#58 Money and Finance

It took me a long time before I was ready to try online banking and bill paying services. I worried about security issues and identity theft and just did not want to take the risk. Then I got socked with a few finance charges for late payments. Good motivator.

I now use these wonderfully convenient services that are always accessable, even at 11 pm when I suddenly have one of those oh-my-goodness-the-mortgage-is-due-today moments. I love that I don't have to make sure I get to the bank before it closes, stand in line, buy stamps, or listen to an automated answering service in order to take care of business.

My banks offer a variety of security safeguards to their customers. One has 3 levels of security in order to protect my financial information. They use a 128-bit encryption, automatic time out for banking sessions, and password protection. They encourage customers to change their password periodically in order to provide optimum security. Another bank I use offers a $0 Liability Guarantee against unauthorized account activity, and a SiteKey which includes an image I choose, so that I know I am visiting the bank's actual web page and not a "spoof" site. I look for the padlock icon to make sure a site is secure as well.

I'm not thrilled about linking all my bank accounts into one service, using a site such as Mint.com. I'll keep it in mind though. I noticed that the site has received the editor's choice award from PC magazine and other good recommendations; however, my finances won't be affected much by using budget management software. Basically there isn't enough money to manage. I like that on Mint there is a blog which includes tons of financial information and archived articles. There was one called "Strapped for Cash? Take a Fakecation". The writer suggests that if you are longing for a vacation in Paris, for example, but don't have the money right now, you can fake yourself out with a trip to Quebec City. Interesting idea.

I took the "Do you have a spending problem" quiz, and my results were 60. The average score for my income group was 54, and the average for MSN Money readers was 60, so I feel pretty good about my spending habits. Basically I don't do much shopping. I don't buy bottled water, and I try not to buy non-food related items at the grocery store. I use local businesses to meet most of my needs and therefore I'm not spending a lot on gas. My internet, phone, and cable are bundled, and I don't use banks that charge fees for checking or savings accounts. I frequently save 20% by using a microwave rather than a full size oven. (I didn't know that was what I was doing when I decided I'd rather nuke leftovers than cook, but hey cool.) I liked the reminders for keeping automotive costs low, such as properly inflating your tires and checking www.fueleconomy.gov for the lowest gas prices by location. I would like to save more on utilities. I already watch my thermostat, but being aware of temperature settings can only save you so much. I was surprised the Consumer Reports article didn't mention proper home insulation as a way to save on utility bills.

One thing I did as a result of this exercise was apply for a no fee credit card which gives cash back bonuses. Because I really need a Fakecation fund.

#57 TXT U L8R

I am a dinosaur. I do not own a cell phone, so I've never had occasion to send a text message. A while ago I heard on the news that phone companies make more money on text messages than on phone calls. They certainly made a lot of money off Sofia Rubenstein....or rather her parents. Last month the 17 year old high school junior sent 6,807 messages, which resulted in her family receiving a wireless bill in excess of $1,100 for the month!

When the Texas Gulf Coast was devastated by hurricane Ike, people in this area were extremely thankful for texting. With spotty access to electricity and heavy cell phone use overwhelming available lines, text messaging enabled at least limited communication. In emergencies and natural disasters, hearing an actual human voice probably would have been preferable, but lacking that option, texting meant the world to many families trying to find out if their loved ones were safe.

I borrowed a coworker's cell phone to try and send a message. It was confusing. I think if I ever get my own cell phone I would become comfortable with the process fairly quickly. I'm already familiar with some of the SMS slang from visiting on line chat rooms and message boards, tyvm. Lingo2word.com looked like a good site for staying current with popular shortcuts. OnlineTextMessage.com and txt2day.com allow you to send a free text message to a mobile phone from your computer. You have to take the filters off the library computers for it to work.

According to Paul Saffo, a technology trend forecaster in Silicon Valley, "the act of texting automatically removes 10 I.Q. points". Last year the American College of Emergency Physicians warned that they are seeing many serious accidents involving oblivious texters. The ER doctors cited reports from doctors around the country of injuries involving text-messaging pedestrians, bicyclists, even cooking accidents. Most of the injuries "involved scrapes, cuts and sprains from texters who walked into lampposts or walls or tripped over curbs". Distractions as brief as 2 seconds can cause accidents or near misses while driving a car, according to a 2006 report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. I agree with the California Public Utilities Commission temporary ban on the use of all mobile devices by anyone at the controls of a moving train, and think texting should be prohibited while driving an automobile as well.

#56 To Tweet or Not To Tweet

According to TwiTip, a blog that posts news and information relevant to the Twittering community, microblogging is up 964.5% this year. I've hardly gotten started with Twitter, and already I'm reading about "Twitter Fatigue", and an impending "Twipocalypse"? That's incredible! But once I started exploring Twitter, I understood. I think this whole microblogging bubble is largely the fault of Perez Hilton.

If you take a look at Celebrity Tweet, you'll find him everywhere. I saw a few posts by other celebrities such as Robin Williams and William Shatner. Ellen Degeneras tweeted that 2 tickets to her show were hidden at a bus stop between Kenwood and Maple. At least someone benefitted from that information. But there was no escaping the inanities of PH. And boy, do celebrities swear a lot! If you like swearing, and unbridled celebrity self promo, you'll love Celebrity Tweet.

I couldn't figure out how to use the topic search feature on Twitter without signing up for an account, so I did, but then I couldn't decide what topic to search. In the right hand margin was a list of popular queries; that was helpful. I decided to search haiku. Apparently, there is an Easter haiku tweeting competition happening, with the prize being a copy of "The Easter Parade" by Richard Yates, so there were a ton of tweets and a deluge of bad poetry. Other contests with give-aways are easily found...just type "contest" in the search box. Within a few minutes I saw tweets for a John Lennon Songwriting contest, a Jonas Brothers contest, Columbia River Reader's Spring Photo contest, a Logo Design contest, a Jim Beam Remake contest, a Worm Eating contest, and then I stopped refreshing the page....blecck! My innocent search for a bit of poetry literally ended up opening a can of worms.

I haven't decided whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous twits on Twitter, or to take arms against a sea of tweets, and by opposing end them.