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Internet banking doesn't work out if you do not have regular access to a computer (or a post office) or an ATM machine. I have plenty of older relatives who have barely logged onto the "world wide web" ever. ANd an aunt who still hasn't used a computer (she is in her late 60s and lives in a rural part of the country).
Oh absolutely! My parents had the bank across town at a time where there wasn't Internet access and they are not too comfortable with using a computer and they did their banking by mail and by withdrawing at an ATM machine so they could have a bank that met their needs much better than the ones closest to them which are not too appealing in the inner city.
there's obviously a reason for businesses provided check cashing services. the fees they charge are up to them, and the person who patronizes the business. wal-mart might charge a reasonable $3, but most wal-marts are not always a close drive to someone who lives in downtown newark (actually, they are, but maybe it's not worth their time and/or gas money to drive the 7 miles to wal-mart), so maybe they're ok with paying $5 to the corner store that offers check cashing.
pay-day loans provided by some of the businesses that do - people have various reasons for asking for advances on a paycheck. i know it seems like it only happens on TV, but I know people who have gotten in a jam and needed money to pay a bill, so they've asked their employer for an advance on a paycheck. some employers do that, some won't. H&R block will give you an advance on your tax refund check. are they predatory?
bottom line is, there's >300M people in this country, and lots of people need money TODAY for one reason or another, so these businesses do quite a lot of business.
if you don't like it, don't patronize them. but plenty of people find them useful. if someone wants to pay 25% interest for getting money 3 days early, that's their choice. go for it.
My grocery stores cashes paychecks (and I think things like SS, too - just not personal checks or tax refunds) for 50 cents. BUT you have to have a store card and I'm pretty sure you have to shop there/spend money there.
I know one store I used to go to every so often wouldn't let me cash my paycheck until I had spent like $500 or $1,000 in their store.
I see these places all around, usually in or on the edge of downwardly mobile-slash-scary-slash-cheesy neighborhoods. Sometimes they are combined with pawn brokers or bail bondsmen. They have really tacky neon signs flashing that they will cash your check, or buy your gold & silver.
Have you EVER felt it necessary to go into one of these places? Can anyone go into a place like that and not feel "dirty?"
I do watch Pawn Stars on the History Channel, so I do see the legitimacy of some pawn brokers, in buying and selling antiques & collectibles. But when it comes to people pawning their crappy stuff to pay a bill or pay off a bookie....no.
And why on earth would someone need to cash a check at a place like that? If you can't get a bank account, something's seriously wrong, right? You're either an illegal alien (and haven't figured out that you can get a bank account despite that), or you're on the run from the law. Or maybe the check you are trying to cash maybe isn't written out to you (meaning you stole it or "found" it) or it's from an unseemly source.
Maybe I'm missing something. Is there any legitmate reason you would need to cash a check at a check-cashing place?
I am one of those so called low lifes, I guess. My wife and I 5 yrs ago moved to Kentucky from Indiana and had just enough money to get into a rental. Money was very short and I was unable to work. ( took two yrs to get SSDI and income).
WE had a bank in Indiana but not a local bank and my wife just got a job paying a whopping 400/every two weeks. Bank would hold check for 7 days and we needed money right away to live off untill we could get larger amount. So we had to go to check cashing place and pay fee to cash. No choice.
We eventually got an account but took awhile. Also we had to use the high interest check/cash place a couple of times to pay our rent. But we paid off soon and did not get caught in the cycle. Our families are very religious but would not help us out for anything, just strangers, so we did what we had to do.
Now we own two houses and cars pd for and our doing fine on not much money so must not be Losers after all.
I find TracySams posts seriously offensive. Not only is it clear she is on the banks side at all times and thinks the sun shines out the Banks ass, but she makes so many elitist statements I don't know where to begin. The statement about 4000 dollars not being much is proof positive that she doesn't move in the common mans world, simple enough.
Oh...and by the way, 4000 dollars would be considered a fortune to a lot of people. Just thought you should be made aware of that.
And that's all I'm going to say about THAT. It's disgusting to realize that everything negative I've ever thought about rich people is actually true. Truthfully the cluelessness that her posts exhibit makes me sick. But I'll stop here with that and relate my latest horror banking story.
