Four Things You Should Know About Prepaid Debit Cards

According to a recent study by the Federal Reserve, the use of prepaid debit cards is the fastest growing noncash payment method in America. 

There are many different reasons for this phenomenon, including the desire of consumers to better manage their finances, their preference for carrying a card instead of cash for transactions, and the increase in costs to maintain a traditional checking account.

As simple as they may sound, prepaid debit cards are not created equally. There are hundreds of different cards to choose from, all possessing unique features, benefits, and costs. 

Before choosing a prepaid debit card, you should first understand four important points that could affect your decision.

Open and Fund Your Account

You must fill out a standard application to open an account. This includes providing personal information such as your social security number, date of birth, home address, and phone number. 

Unlike with a credit card, applicants generally aren’t required to have pristine credit. Some companies will approve an applicant as long as it can verify their identity. 

Part of the reason for identifying individuals is to allow them to link the card with their other banking accounts. 

Once linked, cardholders can transfer funds through their computer or smartphone easily and instantaneously. However, if you are one of the estimated 10 million households without a bank account, depositing funds will require a different solution.

If you are employed, many prepaid cards will allow you to have your paycheck directly applied to your account. Another solution is to physically deposit cash at a participating location. For example, Walmart offers a card that you can fund inside any of its locations. 

Understand the Costs

It is important to thoroughly examine the costs associated with each individual card. Unlike with credit cards, prepaid debit card issuers are not required to provide to users a simple fee chart. 

Instead, applicants must comb through the fine print to extract the true cost of opening an account.

The worst cards charge fees for things such as activation, usage, monthly statements, and overdraft. Avoid these cards like the plague. 

 It is best to stick with names that you know and trust. Once you have found a few, focus on how each card charges for the features that you value most.

Are Your Funds Protected

Prepaid debit cards do not share the same safeguards as traditional debit or credit cards. Card companies can voluntarily choose to protect consumers, but are not obligated. If your card is lost or stolen, there are no guarantees that you’ll be reimbursed. 

The current regulation is written in a manner that does not require prepaid card companies to offer victims of fraud the option to dispute a charge.

As mentioned before, it is best to stick with the names that you know and trust because many of them are opting to provide their cardholders with the same rights and protections as debit and credit card users.

If You Call, Will Anyone Pick Up

The quality of customer service provided by prepaid card companies can vary drastically. Some organizations will only allow you to leave a voicemail or send an email regarding questions or concerns; others may charge you a fee to speak with a live person. 

Companies like Tracy Rawle’s Check City, will often take the extra measure to keep you informed of your transaction usage through email or phone.


A prepaid debit card is an excellent alternative to owning a debit card or credit card. It comes without the cost of maintaining a bank account, can be obtained without excellent credit, and won’t put you in debt. 

The most important points to understand are the differences between the cards, and the specific costs associated with the features that you use most. 

5 Must-Know Steps to Financing a New Home

Applying for a loan is just one step of many involved in financing a new home. There are several other steps you should take before you sign your loan documents and decide on a lender. Let's look at five of those steps. 

Make a Budget

You don't want to leave it up to a bank officer to decide how much house you can afford. Instead of letting them tell you how much you're approved for and then finding a house that's within that range, you need to create a budget that shows you exactly what you spend each month on bills, groceries, fun, entertainment and miscellaneous expenses. 

Then, start adding in house payments, savings for repairs and maintenance, home and flood insurance, property taxes and revised utilities. 

Then start tweaking your other spending categories until you find a manageable amount for your house payment based on your income. This will give you a guideline for the total amount you can finance. 

Compare Rates

Homeowners need to focus on getting a monthly payment they can afford, but they also want to get a good interest rate in order to keep the overall cost of the house low. Compare rates with local banks, national lenders and credit unions until you find the best deal. 

Check Your Credit

Your credit report and FICO score is going to dictate how low an interest rate you qualify for. 

Before you get financing, check your report for any black marks against you and any incorrect information. Then, work to get your information corrected and your score improved. 

Get a Home Inspection

When you're financing a home, you're making a huge commitment that you're not going to be able to back out of without some devastating consequences. 

Getting a home inspection will not only prevent you from buying a home in bad condition, it can also give you leverage to negotiate the cost down. 

Finance as Little as Possible

When you finance your new home, you will have the option to make a low down payment and wrap your closing costs into the loan. This will essentially increase your loan amount, interest charges and the overall cost of the home.

Financing your home is one of the biggest financial steps you'll take in your entire life. Take on the process carefully and thoughtfully, consult with a professional from an agency like Florida Lifestyle Realty, and remember -- it's up to you to protect your own best interests, not the lender's.

Protecting Your Finances: 6 Ways Bad Decisions Can Drain Your Wallet

When you work hard to boost your savings account, the last thing you want is to have to spend it unnecessarily. The following are six common reasons why people are forced to dip into their funds due to poor planning and bad decisions.

