Everybody Loves Your Money

http://money.cnn.com/2005/10/14/pf/bad_banks_0511/index.htm

No secrets in this CNN article, but you know what? It makes me mad. It just doesn’t seem morally right, nor ethical to use so many tactics to take people’s money. It is absolutely ridiculous that these companies can prey on so many people that don’t take the time to read the fine print, and even if they do, aren’t likely to follow every rule without fail. I don’t care how organized someone is, or how meticulous they are, these tactics are designed to trip up most people over time.

So, the lessons I’ve learned over time on this subject:

-Banks are evil. Use a credit union (for banking and credit cards)
-Don’t carry a balance
-Don’t sign up for what I’d call “gimmick” offers from credit card companies
-Shred every credit card offer before you even open the envelope
-”Opt out” of all that junk mail so you don’t get the offers in the first place
-Never, EVER pay an annual fee
-Nobody cares what color your card is. Gold, platinum just mean you can carry MORE debt
-You don’t need a “themed” credit card. It’s just a credit card for crying out loud

Well, I knew the time was coming and I finally decided to pull the trigger. In the next couple weeks I will be moving this blog over to a domain on another server. I have to say thanks to Jonathon at Mymoneyblog.com for the hot tip on where to host. He also saved me $77 off the first year of hosting. Check out this post on his site for more information!

So, look for some pretty drastic changes to this blog over the next few weeks, including categories and easier navigation. Please don’t worry that you won’t be able to see this crappy old blogger template any more. I’ll be sure to link to the other 1,592,000 sites that are using it.

Also, please don’t worry about how I’m going to pay for this. Since Jonathon saved me so much money on the first year, I’ll only have to delay my retirement by two years. (So, I’ll have to work until I’m 52). It’s really not that big of a deal. 50 was probably too young anyway. Since, I’m pretty sure that I have at least two unique visitors to my blog each day, I consider it a worthwhile sacrifice.