able to deposit and withdraw at ANY credit union in the country; they are all linked together!  This is extremely useful for when I travel and do not have a “national bank” in the area.  So far I have not found a single disadvantage of signing up.

To sum it up, here are some of the advantages of a credit union:

• They are local and provide services for others in the community
• You may only need to live in the community to join
• They offer competitive rates on their services
• ALL the credit unions across the country are linked together allowing you to deposit and withdraw while traveling
• They have all the services of a “national bank”, such as online banking and free checking

Are you apart of a credit union?  If not, have you been thinking about joining a credit union?