Comments on: 2 things: ‘Saving’ money & merchant fees

By: Ginkgo100

Ginkgo100 — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 20:03:55 +0000

There is a circumstance in which you could say you "saved" the money you did not spend when an item was on sale.If you are very disciplined about keeping and following a written budget, and you purchase an item at a price less than you budgeted for it, then you have the difference remaining in that budget category. Actually, strict budgeting is probably the only way someone could successfully save the money discounted from a sale item.Ginkgo100's last blog post..The science behind renewable petroleum

By: Savings accounts need a specific purpose | Sense to Save

Savings accounts need a specific purpose | Sense to Save — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:04:41 +0000

[...] Comments lulugal11 on 2 things: ‘Saving’ money & merchant feesLisa on 2 things: ‘Saving’ money & merchant feesA on 2 things: ‘Saving’ [...]

By: lulugal11

lulugal11 — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:05:39 +0000

I CAN say that I save money when I buy something on sale because my money is in an interest bearing account. I have all my money in ING, most in the savings and some in the interest bearing checking account.

I use (cash back) credit cards to buy things and then send the money from the interest bearing account to pay for the purchase before any interest comes due.

I don’t have to ‘go put the money’ I ’save’ from a reduced purchase in the bank because it is already in the bank earning interest. If the item is on sale then the difference is already in my savings account because then I would just transfer the smaller amount to go as a payment.

What do you say to that? :-)

lulugal11′s last blog post..Looking For Guest Posts

By: Lisa

Lisa — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:22:06 +0000

Many, many times I’ve thought about using coupons and putting the “amount saved” listed on the bottom of the receipt into a savings account. Then I get sick of fussing with coupons….lol…. I do save up change. Once the can is full it’s about $90. Since we ONLY buy from Clearance [very, very rarely merely on sale and almost never just off the rack] I don’t worry about that one–we buy very little right now!

I want to add how your Emergency Fund “meter” has inspired me to start building my fund [again]. The economy is really telling us to be frugal! Thanks for the encouragement!

Lisa’s last blog post..What I’ve been reading

By: A

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 02:53:44 +0000

The only way I’ve seen merchants try to circumvent this in my neck of the woods is to require a minimum amount purchase amount. Most of the times, it’s $10 dollars.

The math teacher in my always asks why, and the response is that the fees kill them. I can understand the per transaction fee but sometimes the math of the percentage’s is wonky.

For things like gas, where it’s marked up 10 cents or so no matter the price, it makes sense to no longer accept credit. The more the gas goes up, the less they make. I know it’s a big deal nowadays because some stations are losing money based on the processors fees.

A’s last blog post..Back Home (in the mass humidity)

By: Mrs. Micah

Mrs. Micah — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 21:01:35 +0000

Great point about “saving” money. I see it as saving if you’d budgeted for the item. But anything else is just (hopefully) spending less.

By: castocreations

castocreations — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 20:09:36 +0000

And small business owners will LOVE you if you pay with cash. :) Those credit card fees just kill me. I am not big enough to negotiate lower rates but taking credit cards is too important to not accept them. While customers over the web can’t pay cash when I do shows in person cash customers are my favorite. =D

And yes…I get killed with those special program cards. I once made a $50 sale and my fees for the ONE transaction were over $40!!!!!!!!!!! OMG…I was so mad. And I switched my merchant account so it wouldn’t happen again. But oh boy it was a shock.

Plus using cash makes people really think about what they are buying. I know it does with me. =)

castocreations’s last blog post..I’m an Old Fart

By: Shevy

Shevy — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 19:40:17 +0000

TANSTAAFL (There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch). If a credit card company is offering cash back for using their card, everybody is paying for it somehow.

Either the interest rate is higher, or the processing fee is a higher percentage (which means the retailer raises their prices) or they get you some other way.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take advantage of their offer (after all, you’ll still be paying the higher price or interest rate or whatever), but you just need to be aware.

These companies aren’t altruistic, they’re just looking for newer and more effective ways of maximizing profits.

Shevy’s last blog post..If I Blog It, It Will Come?

By: Kookaburra

Kookaburra — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 18:50:18 +0000

I agree with Solomon. I have found that credit card companies that offer cashback or other rewards also tend to have higher interest rates… and I think that’s how they like to re-coup their money.

I also tend to think that prices in stores will rise and always continue to rise no matter what we do. So I’ll stick to using my rewards card, racking in lots of free gift cards, and paying off the balance each month so I never incur any interest charges.

By: Solomon

Solomon — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 17:33:39 +0000

I've never paid any kind of fee on my 1% cashback credit card, and I've had it nearly 2 years. I always thought that the merchant allowed for people like me by making the interest rates higher.Perhaps it's just my logic, but I thought that the CC merchant charged the store a flat fee for credit card purchases. I didn't think the retailer had any say about whether it made any difference whether it was a cashback card or not.Solomon's last blog post..Things I’m Grateful For on Monday 23 June