Maintaining a balance on your credit card

We're often advised as young adults to use a credit card periodically to build up a credit history. While this is good advice, some people pass along the myth that it's necessary to maintain a balance on the credit card to achieve this. 

If you believe this untrue myth, there's a chance that you've been paying way too much due to interest on your balance. Paying off your full balance every month will keep help you avoid paying out completely unneeded fees to the bank.

Buying cheaply

When it comes to cars, appliances, clothing, shoes, and so much more, buying the pricier option can result in more savings down the line. Cheap shoes must be replaced every year, but an expensive pair might last ten. 

Energy efficient dishwashers and furnaces have a higher price tag but earn back their price in how much they lower your utility bills.

Driving while intoxicated

Drunk driving is unfortunately very common around holidays and on weekends. Not only is it dangerous for yourself, your passengers and others on the road, but if you get caught and charged with a DUI you could lose a lot of money to fines. 

If you find yourself with DUI charges, it’s important to talk to Toledo, OH criminal defense lawyers. Legal experts can help ensure the best possible outcome, which can save a lot of money in the end.

Withdrawing from your savings account

Savings accounts are a great cushion for unforeseen disasters. Once the balance gets to a certain amount, it's tempting to use that money for a trip or a large purchase. Resist the urge to withdraw your funds and keep contributing. The future you will thank you.

Not tracking your spending

It's easy to spend a little here and a little there. When it all adds up, splurge purchases might make up a surprisingly large portion of your income. Without income tracking, there's really no way to tell, so start saving those receipts and analyzing where your dollars go.

Only paying the minimum on debt

Meeting the minimum payment on a loan month after month is admirable, but if you're able to increase the amount you put aside even by 10%, this will reduce the amount of interest you end up paying on the debt, and you'll pay it off faster, too.

If you have the funds, it's worth it to increase your debt payments as much as possible so you can become debt-free sooner with the more flexible cash flow that that entails.

Don't neglect your wallet. Help it grow with good financial habits, and enjoy the benefits that having more money can bring.

How Can you Improve Your Brand On Instagram?

Instagram is a platform for the visual niche where you can grow your brand easily. It is the place for displaying your photography skills as well as promotes your product well. 

Here are some methods, through which you can improve your brand on Instagram.

Identify Ideal Follower: You must identify the right followers on Instagram. After identifying your target market, you need to determine which people are actually getting attracted to your brand. 

Just few hours of research will help you to identify the right followers. You must look at some of the metrics like:

• What are the kinds of photos which are preferred by the followers?
• What types of persons you wish to attract?
• Which are the popular hash tags within your niche?
• What are the successful accounts which are already followed by some users within the same niche?

Ways To Interact Through Instagram: There are various social media signals through which you can interact.

# Follow

For obtaining individual attention, following is the easiest way on Instagram. Within the notification feed, the following option is shown as the separate item, where it cannot be clubbed with other items.

# Comment

Commenting is the strategy with high effectiveness, if you do it carefully. It can appear to be spammy and can surely put your account at risk if you automate the process. 

You should not find the comment section as the place of your advertisement. If you have any doubts regarding the usage , you can visit instamacro.com.

# Tag

User names can be displayed if his photo is being tapped on. Just like the follow , the users get the notification in a particular item within the specific activity feed. But these activities are only used for the users whom you personally know. But when you are tagging people, you do not know it can appear to be very spammy.

# Hash tags

For improving the quantity of following , you can also use as the effective method. The hash tags must be relevant with your brand and must sound interesting. 

For example, if you are involved into the event management business, you can use hash tag like #awesomemusicevent . It is one of the ways by which you can get connected with your audience.

# Direct message

A photo message can be sent to each user so that communication can become specific to the user. The followers, who have commented a lot about your business or brand, can be considered as the interested users. 

These interested users can be communicated specifically through direct messages. The comments must include calls to action so that the users can immediately take the action.

# User engagement

The users must be encouraged for adding hash tags. You can request the users to add hash tags to your photos. They can also tag some users whom they know well. This helps in adding references in your list. Try encouraging the users to like and comment in your photos. 

If you have included any link in your profile, encourage the users to click on them. You can also share various types of media and lifestyle photos. For increasing the engagement, you can use photos with quotes.

Try to identify your target market and interact with them properly. Your brand will only be visible if more and more users start to like, follow and tag them. Hash tags can also be helpful if you can use them in a relevant manner. 

Use the above mentioned methods to improve the communication with your followers. And don’t forget to share other simple methods which you are using for improving your online brand.

How You Can Save Money on Your Utility Bills This Summer

When you receive your utility bills in the mail, you probably wish that you could stop these services entirely. No one likes to pay bills, especially when money is tight. 

