minutes pay those bills and be done.
It’s simpler, easier, and leads to fewer
mistakes than doing bills all at once.”
Don’t use an ATM
in a place without
an easy exit
This is about saving,
not safety. On your
next cruise, bring
cash, because the
transaction fees on shipboard ATMs
are downright piratical: On Carnival
Cruise boats, for example, Bank
Atlantic of Fort Lauderdale (which
operates the machines) charges $6
per transaction. On Royal Caribbean,
it’s up to $5.50. “Anywhere that you
are, in effect, a captive audience,
they’re going to make you pay,” says
Richard Barrington, senior financial
analyst with MoneyRates.com.
“That’s airports, sporting venues,
arenas, concerts, and tourist areas.”
Even in routine locations, using
other banks’ ATMs costs you.
Bankrate.com says the average fee is
now $2.33. “Plan how you’re going to
access cash,” Barrington says. “Decide
how much you’re going to need, then
go to your own bank and get it.” And
if your bank is consistently inconve-
nient? Consider switching banks.
If you can’t explain
it, don’t buy it
A recent Charles
Schwab survey
showed that 44
percent of investors
plan to invest more
in exchange-traded funds, or ETFs,
over the next 12 months. Then the
study asked investors to assess their
understanding of ETFs. Forty-six
percent called themselves “nov-
ices”; a quarter admitted they “don’t
know anything” about how to best
use ETFs. I don’t have any problem
with ETFs, which are a relatively
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