Build a bridge over “troubled waters”
You worry about identity theft and credit-card loss. Have you forgotten to be vigilant concerning check fraud prevention? First National Bank and Trust Co. of Newtown (Township, Bucks County, Penna.) in its latest Financial Focus newsletter (www.fnbn.com) underscores the ‘significant percentage of fraud losses each year” and provides a brief list of guidelines to help protect yourself from the consequences of fraud:
1. Guard your checkbook and extra (new) checks.
2. Never give account and routing numbers to anyone on the phone.
3. Never use deposit slip tickets for "scrap" paper or notes and give it to someone. Guard your deposit slips.
4. Store or dispose of canceled checks, deposit/withdrawal slips, and account statements properly.
5. Inform your bank immediately if your checkbook is lost or stolen.
6. When traveling for any considerable period of time, it’s wise to leave your checkbook locked away at home and use traveler's checks.
7. Write checks so that check washing and forgery are more difficult. Use felt tip and ballpoint ink pens or typewriters - never pencil. Write the payee name and dollar amount in numbers and letters as far to the left of the allotted space or line as possible to prevent other letters, words, or numbers from being added. Draw a line through unused space to the right of the numbers to prevent additions.
8. Balance or reconcile your checkbook register with your monthly bank statements.
9. When writing the payee name on the Pay-to-the-Order-of line, make sure the name is spelled out so it can’t be altered (e.g., I.B.M. could become I.B. Maroney).
Herb Drill’s tip is: use cash whenever possible, or write checks as poorly as he does so it’s nearly impossible to alter the check, much less decipher it!
The bank’s Financial Focus also provided some advice on keeping afloat during a financial storm - and it didn’t involve buying a rubber dinghy. FNBN points out that some steps you can take include:
Review your spending priorities and make sure you pay the most
important items first - mortgage, utilities and insurance. Then review the "niceties" but not "necessities" in your budget.
Try to build a "rainy day" fund into your savings account so you will have resources available in the event of a financial crisis.
Review your credit spending. Pay off your highest rate loans first.
Think carefully before getting a credit-card cash advance. This is a loan, and interest charges will incur immediately - plus transaction fees.
During financial difficulty, consider refinancing your home mortgage.
Here are a few warning signs of an impending financial storm:
- More than 20% of your monthly net income is going to pay credit-card debt and loans (excluding mortgage).
- You're borrowing money to make payments on loans you already have.
- Frequently, you're at or near your limit on credit cards and paying only the minimum due each month.
While you can't always plan for a financial storm, you can have the veritable “Coast Guard” handy to get you to calmer waters.