Burgerwars

Very long article: https://www.yahoo.com/news/heists-worth-billions-sham-bank-133129184.html

I'm not rich so this stuff won't be part of my life. The article says it has 96 hours of air. That's assuming there wasn't some sort of catastrophic failure. https://www.yahoo.com/news/titanic-tourist-sub-goes-missing-141944635.html

I thought the bank cashing them could input the information on the bond in a fed linked computer and immediately know whether it's valid and its current value. I have a bunch of bonds that I already deposited into my TreasuryDirect account. They're there for when I want to redeem them. I can immediately see their current value. Some people say the TreasuryDirect website is horrible. It's not that bad. I've been to a lot of banks' websites that are far worse. Link: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/fake-savings-bond-scheme-leads-091450592.html

If the bill went nowhere last year, I don't see how it can go anywhere this year.

I can't recall the name of the company, but I've seen ads on Facebook from them advertising retirement plans companies can offer to employees with zero paperwork that a 401k requires. I looked at their website and basically it's an IRA with payroll deductions, with the employees opening the IRA and also paying a small monthly fee. IRA's have different rules like much smaller contribution maximums and no employer matches. Of course, an employer could then increase their employees' pay and tell them to put it in their IRA, but I doubt that will happen. Anyway, don't get all your financial advice off Facebook. 🤔

Agee. Unless your company's 401k plan only allows investments in rodent farming, always contribute at least enough to get the full match. I've seen low median 401k balances for people in their 60's / nearing retirement. This is the true retirement crises. Unless they have a lot of assets and/or pensions elsewhere, it will either be a retirement with a near poverty standard of living or not retiring.

I didn't know about the Amex/Vanguard marketing campaign. I looked it up. It's 0.5% in fees added to one's Vanguard brokerage account to add a robo advisor service. 0.5% can be hundreds, or thousands of dollars of fees per year, depending on your Vanguard balance. Amex will give customers some membership rewards points, that are worth less than 1 cent each, depending on your brokerage balance. Amex will get about one-half of Vanguard's robo advisory fee, so they're cashing in, getting much more in fees than they're giving out in points. I feel it's not worth it. You'll probably be ahead just buying some ETFs and/or mutual funds from Vanguard (or elsewhere) and watch over them yourself rather than a robo advisor trying to time the market.

I don't have the card but call them up to see if they'll switch you to the no-fee Petal 1 card instead ( https://www.petalcard.com/petal-1 ). If not, it really sucks that they switch customers from a non-fee card to a fee card even though they still offer non-fee cards. I'm unsure if this has to do with lack of use, but I do rotate through all my sock-drawer cards every few months to hopefully prevent them from being looked at as inactive.

Whatever for their 10 minutes of fame. Flying once a week because you only have to be at the office once a week isn't anything new. Few are able to do that, but she's not the first. https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/15/business/tiktok-summer-intern-commute/index.html

Well, I'm not wealthy enough to subscribe to the website to read the article. 🤔

Average balance in 2022: $112,572 Median balance in 2022: $27,376 Conclusion: We'll be "enjoying" an active retirement of collecting bottles and cans along with some dumpster diving. Link: https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/15/success/401k-savings-participant-behavior-vanguard/index.html

To be on the safe side I recommend using your cards more often than that to avoid them being closed for inactivity. I play it very safe by using all my sock-drawered credit cards every three months, although I can get away with less than that. What I often do is add small amounts to my Amazon gift card balance. It's easier than going out to buy pencils. My Capital One card is the free Venture One card. I've had it for over a decade. I do make sure I bring my card with me if I plan to go to a Capital One Cafe. Half price drinks. I also have a Cap One checking account that I don't do much with other than pay my credit card with it. 😕

I haven't got a notice like that from Capital One. At least not yet. $7,500 credit line for a card I hardly use. I'll post if I do get a notice.

I've had the same issue when paying off my mortgage and also an auto lease. I would say my FICO is about 15 points less without an active installment loan. The only way for me to get those points back is open another installment loan.

Yes. Things have gotten more difficult and convoluted as the years go by. Maybe an app that processes your DNA sample is next before you can proceed is next. Open any online accounts you need now before it becomes impossible to prove you are you.

