Going Cashless

Many people believe that eventually, and sometime in the not so distant future, no one will carry cash in their pockets, and everything will be purchased using plastic. Others think that will happen around the same time that people start driving around in space cars, or when we have domesticated robot maids to clean our homes and make our meals. Whether it becomes a reality or not, it’s quite possible to live almost cashless in our current society!

Think about it. When you get gas, almost every gas station has a pay at the pump option. Grocery stores, department stores and almost anyplace where there is a cash register can accept credit or debit cards, and you can even pay your waiters a tip from your card when dining at the restaurant. Fast food and drive through windows are even accepting debit or credit cards, now! So, if a person truly wanted to stop carrying cash all together, it would just about be possible by using debit cards, prepaid credit cards or regular credit cards to handle all of your financial transactions.

As with any choice there are advantages associated with going “cashless” or not, as well as disadvantages. Using cash requires an in person transaction. You shouldn’t mail cash through the postal service, as it’s very easily stolen, and you are unable to purchase online using cash. Cash however, helps maintain anonymity when you buy items or pay for services, where as a credit card reveals information about you to the vendors that you may not want them to have. Privacy is a concern, and using plastic means there is a chance for fraud or identity theft.

A problem many people have with credit cards is over spending. It’s very easy to spend more than what your budget allows when you aren’t counting out the actual cash and seeing the hard earned money leave your hands. The “I’ll pay it later” is much easier than saving money for that expensive purchase, and most of the time, something comes up that prevents us from paying it completely when “later” actually arrives. When using plastic for purchases, however, you are less likely to drop your card on the floor while pulling out one of your other credit cards like what often happens with cash. Have you ever stood behind someone in the grocery store line, and as they’re reaching in their wallet or purse for a $20, another couple of bills happens to fall out? Losing cash means it’s gone forever (unless some really nice soul sees it happen and gives it back to you!) but you do have some additional security when your credit cards are stolen.

The biggest disadvantage of going cashless is the amount of interest you’ll pay when you don’t pay off your balances at the end of each month. It may be extremely convenient to swipe your card everywhere you go, but when your statement comes you better hope you have enough to cover it or else each of your purchases are going to cost you well more than the price tag indicated!

Deciding whether to carry cash or go “cashless” is a personal decision for now, as we still have the ability to use both. It’s hard to say whether or not we will ever be forced to use only plastic, but you can bet if the credit card companies have their way we will become a cashless society! Until then, become familiar with the advantages and disadvantages of each option, and decide which will work for your personal financial habits and discipline.

Don't Be A Victim Of Identity Theft

Just about everybody has heard of identity theft, but most people do not believe it could ever happen to them. The fact is, identity theft is more common than most believe. It's not hard for identity thieves to obtain all of the information they need in order to assume another person's identity, but it can be made a whole lot harder for them if people remain smart and protect themselves as completely as possible.

When it Happens…

If a person becomes a victim of identity theft, it can take a long time - possibly years - to recover from it. It can also cost the victim thousands of dollars as well as ruin their credit score. Usually, it's nearly impossible to recover from identity theft in a quick manner because many things have to be resolved before forgiveness will be given by the three major credit reporting companies in the United States.

If identity theft does happen, the person who is the victim will probably experience problems obtaining any sort of financing (mortgage, car loan, student loan, credit cards, etc…). And, the worst thing that can happen is that the victim of identity theft can even get arrested for crimes he or she did not commit.

All of the results of being a victim of identity theft are not fair, and are very difficult to resolve. Being a victim can be a real headache and can basically interrupt or stall an innocent person's life for several years. So, the best possible thing is to do is to try and do anything and everything to prevent becoming a victim in the first place.

Protect Personal Information

The easiest way for identity thieves can assume another person's identity is to obtain personal information from a potential victim and use that information to fill out loan or credit card applications.

While most victims do not offer thieves their personal information, they are not aware that their information is contained on many documents that they have not disposed of properly. For example, thieves have been known to go through people's trash cans looking for personal information. When papers are thrown away without being shredded, thieves can retrieve the information and use it.

Thieves are also known to go through people's mailboxes to obtain in-coming letters from banks and/or credit card applications and use the data from these various pieces of mail to apply for loans or credit with the stolen information.

In-coming mail is not the only source of mail-related information that thieves can acquire. Out-going mail that is placed in a person's mailbox for the mailman to pick up and take to the post office is a great source of information for thieves. When a flag is placed in the upright position on a mailbox to indicate that letters are inside waiting to be mailed, it's like a signal to thieves that they should come on over and steal it. Therefore, letters should always be mailed in a post office mailbox instead of a personal/home mailbox.

Other Ways to Prevent Identity Theft

It's not difficult to perform some easy steps to prevent being a victim of identity theft. In addition to properly disposing of paper containing personal information and mailing letters at the post office, following are some additional tips:

• Always destroy receipts, credit card applications, tax information, canceled checks, and mortgage information before throwing it away. This means completely shredding it or even burning it before it reaches the trash can.

• Even if a credit card is expired, cut it into tiny little pieces before throwing it away. Some people throw half of the tiny pieces into one trash bag and half into another trash bag.

• Report stolen credit cards immediately to credit card companies. Don't wait an entire day… do it the minute they're discovered to be missing.

• Monitor credit reports on a regular basis, and watch for anything suspicious. If anything out of the ordinary appears, investigate it right away.