Hold on a second, Nett; do you mean to tell me that the banks just straight-up took your money and never gave it back, or they put some kind of bullshit hold on it for awhile? Just to stay on topic, here's a picture of some money: Spoiler
Short version: had big US company as client. they bounce big cheque. I have to pay developers, so use up what I've saved for taxes Revenue Canada (Canadian IRS) comes asking for taxes I explain, and say I don't have it They then apply 100% late fee. Twice. I start to fight them in court over that (initial $32k owing in tax just ballooned up to over $120k consisting mostly of fines and interest) Rev Can guy then proceeds to unilaterally declare my limited liability corporation that was designed to protect me in exactly this scenario, to be invalid, so then does a third-party demand to all my personal accounts. bank fucks up and not only takes out all available balances, but also maxes out all lines of credit and credit cards. I had 0 money, 0 credit, and about 3 days worth of cash for food, maybe gas... nothing for mortgage, car/insurance, nothing. 3rd party demand meant that I had to settle up the $120k owing before any money I put into the bank would be allowed back out of the bank. Fuck Banks. Bank was found to be in error for performing the third-party demand like they did, but they didn't give a shit, and didn't reverse it, because the money was already in RevCan's hands, and they sure weren't going to pay for their own mistake. "Go get it back from Rev Can". Meanwhile, I had no cash for food, never mind a prolonged legal battle. So yeah, your civil forfeiture laws are cute and all, but try going to the bank sometime and finding EVERYTHING you had in there gone, including any credit. Needless to say those 2 years of my life kind of changed my outlook on banks... and I'm quite happy to have large sums of cash squirrelled away in mason jars in the back yard.
"This celebration of the animal kingdom’s most beautiful and fearsome creature was founded by Big Cat Rescue" Fuck. That. http://www.bigcatrescuewatch.com/ Carole Baskin is a nutty ol' exotic pet dealer who decided to try and moralize her own purchases and breeding. Also, she shot and fed her husband to the cats, most likely.
Seriously? It's International Beer Day today... that's all that matters. https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/international-beer-day/
A friend of mine had something similar happen to him. He consolidated his student loans, and they missed one. Cut to three years later and one day all of his accounts are suddenly empty because the government just took the money. Apparently all of the notices had been going to an old address. They were nice enough to let him keep $350 a month until the balance was paid off. Luckily he and his fiance hadn't combined their accounts yet.
Australia vs New Zealand in the rugby today. Fuck yes, hopefully the All Blacks(NZ) Kick the Wallabies(Aus) ass all over the park and keep the trophy for another year which would mean we have held it since 2003. Very Wallaby centric as it was on an Australian Rugby show but still great moments in the history nonetheless.
It's an aquired taste, I liked it a lot but some people who don't get it think it's weird garbage. It does a god job poking fun at movies like Meatballs, Pinball Summer and Poison Ivy. And Chris Meloni is fucking hilarious as the crazed cook. I'll have to check out the show.
Why am I the only one at my company to get a physical paycheck? Y'all may remember a few years ago when my identity was stolen and I had to go 3 months with no money. None. Zero. Some fucktard from Africa got ahold of my debit card information and cleaned me the fuck out. I thought I had $4K in my checking account right up until the moment I got the overdraft letter from my bank telling me I was $3K overdrawn. Yeah, it all got straightened out eventually. Eventually. I had to go 3 months without any money (I wasn't working at the time) except for what I could get together by selling my shit. Fuck banks. Not to mention, before the identity theft thing happened, more then once I deposited a check for $50K or so in my account and was told I couldn't access the funds for 28 business days. Bullshit. And finally, my company draws their checks on a Bank of America account. BOA charges me $6 to cash my paycheck. A check made out by one of their biggest account holders. Yeah, I feel much more comfortable holding on to my money in cash then letting those thieves hold it.
Awhile back I was working for a national company that used Wells Fargo as their bank. Wells Fargo wanted $3 to cash my checks. I refused to pay it. Basically, I just argued with the manager long enough that he capitulated, saying "Okay, we'll pay it this time, but next time you have to pay the fee." I never paid the fee. It's fucking bullshit, and banks get away with it all the time, and nobody does anything about it. What can we do about it? Seriously, does anybody have any ideas? EDIT: Question for Nett, Toytoy, and anyone else who prefers to hold onto their cash: Have you ever considered what would happen if there was a rapid devaluation of your cash? Have you ever thought of investing in something else?
My cash is going to hold it's value at least a short while longer then someone else's bank account, which is all theoretical cash. While they're standing in line trying to get their money, I've already got mine.
Competition answer: Smaller local banks and credit unions. Use those. Government answer: State and federal laws. Start talking to your representatives. Better answer: Combination of the above in reasonable measured doses.
Over all the years, people had ridiculed me for choosing to keep my funds in cash vs. putting it in a bank. The only reason I ever dealt with banks is because I had to. I looked up some images under the terms "hot chicks money," and this was one of the results: Spoiler I'm not gonna argue with that. I love Christian Cooper's artwork. I also found this: Spoiler
Open up a free account with Wells Fargo? They have no obligation to cash your checks without an account, even with a fee.
This is exactly why I don't use my debit card for anything. The only time I use my debit card is to withdraw cash. Several years ago I found someone charged $3k worth of stuff on my debit card. I was fortunate enough to catch it quickly and at a time when I had a bunch of cushion in the account. I had the bank issue me a new card number and I've used it only one place since - at an ATM to withdraw money. I'm not liable for fraudulent charges in any case, but I'd rather have them charging against someone else's money on my credit card rather than my dollars in my checking account. Everything goes on credit cards, paid off every month, which protects my debit card and has the added perk of the credit card companies actually paying me a couple thousand bucks a year to float me 30-day interest free loans. Most banks and credit card companies are awful, but used correctly, they can be good tools. @Nettdata that's fucked. How did they invalidate your LLC like that? Seems crazy that you set up the very structure designed for that situation and they can just shrug and say "nope."
This. A thousand times this. I don't understand why pretty much everyone I know uses their debit card for everything. I have one friend who has had his card number stolen twice in the last year. Both times he had no money to his name save what was in his pockets for 2-3 weeks while it got straightened out. Yet he continues to hand over his debit card to open bar tabs and swipes it in wobbly gas pump readers. Another friend had their bank completely freak out about the Target data breach and locked his account until they sent/activated a new card for him. If something happens to my credit card, I get to see a statement before any of my money leaves my checking account. I don't have to worry about getting my money back while they unfuck the charges, and I can still spend the money on other things while they do so.
Aside from all this lovely finance talk....my evening consisted of brownies for dinner, Mad Max, fuzzy bear slippers and the first Dr. Dre album since I was in high school. Thanks to this board, I'll be feasting on chicken saag and trying to find a method of watching the rugby match online.
I probably shouldn't walk Buddy when the heat index is over 110. My clothes are soaked. I had to peel my jeans off like a wetsuit. Poor Buddy is seeking out tile to get cool. My house is clean, el husband is in New Orleans, and I don't have to be at work til 5. I am so goddamn bored.