Is BofA's "Keep the Change" promotion legit?
October 26, 2005 11:40 AM Subscribe
Bank of America's Keep The Change offer looks awesome. I've read the small print, but I can't figure out the catch. Is there one?
They aren't actually giving you any money.
They are just transferring the difference from your checking account to your savings account.
posted by Rubber Soul at 11:45 AM on October 26, 2005
They are just transferring the difference from your checking account to your savings account.
posted by Rubber Soul at 11:45 AM on October 26, 2005
Ah, I see now. All they're doing is rounding up and transfering the remainder to your savings from your own checking account. In other words, they're not giving you any money. See the sidebar graphic under "Here's How You Keep the Change."
posted by monju_bosatsu at 11:46 AM on October 26, 2005
posted by monju_bosatsu at 11:46 AM on October 26, 2005
I don't know if you made the mistake I did when reading the offer. I thought at first when reading it that B of A would add the difference to your savings, but all they're doing is transferring the difference from your checking account to your savings account (though the language is misleading in this respect). It sounds like a pain in the ass for bookkeeping purposes (though I balance my checkbook every day with Quicken--many people don't do that).
So it's only an interesting deal for the first three months, when they match the transfer at 100% (and even then only if you buy lots of packs of gum). After that (when they only match 5%), I imagine their loss is negligible, compared to whatever they'll get out of you using the card.
posted by Prospero at 11:47 AM on October 26, 2005
So it's only an interesting deal for the first three months, when they match the transfer at 100% (and even then only if you buy lots of packs of gum). After that (when they only match 5%), I imagine their loss is negligible, compared to whatever they'll get out of you using the card.
posted by Prospero at 11:47 AM on October 26, 2005
Response by poster: right, but they match 15% for the first 3 months and 5% perpetually thereafter.
So if you DO already have all the relevant accounts with BofA, this is a pure win situation?
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 11:48 AM on October 26, 2005
So if you DO already have all the relevant accounts with BofA, this is a pure win situation?
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 11:48 AM on October 26, 2005
Except that they keep taking money out of your checking account, and putting it in your savings account. That's got to make it a bitch to keep balanced.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 11:51 AM on October 26, 2005
posted by monju_bosatsu at 11:51 AM on October 26, 2005
BuddhaInABucket: "right, but they match 15% for the first 3 months and 5% perpetually thereafter. So if you DO already have all the relevant accounts with BofA, this is a pure win situation?"
Actually, it's 100% for the first three months. I've already got the relevant accounts, so it seemed like "pure win" to me. The one oddity -- the matching funds are only given once a year, not on a daily basis like the checking-to-savings transfers.
posted by ewagoner at 11:51 AM on October 26, 2005
Actually, it's 100% for the first three months. I've already got the relevant accounts, so it seemed like "pure win" to me. The one oddity -- the matching funds are only given once a year, not on a daily basis like the checking-to-savings transfers.
posted by ewagoner at 11:51 AM on October 26, 2005
There are no fees.
And if you have a checking account, you have a savings account -- they give you one pretty much automatically. I never asked them to open one for me, anyway.
The only drawback is that they don't have the program in Washington... yet. Otherwise I would be doing a lot of transactions at gas stations during the next three months, while the introductory 100% matching is in effect... say $5.01 and let them match the 99 cent "change" from that transaction. In that situation BofA would be giving me a nearly 20% rebate. (Gas is good because you can decide exactly how much the transaction will be.)
You can of course move money from your savings to your checking at any time at no charge using BofA's online banking. BofA's savings accounts do not pay very good interest rates, so you'll probably want to do that.
There's no real catch... they figure it costs a certain amount to acquire a customer, so instead of spending it on advertising, why not just give that cash directly to the customer and let word of mouth take over. Heck, last month Washington Mutual offered to give me a $75 AmEx gift cheque for opening a checking account! I opened the account, deposited $1, and will close it after the required three months are up and they give me the cheque.
posted by kindall at 11:52 AM on October 26, 2005
And if you have a checking account, you have a savings account -- they give you one pretty much automatically. I never asked them to open one for me, anyway.
