Secrets you should know about your debit card
Plastic is one thing, adding value to it is another. Long gone are the days of checks and even in some cases cash. Who carries cash on them anymore? I rarely do, and when I do I look surprised to find it in my pocket or wallet. If your solely stuck on using your debit card instead of other means of currency it may help you to be aware of the secrets it may be carrying with it:
Liability protection against fraud and theft
In order to reap the benefit of the liability protection you may have to use a signature instead of your punching in your PIN. Federal law limits personal liability for unauthorized transactions to $50 for credit cards, but offers more limited fraud protection for debit cards. Find out from your bank about their fraud protection rules to understand what you must do in order to take advantage of this protection if something ever goes wrong.
Record keeping did you misplace the receipt in your car?
If you somehow misplaced that darn receipt in your car and you need to return the item that you so desperately needed at the time, then got home and asked yourself why, well some institutes may help you find that receipt. Institutes can deliver the receipt via mail or email, with a minimal fee of course for some. It will not be the actual receipt but it will be a record of your purchase.
Budget your spending habits
If you like some folks who get debit card happy when they shop, you can actually set yourself up with a daily debit card spending limit to keep yourself for spending too much money in a day. Just like your daily ATM withdrawal limit, you can contact your bank to set up a daily spending limit. Once you hit that limit your card will no longer work even if you still have money in the bank. This could be a good way to condition yourself to start staying on budget.
Your card knows your daily routine
Did you know, that your debit card knows your habits? It has a life of its own and knows your daily routine. -- Well, at least your institute is it's brain. Your institute will actually cut of the cards usage if they see unusual purchases. Say you live in Anchorage and all of a sudden your institute see the card being used in New York, your institute may refuse the transaction to protect you card from being used fraudulently. If you plan on traveling far away from home, be sure to let your institute know so they will allow purchases to occur without interuption.
Treat your debit card like cash
Typically if you run out of cash, your out of cash. With debit cards, not all transactions get recorded right away, so be sure to keep a daily tally of what you've spend. If you fear a possible overdraft in the future, contact your institute to set you up with an overdraft protection program just in case. The fees alone for the overdrafts can make you see red at the end of the day.
You could take a bit out of your savings
Typically if you do happen to go over your balance in the bank another option to the overdraft protection program is to link your savings to your checking account. Although, this can be a counter productive way of protecting yourself from being in the red. The reason being, if someone else gets a hold of your card they could deplete both your checking and savings accounts. However, if you choose to go this route, you could get a third account to keep the bulk of your savings in and just keep enough in the checking/savings account for possible overdrafts.
Debit card vs Old ATM Card
What? Aren't they one in the same? Well actually no, the old ATM card only can be accessed by a PIN number and can't be used as a credit card. IF you wish to not use debit card at all and want to go back to PIN entered transactions, you can actually request an ATM card from your institute. Its that simple. Its like going from your iPod back to a CD player to listen to your music.
So now you know the secrets your plastic friend holds, use them wisely as you spend wisely.
Liability protection against fraud and theft
In order to reap the benefit of the liability protection you may have to use a signature instead of your punching in your PIN. Federal law limits personal liability for unauthorized transactions to $50 for credit cards, but offers more limited fraud protection for debit cards. Find out from your bank about their fraud protection rules to understand what you must do in order to take advantage of this protection if something ever goes wrong.
Record keeping did you misplace the receipt in your car?
If you somehow misplaced that darn receipt in your car and you need to return the item that you so desperately needed at the time, then got home and asked yourself why, well some institutes may help you find that receipt. Institutes can deliver the receipt via mail or email, with a minimal fee of course for some. It will not be the actual receipt but it will be a record of your purchase.
Budget your spending habits
If you like some folks who get debit card happy when they shop, you can actually set yourself up with a daily debit card spending limit to keep yourself for spending too much money in a day. Just like your daily ATM withdrawal limit, you can contact your bank to set up a daily spending limit. Once you hit that limit your card will no longer work even if you still have money in the bank. This could be a good way to condition yourself to start staying on budget.
Your card knows your daily routine
Did you know, that your debit card knows your habits? It has a life of its own and knows your daily routine. -- Well, at least your institute is it's brain. Your institute will actually cut of the cards usage if they see unusual purchases. Say you live in Anchorage and all of a sudden your institute see the card being used in New York, your institute may refuse the transaction to protect you card from being used fraudulently. If you plan on traveling far away from home, be sure to let your institute know so they will allow purchases to occur without interuption.
Treat your debit card like cash
Typically if you run out of cash, your out of cash. With debit cards, not all transactions get recorded right away, so be sure to keep a daily tally of what you've spend. If you fear a possible overdraft in the future, contact your institute to set you up with an overdraft protection program just in case. The fees alone for the overdrafts can make you see red at the end of the day.
You could take a bit out of your savings
Typically if you do happen to go over your balance in the bank another option to the overdraft protection program is to link your savings to your checking account. Although, this can be a counter productive way of protecting yourself from being in the red. The reason being, if someone else gets a hold of your card they could deplete both your checking and savings accounts. However, if you choose to go this route, you could get a third account to keep the bulk of your savings in and just keep enough in the checking/savings account for possible overdrafts.
Debit card vs Old ATM Card
What? Aren't they one in the same? Well actually no, the old ATM card only can be accessed by a PIN number and can't be used as a credit card. IF you wish to not use debit card at all and want to go back to PIN entered transactions, you can actually request an ATM card from your institute. Its that simple. Its like going from your iPod back to a CD player to listen to your music.
So now you know the secrets your plastic friend holds, use them wisely as you spend wisely.
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