Even when money is not tight paying the bills is never fun because it means it is less money in your pocket. But your utility bills are probably some of the most important bills that we all pay. They are what allow us to keep running water in our house and the electric turned on. 

They help make sure we have heat in the winter time and air conditioning in the summer time. So you might say that your utility bills are a necessary evil. However there are ways you can save money on these monthly bills.

Turn off the Electric

When you're in the kitchen, you might leave the air conditioner in the living room blasting, and when you run out to the store, you may keep all of the lights in the house on. 

While an outdoor light can provide safety, you should evaluate the purpose of leaving other such units running. Make it a household rule that everyone in your family needs to turn these things off when they exit the room or house.

Inspect the Units

HELP Plumbing, Heating, Cooling, and Electric recommends that you have yearly maintenance for your air conditioning and heating units. By doing so, you can work to restore their energy efficiency. 

Also, you will find out if any problems exist early on. Waiting too long means that you may have problems that grow, which just costs you more money in the long term.

Minimize Water Usage

Perhaps you have been in the habit of running the sink water while you brush your teeth since you were a kid, but no reason exists for that habit. Try to limit the amount of minutes you spend in the shower. 

Purchasing small timers and placing them in the bathroom can help to keep people on track. Also, when you take out an item in the kitchen, ask yourself if you really need to use it. The more equipment you take out, the more you have to clean later.

Evaluate Your Television Package

Many people have too many channels on their television that they do not even watch. Summer is a good time to cut back on the channels because you are not spending as much time watching shows anyway. 

By the time the fall comes around, you probably will have forgotten about all the channels that you never watched anyway. Therefore, now is the perfect time to cut back and to select a more affordable television package.

Negotiate Your Bills

When you are already taking as many steps toward efficiency as possible, call the utility companies. Explain that you are struggling to pay your bills. 

The company may be willing to work with you, or you might have negotiating power if you found a lower price somewhere else.

There are many other ways you can save money on your utility bills this summer than what has been listed above. It will just take some research on your part and also finding out what works for you in both the short and long term. 

Utility bills may be a necessary evil, but they sure to help make living at home a whole lot easier. And if you can save money on your bills each month means that you will have more funds for enjoyable activities this summer and more money in your bank account.

How to Get Your Best Caregiver in Rhode Island

There are many channels of getting caregivers. From a friend of a friend who knows someone to a friend’s child offering caregiving services part time, your choices are endless. This is a common means of getting a care giver but it isn’t advisable to get these services from such people because of the security issues associated with them.

Unless you fully trust these persons, you shouldn’t seek a professional service provider. Rhode Island has a center for care giving services for you that has an online presence giving you convenience of booking your preferred care giver at your preferred time.

Follow the following procedure:

Registration

Login

You must register your details on the website. It is important for you to ask for help from a younger person if your elderly and you require a caregiver. Essentially, you require a caregiver to help with such details. Get someone you trust. This shouldn’t be a problem if you are getting searching for a caregiver for a loved one.

You should select the Careseeker tab on the web page that you open. In most cases the ‘Careseeker’ is the default button, and you do not have to switch tabs.

You should set up a password/ have a password set up for you. There is also a checkbox that lets you choose if you are the senior person seeking care of if you are the friend/ relative. 

Registration details

Remember to include your email address to sign up, add your profile information. This is simple and like many other forms you’ve filled online and offline. You therefore require your DOB, name, phone number and your physical address. Photo upload is optional.

Select services

Once you have entered your details, you should check the services you expect from Senior Care Center Rhode Island. This will make it easy for the service providers to meet your needs. 

Start searching

Once you finish the sign up; a box will pop up to inform you if your application is successful or not.

If successful, start searching. Search for provider within your locality. You will get all information about potential caregivers including their reviews, photo, their rates, their availability and the services they offer. Availability is very important therefore ensure that both your times and theirs match. 

Specific searches

There is the option of choosing a specific feature from your caregivers. For instance, the list view will give you a list of all caregivers while you can choose male or female providers if you need a caregiver of a either gender.

Questions

There is a button that will let you send a message if you have questions about the services or the caregivers. 

Booking

Once you get a caregiver whose availability matches your preferred time, you should go ahead and book. Time blocks are available and you can book multiple blocks. Place your request after you are satisfied with the total costs and time. 

Safety

In case you have a problem you should contact the relevant people. Call 911 for emergencies and send an email or call the center for non-emergency problems.

In conclusion, these steps will help you in getting the best care or caregiver for your loved one at the time of your convenience. The caregivers are vetted before their profiles are on the website ensuring that you get nothing but the best.

Author Bio
Joy Sanders is a cyber security analyst and a social worker at senior care center Rhode Island. She will help you in getting the right care giver by having the safest and easiest login and search website running at all times. She is a part of the team vetting the caregivers.