The only drawback is that they don't have the program in Washington... yet. Otherwise I would be doing a lot of transactions at gas stations during the next three months, while the introductory 100% matching is in effect... say $5.01 and let them match the 99 cent "change" from that transaction. In that situation BofA would be giving me a nearly 20% rebate. (Gas is good because you can decide exactly how much the transaction will be.)
You can of course move money from your savings to your checking at any time at no charge using BofA's online banking. BofA's savings accounts do not pay very good interest rates, so you'll probably want to do that.
There's no real catch... they figure it costs a certain amount to acquire a customer, so instead of spending it on advertising, why not just give that cash directly to the customer and let word of mouth take over. Heck, last month Washington Mutual offered to give me a $75 AmEx gift cheque for opening a checking account! I opened the account, deposited $1, and will close it after the required three months are up and they give me the cheque.
posted by kindall at 11:52 AM on October 26, 2005
Post-preview: If you use software to balance, there's no hassles involved. If you do a hand register, yeah, the daily transfers would be a pain to keep up with.
posted by ewagoner at 11:53 AM on October 26, 2005
posted by ewagoner at 11:53 AM on October 26, 2005
Except that they keep taking money out of your checking account, and putting it in your savings account. That's got to make it a bitch to keep balanced.
Actually, it makes it easier to keep your account balanced because your debit card transactions will all be even dollar amounts now.
posted by kindall at 11:53 AM on October 26, 2005
Actually, it makes it easier to keep your account balanced because your debit card transactions will all be even dollar amounts now.
posted by kindall at 11:53 AM on October 26, 2005
The radio ads state that the program is free for three months. The implication is that they may begin charging a fee later. I haven't read the small print to confirm that.
I've been doing this for years. I drop my loose change into an old-fashioned milk bottle every day; and about twice a year, I empty it and deposit about $200. I use a local bank; but even if this program were widespread, I don't carry a debit card. Study after study after study shows that you're more likely to temper your purchases if you use cash. This program seems counterproductive: In order to save pennies, you make it easier for yourself to spend dollars.
posted by cribcage at 11:54 AM on October 26, 2005
I've been doing this for years. I drop my loose change into an old-fashioned milk bottle every day; and about twice a year, I empty it and deposit about $200. I use a local bank; but even if this program were widespread, I don't carry a debit card. Study after study after study shows that you're more likely to temper your purchases if you use cash. This program seems counterproductive: In order to save pennies, you make it easier for yourself to spend dollars.
posted by cribcage at 11:54 AM on October 26, 2005
kindall: "Actually, it makes it easier to keep your account balanced because yourdebit card transactions will all be even dollar amounts now."
Nope. Your debit transactions will all be the same as before, only there will be a daily lump transfer of all that day's "Keep the change" money.
posted by ewagoner at 11:55 AM on October 26, 2005
Nope. Your debit transactions will all be the same as before, only there will be a daily lump transfer of all that day's "Keep the change" money.
posted by ewagoner at 11:55 AM on October 26, 2005
The "Regular Savings" account pays a whopping 0.5% per year. It's not exactly a "catch" but that's a terrible rate. Minimum balance is only $100 though.
posted by blue mustard at 12:00 PM on October 26, 2005
posted by blue mustard at 12:00 PM on October 26, 2005
Yeah, I don't know how you would track it. I guess you could do every debit card transaction as a split, with part of it as a purchase and the change part as a transfer from checking to savings. Then your savings account would have a ton of under a $1 transactions. Or you could ignore the change until the end of the month and just do it as a batch transfer, which assumes faith in BofA's accounting.
posted by smackfu at 12:02 PM on October 26, 2005
posted by smackfu at 12:02 PM on October 26, 2005
What happens if you have sufficient funds in your checking/debit account for the purchase itself, but do not have sufficient funds for the rounded-up amount? Will they then deduct the extra change and charge you overdraft fees?
