The all mighty dollar and the bank account. Almost everyone has one, but what are the things you may want to know…about banks in general?
Best rate – The bank will show you their products only. The competition may offer a better interest rate, a better mortgage rate or higher yielding investments. It pays to comparison shop.
High Interest Savings Accounts/ Very low mortgage rates – Sound too good to be true? Beware of teaser rates. These rates may only be valid for a few months. Then you can end up paying a higher interest rate on a mortgage and/or earning less interest on your bank account over the longer term.
Commissions – The bank is there to sell you their products. It is always a good time to invest no matter what the stock market is doing. Ever wonder why they keep suggesting to purchase their new mutual fund, certain types of investments, etc. Higher commissions bottom line. What! You didn’t know your financial advisor gets a commission? It’s not like they want to reveal that information to you, because you may think they are not looking after your best interests if you know they are making commissions off of your investments.
Banking fees – Only seem to keep increasing. Mistakes are common. Complain, point out mistakes, say the fees are unreasonable, many times they will reverse the fees to keep your business.
Fine Print – Banks never explain the fine print in detail. Make sure you know what you are signing and the liabilities, fees, etc. associated with it. Leave your pride at the doorstep, ask questions, don’t assume anything.
Online Accounts – These accounts may not be suitable for everyone, as some online transactions may take longer to process, like an out of town cheque, etc. Plus, they not as secure as the bank makes them out to be. Usually, banks will offer you higher interest rate if you open one of these online accounts. Read the fine print, ask about transaction clearing times, find out if the account is right for you.
Mistakes – Banks are not immune from making any kind of mistakes, not depositing your pay cheque in the right account, withdrawing the wrong automatic payment amount, etc. Someone else may have the same bank account number as you with a different transit number (different city). If the person moves to your area, vacations/visits your area, mistakes can be made in your bank account. Check your accounts over on a regular basis.
Credit cards – Once again the banks will only offer you their products. The competition may offer better reward programs, interest rates, etc.
ATM’s – Ever wonder why you are starting to see so many generic ATM’s now? It’s all about the money making opportunity in the fees. Also, if you need to withdraw cash while you are on vacation, not all banks are created equal when it comes to foreign transaction fees.
Identity Theft – Banks don’t advertise their problems with identity theft. Use only one bank? Probably not a good idea in this age of identity theft. Because an identity thief ruins your credit rating, you will not be able to go out and open up an account at a totally different bank to resolve an identity theft problem.
Remember…
To shop around. Just because you have been dealing with the same bank since you were 12, it doesn’t mean the bank is offering you the best interest rates, best banking fees or the best of anything.
Try not to be fooled by fancy advertising. Sometimes this is more about increasing the banks business in general and good PR. Offers might not be as rosy as they appear.
Deal with more than one bank to protect yourself in the event of possible identity theft.
Always read the fine print, don’t assume anything. Ask questions, forget about how dumb you think your questions may be. Better to understand the liabilities/risks rather than having to deal with unexpected financial surprises in the future.
Check your accounts over for possible errors on a regular basis.
When commenting on a website or blog do your comments keep going into cyberspace? Why can’t I comment on that blog or website? Banned from a website or blog?
16 Jun 2011 3 Comments
by coconews in blogging, Internet safety & internet tips, website or blog problems Tags: banned from blog or website, commenting problems on a blog or website, comments will not post on website or blog, how do I know if I have been banned from a website or blog
For weeks, months or years you have been happily participating in the comments section of your favourite blog or website. Suddenly, you try to post a comment and find your comments keep going off into cyberspace. Thinking the website or blog is on the fritz, you try posting your comment several times to no avail. Alternatively, you may try posting other comments and find those comments may or may not go through either. Wondering what is going on? What are the things you may want to know...when your comments don’t go through?
Technical Problems – There can be genuine technical problems with the website or blog. Are other users commenting that comments are not posting too? Are there no comments posted on the site whatsoever or does this situation involve your comments only?
Censorship – The owner of the blog or website has the ability to enter key words that can block certain comments from being published. Your comments have not gone into cyberspace, the comments are waiting for approval in the background of that website or blog. The owner makes the choice whether to approve (publish) or delete your comment. Sometimes the censorship words are obvious like swearing, other times it may be more obscure like words not to tick off their advertisers. The censored words can be based on the owners experiences or just plain paranoia too.
Jealously – Yes it can rear its ugly head, as over time your posts or comments may be getting more attention than the blog or website owners. The owners can block your IP address so you can’t make any comments again. Limits can be set on the number of posts, the number of words, etc. you can post on their websites too. One way or another they will try to get you off their site. Owners will not make public comments that they want you off their site because it makes them look unstable or bad to their advertisers and/or other users. If this is happening to you, take the hint and find another blog or website that appreciates your contributions.
Pre-approval – At any time, the owner can set up a new commenting system that requires comments to be approved by them before they appear on their blog or website. Are they being mean? No. I do this myself because I receive more pieces of spam on a daily basis than genuine comments.
Abandonment – Due to health issues the owner may have abandoned the blog or website. There could be nothing wrong with the comment you submitted, it’s just stuck in pre-approval limbo land.
Off the Deep End – Personal issues might have gotten the best of blog or website owner. Divorce, death in the family, fighting with their spouse, depression, etc. Instead of recognizing that they should take a breather away from their blog or website, they operate in a overemotional, overstressed mode. Comments are deleted at random, IP addresses are blocked out of the blue, their comments are odd, mad or completely non-existent, etc. It is best to lie low and not comment when you see this happening. If you absolutely have to comment, keep it too a bare minimum so you don’t aggravate them. You don’t want to be permanently blocked from their site, do you?
Self Destruction – The owner of a popular website or blog may be unable to tell its advertisers and users that they are fed up with their website or blog and want to shut it down. Odd things are done on purpose over time to drive down traffic and have advertisers leave so they can eventually shut it down.
Remember…Don’t fall in love with a website or blog who doesn’t appreciate your contributions and wants to divorce you. It may take a bit of effort to find a new website or blog that suits your needs, but you will be better off in the long run.