The easiest way to avoid those pesky ~$35 overdraft fees is to NOT opt-in to let the banks charge you. That way you’ll get declined rather than have the charge go through plus the extra fees. Here’s what you can do to avoid getting too close to zero.

1. The old fashioned balance your checkbook thing never fails.

2. Link your checking account to your savings account, so if you get too much from your checking, your savings takes over.

3. Think of $100 as $0. Have an emergency dollar figure that you never let it go down to.

4. Get an instant text message from your bank when your balance drops too low.

5. If you have a bill that’s due and your cash flow is low at the moment, ask for them to change your due date to correspond to your pay day.

- Edwin, CashTheChecks.com

1. Build credit rating – using a credit card, then paying off the balance can help build your credit profile.

2. Greater security – a benefit of using a credit card is the consumer protection you’ll receive on purchases.

3. Manage your spending – monitor purchases with online statements when buying with your credit card.

4. Rewards programs – cash back and rewards credit cards allow you to earn points which can be exchanged for discounts, gifts and other things.

5. Accepted worldwide – most credit cards are widely accepted worldwide, whether you’re doing your weekly shopping in a local grocery store or traveling abroad.

- Edwin, CashTheChecks.com

When starting a business or making any kind of business related purchase, thinking of an exit strategy is key. Think of your worst case scenarios and have back-up plans just in case.
An example I’d like to use is buying a classic car. So let’s say you want to start a project for fun and for profit. You want to buy an old car and fix it up to re-sell afterwards. First you research the cost of repairs, feasibility of finding parts and how much this fully restored car costs. After getting rough figures on all of this, since you need to make a profit, you’ve got to purchase your old car at the right price. So you get a good deal, but after taking it to a mechanic, you realize it needs far more repairs than you first thought. At this point, you don’t want to invest further money into the car, so it’s a loss, right? Wrong. You had an exit strategy. Since you bought the car on the cheap, you can sell the parts and your best case scenario at that point is to break even and recoup your expenses.

- Edwin, CashTheChecks.com

Jet Blue flight attendant Steven Slater quit his job recently in quite the dramatic fashion. He cursed at a passenger over the intercom, grabbed a beer, deployed the emergency chute and slid down after 28 years of service. That got me thinking, how can you quit your job in style? Here’s a few tips to get you thinking..

1. Know what you’re going to say and do before you do it and fully think it through beforehand.

2. Make your comments short and sweet.  Don’t rant and rave for too long. Make it clear you are quitting and are not being fired.

3. Have an exit strategy. Let people know you already have another job, a much better one.

4. Have secrets? Spill the beans. During your speech, realize you no longer work there. You are finally free.

4. Get closure. Your exit should close all previously opened wounds. This is your day to finally vent and move on.

PS: None of this is actually recommended unless you already have another job lined up in another field and you don’t care about your references.

- Edwin, CashTheChecks.com

For a long time in American history, the richest of rich would give their wealth to their heirs after their passing, creating plenty of trust fund kids who never had to work a day in their lives. Two of the richest men in the world are changing that trend. Billionaires and philanthropists Bill Gates and Warren Buffet have pledged to donate half of their fortune to various charities. Recently news came out that more billionaires have pledged to share the wealth. Notable names in the list include David Rockefeller, Michael Bloomberg and Oracle founder Larry Ellison.

- Edwin, CashTheChecks.com

Got a lot of work to do and feel swamped? Here’s a few tips to help ease the workload..

• Clean your desk first. Only put your current task on there and concentrate on that.

• Open a window and breathe. A little fresh air never hurt anyone.

• Stop multi-tasking. Sometimes when you do too much at the same time, you do nothing right at all.

• Assign priorities. Ask your boss/manager what he/she wants finished first. Get rid of the important stuff first.

• Stop wasting time. This includes using Facebook, Twitter or personal e-mail. It can wait.

- Edwin, CashTheChecks.com

Back in the 80’s, banks were struggling. The practice in those days was to cover the costs in banking with the interest rate margin that they charged for their loans. The better approach would be to create a plethora of transaction fees, which would allow the interest margin to come down and be competitive. All banks were quick to adopt the new strategy.  It spread through every department of the bank from credit cards to forex.  In order to encourage compliance, bonuses were tied to transaction fees collected, a critical mistake.  Incentives work, but you had better be sure where and how you place them.