Admittedly an extreme case, but I'm still trying to figure out what makes this such a good deal. I'd rather explicitly control the transfer of money between my accounts and not have my bank do it whenever there's a possibility of overdraft (note that brokerage/bank sweep accounts are generally immune to the overage issues described).
posted by aberrant at 12:06 PM on October 26, 2005
Admittedly an extreme case, but I'm still trying to figure out what makes this such a good deal. I'd rather explicitly control the transfer of money between my accounts and not have my bank do it whenever there's a possibility of overdraft (note that brokerage/bank sweep accounts are generally immune to the overage issues described).
posted by aberrant at 12:06 PM on October 26, 2005
Response by poster: I just called customer service to make absolutely sure before signing up: the purpose of the program is to attract new customers, and if you already have the relevant accounts, there are no new associated fees or charges of any sort, just free money. They cancel the keep-the-change transaction for the day if it might make your account overdraw. The reward is given once a year, up to $250 dollars.
I figured the following purchases are great 'malleable' purchases that will maximize your benefits:
anything where you tip (adjust the tip so the total comes to X.01)
gas (buy gas more frequently, in smaller amounts, and bring the total to X.01)
can you guys think of anything else?
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 12:11 PM on October 26, 2005
I figured the following purchases are great 'malleable' purchases that will maximize your benefits:
anything where you tip (adjust the tip so the total comes to X.01)
gas (buy gas more frequently, in smaller amounts, and bring the total to X.01)
can you guys think of anything else?
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 12:11 PM on October 26, 2005
Response by poster: Oh, and I figured out one 'catch'. By using my debit card more, I'm using my non-BofA credit cards LESS. That's more fees that storekeepers pay to BofA than to some other company.
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 12:13 PM on October 26, 2005
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 12:13 PM on October 26, 2005
See, that type of list is exactly what I'm talking about. Instead of collecting pocket change as an incidental practice which piggybacks (pardon the reference) on your normal purchases, you begin brainstorming ways to game the system. The end result is likely to be a lot more wasted time and a lot less saved money than if you simply set aside $50 every month for a savings bond (as one example).
It's not that it's a bad application of technology. It's just that, as usual, you're making something more complicated and reducing its value in the process. Stick with low tech.
posted by cribcage at 12:20 PM on October 26, 2005
It's not that it's a bad application of technology. It's just that, as usual, you're making something more complicated and reducing its value in the process. Stick with low tech.
posted by cribcage at 12:20 PM on October 26, 2005
That's more fees that storekeepers pay to BofA than to some other company.
Correct. And if you switch from paying cash to paying via debit card, then that's even more fees for BofA.
Also, for what it's worth, BofA is getting data that allows them to build a better picture of you as a consumer (eats a lot of fast food, visits convenience stores frequently, whatever). I'm not a privacy fanatic, so I don't think this is particularly a problem, but YMMV.
posted by WestCoaster at 12:21 PM on October 26, 2005
Correct. And if you switch from paying cash to paying via debit card, then that's even more fees for BofA.
Also, for what it's worth, BofA is getting data that allows them to build a better picture of you as a consumer (eats a lot of fast food, visits convenience stores frequently, whatever). I'm not a privacy fanatic, so I don't think this is particularly a problem, but YMMV.
posted by WestCoaster at 12:21 PM on October 26, 2005
I'm still trying to figure out what makes this such a good deal.