I am a culinary student currently working on my externship. This means that I am working for free. Which means that with no other income, I NEED my unemployment monies each week and on TIME (you know, just like how ANYBODY expects to be paid on time so that they can pay others on TIME and be responsible about that...like you reiterate so many times in your posts Tracy..you know ?).
Well, this week the ****ing US bank decides that they want to play games with the posting of those unemployment funds and now because it's the weekend (God forbid a BANK should actually have to do any work on a WEEKEND ! Perish the thought !) These monies that normally are supposed to only take TWO business days to post are going to take 5 business days and according to the **** I spoke with on the phone, there's nothing that can be done about it. Uh huh.
So basically the bank is preventing me from being RESPONSIBLE and paying my student loan bill on time, incurring me a nice little late fee which according to YOU I deserve simply by my crime of being a penniless college student in the first place, because only RICH people deserve any consideration in this world.
Think about this: How many other businesses do you know of who can pretty much say to the customer that they'll take care of their needs basically whenever they feel like it and not only stay affloat, but continue to thrive on the backs of people they've effed over so thoroughly. Makes you think, eh ?
I say it straight out: I flat out HATE all banks and if they all simeltaneously exploded all over the world, I would find my own dearest local (who so callously effed me over on my unemployment) and do a happy dance around the bonfire whilst roasting marshmallows for s'mores in celebration.
Last edited by Bandon; 05-15-2011 at 02:16 PM..
Reason: Even more bank hatred
Um, wow. I don't recall posting anything that was necessarily "pro-banking." I too have had problems with banks. (I also think that when they fail, they need to be allowed to fail and not get recused as tax payer expense). But my position is that the way things are right now, you need to have a bank account. Could a better alternative come along? Sure. But until then, not having a bank account shows poor judgment.
Your post reminds me of the guy I knew in college who decided he hated to "be a slave to an artificial schedule imposed by the man" so he refused to have a watch or a clock. Sure, he could walk around feeling morally superior (oh, and stoned), but he could not function in the world as it is, where we have to be places and do things on time. Banks are a similar necessity. You might choose to not have a bank account because you're against the banking industry, and that's fine. But you'll have trouble functioning in the world as it is. Like it or not, a person needs to establish a credit history, have assets in a bank account, and have some way to receive direct deposit, or at least deposit paychecks and pay bills. Can't do that without a bank (and credit unions of course). But to choose a "check cashing place" as an alternative, as it seems many people have, is not a wise choice.
And I too went through grad school, and had to work for free for my internships. But I also worked a full-time job at the same time. I was a poor starving student but still lived within my means and paid all my bills on time. I'm no wizard of finances--If I could do it on the pittance I was earning, anyone can.
And, I hate to say it, lest I sound elitist again, but it makes sense to have a "cushion" built up in your account, so just in case the bank does something silly, you'll still be able to pay your bills. Even when I was a poor starving student and mental health worker, I always kept at least 1-2 paycheck's worth in my bank account at all times, in case of emergencies and bank f-ups.
Also, I am by no means "rich" and I hate to tell you this, but $4000 is certainly not a fortune. Even to someone very poor, $4000 would not be a life-altering amount of money. $4000 might solve an immediate problem, or allow the person to buy some "stuff", but the person will still poor. I just skimmed through this thread again, and I can't find any place where I mentioned $4000 not being much money (until this post of course). But I could have missed it. Where was that exactly?
I think you would be suprised at the number of people that do not have checking accounts.
I believe the industy calls them the "unbanked". A lot of them can not open an account because they are flagged in Chexsystems (or whatever it's called). This is the same reason you see all of the ads for Greendot Visa, the Rush Card, ect.
Always a lot of money in ripping off poor people, sadly.
This is true. Many folks with liens, or unpaid debt may not keep an account due to judgments etc. They go "off the grid" kind of. No account=nothing for a creditor to grab. This is in no way judging them, as some people with great histories found themselves in extreme situations in recent times and had to survive. And some others were just not responsible, and will wait until the SOL's/Judgement run out and may resurface.
Either way living life cash only and bad credit is almost like being on the lam, As credit is checked for everything from car insurance, to renting/buying and even some factions of employment.
I know some folks that do financial counseling. They call check cashing places "legal loan sharks." I have to agree. Using them is not indicative of a healthy financial situation.
you like banks when they give you money and hate them when they expect you to pay it back.
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Bank Worship Much ???