I thought the UK was going to push the phase out of checks (cheques) a while ago but they haven't. They've called checking accounts, current accounts, for as long as I can remember, so I guess they knew checks will eventually end before anyone else. A lot of things become obsolete. There will come a day that cash and ATMs will no longer have a use, but who knows when.

I don't think the thing with being a member of the Navy League of San Diego was every displayed on the website. It was a backdoor to get in from another credit union merger. If someone today joins after they enter they work at Disneyland, for all they know that's another way to join. I'm curious if anyone here will go through the entire process as a guinea pig, and tell us what happens as the months go by. I can't because I'm already a member.

Unfortunately, it's getting more common. If you don't have a newer smartphone, one might not be able to open an account. A regular bank you'll still be able to open in a branch, but all these online and neobanks, probably not. 🤔

I'm already a member but went to the website yesterday to see what Sidewinder is talking about. The thing is, if NFCU's website says you're eligible because you work at a donut shop, and you open an account because of that, you didn't lie about anything to join. One could have a valid argument if they say you're not eligible later and close your accounts.

I think I can sleep tight. I only have $2 in Binance.US. Dear Burgerwars, As you may be aware, Binance.US, alongside other companies in our industry, has become the target of aggressive tactics by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC has brought unjustified civil claims against our business, from which we will continue to vigorously defend ourselves, our customers, our partners and industry. Irrespective of the baseless claims, and in light of the Commission’s increasingly aggressive tactics, our payment and banking partners have signaled their intent to pause USD fiat channels as early as June 13, 2023, meaning our ability to accept USD fiat deposits and process USD fiat withdrawals will be impacted. As part of our customer-first commitment, we are notifying users promptly so you can take necessary actions as we transition to a crypto-only exchange. To be clear, we maintain 1:1 reserves for all customer assets, so customer funds are always safe, secure, and available. Please note the following changes that will impact the platform: ACH WITHDRAWALS: We encourage customers to withdraw their USD via bank transfer (ACH) by June 13, 2023. Due to elevated volumes and weekend bank closures, ACH withdrawals may take longer than usual to process (e.g. up to several days); we appreciate your patience. USD DEPOSITS: To ensure a timely USD withdrawal process, we are suspending USD deposits and recurring buy orders today and beginning the transition to a crypto-only exchange. Any deposits already initiated will be processed. USD TRADING PAIRS: Beginning next week, we will start delisting USD pairs (e.g., BTC-USD) on our platform, while continuing to support stablecoin pairs (e.g., BTC-USDT). USD BALANCES: Any USD balances remaining on the platform after June 15, 2023 may be converted to stablecoin that can be withdrawn on-chain. Cryptocurrency services remain fully operational, including: crypto trading, staking, deposits and withdrawals. Until we secure more stable banking partners, Binance.US will remain a crypto-only exchange–at least for a time. We will continue to provide you with updates via our status page. Thank you for your continued support as we fight for a path forward for those who want a thriving digital asset marketplace in America. The Binance.US Team

I thought you were joking but I just entered I work for "Taco Bell" and up comes a screen saying I'm eligible! 🙃

I mainly use it to transfer money to my UK account. Inexpensive and fast. You can keep balances in many currencies and you can create account numbers to accept direct deposits from various countries. It also comes with a debit card, with purchases deducted from the US$ balance.

If the sun explodes that could be worse. We must prepare now!

I've had a Wise (previously known as Transferwise) account for years. They suddenly wanted me to prove my identity even though I was already a long time customer, which included uploading an image of my drivers license and taking a picture of myself with their app. I had a horrible experience with the app accepting my selfie yesterday, and when it finally did accept it, they emailed me back saying it wasn't clear. I went through the entire process again this morning. It took me an hour. I've never had so much trouble taking a selfie. It said "move closer," "move farther," "don't smile," "hold the camera steady," and so on. To help things out I was pressing the phone against an outside window, so I can hold the phone as steady as possible and get some good front lighting. I tried and tried and tried some more. I was about to give up, when the app finally accepted the photo and I got a confirmation back thanking and congratulating me for submitting my ID. I'm now able to make transactions again. I needed to vent. 😕

I just checked. Chase shows two $20,000 cards waiting for me. Freedom unlimited and Sapphire preferred. I'll pass.