This isn't designed for all you folks who keep track of your purchases, know exactly where every dollar goes, and regularly accumulate money in a savings account whose interest rate you care about. This is designed for people who get paid, spend money, get paid, spend money; people who find out how much money they have by looking at the ATM balance receipt, and occasionally think: gee, it would be nice if I could start saving, but where would I get the money? This is a system that lets you slowly, almost invisibly accumulate money in a savings account without having to first establish the kind of financial discipline that some of you see to be taking for granted.
posted by Mars Saxman at 12:24 PM on October 26, 2005
This isn't designed for all you folks who keep track of your purchases, know exactly where every dollar goes, and regularly accumulate money in a savings account whose interest rate you care about. This is designed for people who get paid, spend money, get paid, spend money; people who find out how much money they have by looking at the ATM balance receipt, and occasionally think: gee, it would be nice if I could start saving, but where would I get the money? This is a system that lets you slowly, almost invisibly accumulate money in a savings account without having to first establish the kind of financial discipline that some of you see to be taking for granted.
posted by Mars Saxman at 12:24 PM on October 26, 2005
I was about to sign up for this, but the "catch" for me is that I need to keep a $300 minimum in my savings account (and even then, I'd be paying out $3 a month to have it). BoFA also offers a "no fee" savings account, but it requires a $1000 minimum to *start* (looks like you can pull out all the money after you start it, however.)
I read about this in the paper in september and thought it was a great idea. I'm rather poor at financial management, and so I don't have any savings, and because I live month-to-month, I temper my purchases by how much is left in my checking account. If my checking account is $20 less (because there was $20 in change in my debit transactions) then I spend $20 less that month.
So this program is really designed for people like me and my peers, who use debit cards for 75% of our transactions (i hardly ever carry cash, unless I know i'm going to a bar) and need to be "forced" into saving.
I don't think this program is a good idea for me *right now*, unfortunately, because I need to be paying off credit card debt rather than saving, but I'm planning on signing up as soon as my ccs are paid off.
posted by fishfucker at 12:34 PM on October 26, 2005
I read about this in the paper in september and thought it was a great idea. I'm rather poor at financial management, and so I don't have any savings, and because I live month-to-month, I temper my purchases by how much is left in my checking account. If my checking account is $20 less (because there was $20 in change in my debit transactions) then I spend $20 less that month.
So this program is really designed for people like me and my peers, who use debit cards for 75% of our transactions (i hardly ever carry cash, unless I know i'm going to a bar) and need to be "forced" into saving.
I don't think this program is a good idea for me *right now*, unfortunately, because I need to be paying off credit card debt rather than saving, but I'm planning on signing up as soon as my ccs are paid off.
posted by fishfucker at 12:34 PM on October 26, 2005
(i'm in CA, which may explain why the savings account options are different for me).
posted by fishfucker at 12:35 PM on October 26, 2005
posted by fishfucker at 12:35 PM on October 26, 2005
If I'm figuring this out correctly, BoA wins for two reasons: (1) it entices people to use their debit cards more, which not only causes people to psychologically undervalue their money but triggers merchant fees; and (2) since the excess change is deleted from your checking account immediately but doesn't show up in your savings account until the next day, you're giving BoA a free short term loan. It can leverage this cash to make zero-risk investments (since you can't take your money out, you'll never be able to call their debt) and thus reap a high-interest windfall at your expense.
posted by Saucy Intruder at 12:38 PM on October 26, 2005
posted by Saucy Intruder at 12:38 PM on October 26, 2005
and thus reap a high-interest windfall at your expense.
That's a very generous definition of "at your expense" though.
I don't bank with BoA so I don't know if there's a limited number of times you can do funds transfer within an account but presuming there's not you could easily move that money quickly to an INGDirect or any other improved rate destination.
Assuming you don't divert money or alter other revenue-generating practices as a result of this I think that 100% match would be all the reason needed to do this for a few months. Assuming a fully random distribution in prices you'll realize $0.48 * (number of monthly debit card transactions) in matching funds.
posted by phearlez at 12:47 PM on October 26, 2005
That's a very generous definition of "at your expense" though.
I don't bank with BoA so I don't know if there's a limited number of times you can do funds transfer within an account but presuming there's not you could easily move that money quickly to an INGDirect or any other improved rate destination.