Banks soon began to covet the enormous fees collected by their investment banking brethren. However, the Glass-Steagall Act, passed during the Great Depression, stood in their way. The Act prevented banks from multi-state branching and separated them from investment banks, known as merchant banks at the time. Merchant banks helped companies raise capital, but took no deposits. Traditional banks took deposits and made loans. Banks found ways around the multi-state prohibition, and finally in 2002, the Bush Congress removed the teeth in the Act altogether. Is there a way out of this predicament?  Many believe Glass-Steagall should be re-instated. Others point to bonuses and compensation. These trends built up over decades and will take time to fix, but banks were intended to take risks and make loans, not live on just fee income. Banks need to be Banks again.

- Edwin, CashTheChecks.com

Build a relationship with your consumers. Under promise and over deliver. Gain their trust, because when you do, you’ll have a long term customer who can continue to buy from you. Getting the quick buck usually involves using shady business practices and offering bad products/services. By being up front and honest, you won’t make money quickly, but will make much more in the long run.

- Edwin, CashTheChecks.com

When somebody is considering doing some business with you, the main factor at play is their confidence/risk factor. What your job is in closing the deal is to lower their risk and raise their confidence.

Nowadays, people are as skeptical as ever of a salesman’s promises. Those with an online MBA often have the skills to make a better sales pitch. They’ve been lied to before and are weary of your claims and jaded from all the bad service they’ve received. So you need to build up their confidence in your product/offer.

Here’s what you need to do in your sales pitch: find out what it is that they want, figure out how to give it to them and communicate it to them effectively.

- Edwin, CashTheChecks.com

It can be worth checking a few things before committing to a policy in order to make sure you get the most from your money and avoid some of the pitfalls of house insurance, including:

Underinsuring your contents – check the value of items such as collectibles to ensure that you are insuring the true value.

Check what’s covered – check how much cover you have with regards to elemental damage and burglary.

Shop around – make use of a home insurance comparison site in order to help find a deal that’s right for you.

Rebuild values – make certain that you’re covered for the entire cost of rebuilding rather that its market value.

Written by the home insurance team at moneysupermarket.com

- Edwin, CashTheChecks.com

Are they annoying or are they helpful? Sneaky business tactics or just good business? We all know that getting business from a customer is tough enough, so the goal should be to get the most you can out of that person. Instead of just selling them a $3 burger, add some fries and a drink for only 3 more dollars. The other kind of upsell you see is this one “People who bought X usually liked Y also”. This one is tailored to the likes of your visitors based on previous experiences. As long as these tactics are clearly labeled only as additional options, it can increase your sales/revenue drastically without being a nuisance.

- Edwin, CashTheChecks.com

When you’re working on a project, knowing the end goal is obviously key. However, during the project you might get stuck on the details. Keep your head clear, remove your distractions and regain your focus. Move slowly, be deliberate, pace yourself. Don’t let the details get in the way of your ultimate goal.

- Edwin, CashTheChecks.com

It’s tax time again and while it’s usually a time for the added expense of hiring a tax preparer, you don’t have to do that. If your situation hasn’t changed, you can do your taxes on your own. Turbo Tax is popular but I prefer using eSmartTax online. It’s free to do your federal taxes and it’s cheap to file your state taxes. The best part is that there is no paperwork, you just input your income information from your w2′s and answer the simple questions about your status (single, kids, etc) and the program does all the calculations and putting the right numbers in the right boxes for you.

- Edwin, CashTheChecks.com

CashTheChecks.com is now on Twitter @cashthechecks.com

I have the Twitter Tools plugin installed which updates twitter any time a new post is added, so for now it will be used as an update / notification tool.

- Edwin, CashTheChecks.com

Don’t mistake movement for action. Action has to have a purpose, whereas movement is just movement. So don’t move too fast, don’t do too many things at once. It’s okay to slow down and focus on the task at hand. That way you’ll be working smarter, not harder.

- Edwin, CashTheChecks.com