Assuming you don't divert money or alter other revenue-generating practices as a result of this I think that 100% match would be all the reason needed to do this for a few months. Assuming a fully random distribution in prices you'll realize $0.48 * (number of monthly debit card transactions) in matching funds.
posted by phearlez at 12:47 PM on October 26, 2005
It's worth noting that the fine print appears to say that the upper limit for matching transfers is $250/year.
posted by Prospero at 12:54 PM on October 26, 2005
posted by Prospero at 12:54 PM on October 26, 2005
Well, we set up a joint savings account in anticipation of wedding gifts, and in the months while the balance stayed under $1500 we got hosed to the tune of $10 a month in fees. There is a limit of six withdrawals per month which include transfers to checking (though deposits are, I believe, unlimited). After that, it's another $10 a pop.
posted by Saucy Intruder at 12:54 PM on October 26, 2005
posted by Saucy Intruder at 12:54 PM on October 26, 2005
All I know is that Bank of America is one of the worst banks I've ever had. I am cancelling my account there as soon as i manage to unravel all the automatic debits (netflix, loans, etc) that I have set up. They let me overdraft SEVEN times before they started declining my debit card purchases. Which means hundreds of dollars worth of overdraft fees for them (for debit card purchases totalling less than one hundred dollars). I may not be the most responsible person, financially, but that seems to be excessive.
posted by chelseagirl at 12:54 PM on October 26, 2005
posted by chelseagirl at 12:54 PM on October 26, 2005
ING...is that the financial company that produced the most mind-numbingly stupid commercials I've ever seen? "What's that? Oh, it's a man struggling with his inner child. ING rocks!"
Any company willing to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to produce those commercials isn't demonstrating the fiscal wisdom and responsibility I'd require from an investment company.
posted by cribcage at 1:03 PM on October 26, 2005
Any company willing to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to produce those commercials isn't demonstrating the fiscal wisdom and responsibility I'd require from an investment company.
posted by cribcage at 1:03 PM on October 26, 2005
ING is a great company. One of the best rates out there for a savings account. No extra paper, just great savings rates. Allows effortless savings without all the extras, like brick & mortar establishments. I've stopped saving into BoA and started using ING. My wife and I have had ING accounts for several years now.
Their TV commercials have no impact on the above.
posted by cahlers at 1:11 PM on October 26, 2005
Their TV commercials have no impact on the above.
posted by cahlers at 1:11 PM on October 26, 2005
Yep, ING for us too, for several years now. ING does rock!
posted by LadyBonita at 1:24 PM on October 26, 2005
posted by LadyBonita at 1:24 PM on October 26, 2005
Your debit transactions will all be the same as before, only there will be a daily lump transfer of all that day's "Keep the change" money.
Well, yeah, but you can account for it by rounding up all your transactions and ignoring the daily lump transfer. This is easier -- if you're doing something old-fashioned like keeping a register, then you're probably doing the math the old-fashioned way too. If you're using a calculator, well, you don't have to enter as many digits.
Yep, ING for us too, for several years now. ING does rock!
I can't imagine why you'd settle for a measly 3.4% APY on a savings account when you could be getting 4%...
posted by kindall at 1:57 PM on October 26, 2005
Well, yeah, but you can account for it by rounding up all your transactions and ignoring the daily lump transfer. This is easier -- if you're doing something old-fashioned like keeping a register, then you're probably doing the math the old-fashioned way too. If you're using a calculator, well, you don't have to enter as many digits.
Yep, ING for us too, for several years now. ING does rock!
I can't imagine why you'd settle for a measly 3.4% APY on a savings account when you could be getting 4%...
posted by kindall at 1:57 PM on October 26, 2005
They let me overdraft SEVEN times before they started declining my debit card purchases
BofA *never* counts your pending transactions when it assesses how much money you have in your checking account. I've been burned by this several times myself, but I doubt they're the only bank that does this. You have to be extra careful when you use your debit card as a credit card (ie, don't enter a PIN) because these transactions don't even get put as "pending" until the company you've made them with reports them or whatever, so I've got nailed several times by charges from a week before or so that didn't appear on my balance until after there wasn't enough money left in my account to cover them. My general rule of thumb is to check my account balance online religiously when I have less than $100 in there, and also to try to pay for as many things with cash as possible. It sucks to get nailed with a $60 fee when you only go over by a buck, but it's usually my fault for not tracking my spending (and possibly a little bit by the way all banks make deductions first and then deposits second).
posted by fishfucker at 2:05 PM on October 26, 2005
BofA *never* counts your pending transactions when it assesses how much money you have in your checking account. I've been burned by this several times myself, but I doubt they're the only bank that does this. You have to be extra careful when you use your debit card as a credit card (ie, don't enter a PIN) because these transactions don't even get put as "pending" until the company you've made them with reports them or whatever, so I've got nailed several times by charges from a week before or so that didn't appear on my balance until after there wasn't enough money left in my account to cover them. My general rule of thumb is to check my account balance online religiously when I have less than $100 in there, and also to try to pay for as many things with cash as possible. It sucks to get nailed with a $60 fee when you only go over by a buck, but it's usually my fault for not tracking my spending (and possibly a little bit by the way all banks make deductions first and then deposits second).
posted by fishfucker at 2:05 PM on October 26, 2005
you could easily move that money quickly to an INGDirect or any other improved rate destination
Sure, but only once a year. They deposit the money once annually, not after every purchase. It's just as though you're carrying your change down to the bank every Jan. 1, except they do it for you. In the meantime, you're giving them a zero-risk loan for up to a year, as others have said. Which is okay, if you were just going to spend the money anyway (assuming you value "saving" higher than "spending"), but in general it's always better to hold on to your money, because in that intervening up-to-a-year, you could be sticking it in stocks or bonds yourself -- basically, having it earn money for you instead of for them.
So, to recap:
This program: Your money makes money for you in the long run, but for BofA in the short term.
Saving a fixed amount regularly: Your money makes money for you from the moment you deposit it.
Saving your change in a jar: Your money makes money for no one while it's sitting on your dresser, then for you once you deposit it.
posted by electric_counterpoint at 2:07 PM on October 26, 2005
Sure, but only once a year. They deposit the money once annually, not after every purchase. It's just as though you're carrying your change down to the bank every Jan. 1, except they do it for you. In the meantime, you're giving them a zero-risk loan for up to a year, as others have said. Which is okay, if you were just going to spend the money anyway (assuming you value "saving" higher than "spending"), but in general it's always better to hold on to your money, because in that intervening up-to-a-year, you could be sticking it in stocks or bonds yourself -- basically, having it earn money for you instead of for them.
So, to recap:
This program: Your money makes money for you in the long run, but for BofA in the short term.
Saving a fixed amount regularly: Your money makes money for you from the moment you deposit it.
Saving your change in a jar: Your money makes money for no one while it's sitting on your dresser, then for you once you deposit it.
posted by electric_counterpoint at 2:07 PM on October 26, 2005
Your debit transactions will all be the same as before, only there will be a daily lump transfer of all that day's "Keep the change" money.
Nope. Once a year. See my above post.
posted by electric_counterpoint at 2:09 PM on October 26, 2005
Nope. Once a year. See my above post.
posted by electric_counterpoint at 2:09 PM on October 26, 2005
Oh wait. I lied. The only annual bit is the rate of deposit of the matching deposits. Ignore my above posts, everyone.
Sorry.
posted by electric_counterpoint at 2:12 PM on October 26, 2005
Sorry.
posted by electric_counterpoint at 2:12 PM on October 26, 2005
Who wants an ING Direct account? 3.4% APY....
Who wants an Emigrant Direct account? 4.0% APY...
(I think there's a $100 minimum account-opening balance with ED but otherwise it's same as ING)
posted by rxrfrx at 2:27 PM on October 26, 2005
I work for BoA, and customers I've talked to have been pretty excited about the new savings account option. I did talk to someone who works for Capital One who said she didn't like the idea, because it forces people to save their money (oh no!) but whatever.
I'm not here trying to shill for the bank, I'm just trying to clear up some confusion.
electric_counterpoint: No, Keep the Change transfers from Checking to Savings happen daily, just as if you came home at the end of the day and dumped a handful of change into the jar on your dresser. The matching funds the bank will pay you, those come at the end of the year, up to $250 from the bank to you. In my experience, after I had someone at the bank set it up for me (because associates can't do their own account maintenance, naturally) it took a few days before the transfers started showing up in my savings account. But viewing my accounts online I could see that transfer transactions were listed in my checking account that same day.
posted by emelenjr at 2:28 PM on October 26, 2005
I'm not here trying to shill for the bank, I'm just trying to clear up some confusion.
electric_counterpoint: No, Keep the Change transfers from Checking to Savings happen daily, just as if you came home at the end of the day and dumped a handful of change into the jar on your dresser. The matching funds the bank will pay you, those come at the end of the year, up to $250 from the bank to you. In my experience, after I had someone at the bank set it up for me (because associates can't do their own account maintenance, naturally) it took a few days before the transfers started showing up in my savings account. But viewing my accounts online I could see that transfer transactions were listed in my checking account that same day.
posted by emelenjr at 2:28 PM on October 26, 2005
Speaking of BOA and Washington, why is it that many of their offers are different for those of us in the Evergreen State? I can't use Quicken to do my online banking, I can't do this promotion, and it seems that there are other restrictions. They're based in Seattle and their headquarters are in the Tri Cities, right? Is it something with the state law?
Just curious.
posted by rossination at 2:49 PM on October 26, 2005
Just curious.
posted by rossination at 2:49 PM on October 26, 2005
I think I lean towards Mars Saxman here: for the folks who don't already track every penny, this is a great way to start saving. Unfortunately, few of them will put that money in the proverbial "lockbox" until it can grow into a retirement fund (I know, I've cleaned out more savings accounts than I can count on one hand). The "put change in a jar" method is one that Suze Orman always stresses as a way to get started, because it's easy; this will be even easier. Ultimately this might have the same effect that Orman advocates, which is getting slow-starters to realize they really can save money.
It's probably also true that people will be less motivated to watch their purchases than when they use cash (and, for example, forgo something just because they don't have the money today and never get back to buy it).
Of course, that's also the first "win" for BoA that I thought of. This encourages people to use debit cards, with their associated fees and arbitrage opportunities and so forth, instead of very-expensive ATM banking.
posted by dhartung at 7:58 PM on October 26, 2005
It's probably also true that people will be less motivated to watch their purchases than when they use cash (and, for example, forgo something just because they don't have the money today and never get back to buy it).
Of course, that's also the first "win" for BoA that I thought of. This encourages people to use debit cards, with their associated fees and arbitrage opportunities and so forth, instead of very-expensive ATM banking.
posted by dhartung at 7:58 PM on October 26, 2005
rossination: The Bank of America in Washington is actually Seafirst Bank (originally First National Bank of Seattle). They ran it as a separate entity until 1998, when NationsBank of North Carolina merged with Bank of America of San Francisco (it was, like Daimler's "merger" with Chrysler, more of a takeover by NationsBank). It appears that Seafirst never really got fully integrated into BofA and we continue to get lovely little oddities like that. I'm sure Fleet customers are in the same boat, as BofA swallowed them last year. (In fact, I know they are, because I got transferred twice when I called to get them to use my BofA Visa as overdraft protection for my credit card. It was formerly a Fleet credit card.)
The corporation's actual headquarters are in Charlotte, North Carolina.
More BofA history at, where else, Wikipedia.
posted by kindall at 9:37 PM on October 26, 2005
The corporation's actual headquarters are in Charlotte, North Carolina.
More BofA history at, where else, Wikipedia.
posted by kindall at 9:37 PM on October 26, 2005
overdraft protection for my credit card
For my checking account, obviously.
posted by kindall at 9:46 PM on October 26, 2005
For my checking account, obviously.
posted by kindall at 9:46 PM on October 26, 2005
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posted by monju_bosatsu at 11:44 AM on October 26, 2005