Despite all the technology and steps we take to prevent our debit cards from being compromised, there is no way to prevent card fraud from happening.

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Recently, CreditCards.com conducted a survey of Americans who’ve had a credit or debit card transaction flagged because of suspected fraud. Roughly 7 out of 10 said at least one of those alerts was a false alarm when, in fact, more than half said the transactions were completely valid.

As a consumer, what can you do? Not much, but in this episode I cover:

Protections we already have as card holders  (see below)
Steps to reduce the chance of card fraud and ID theft
Best practices for where and when to use your debit card like a credit card

Recent data breaches, like the one the media loves to focus on - TARGET in 2013 - may be making card issuers extra cautious.

Why? Because card issuers (i.e.: Banks) are on the hook when fraudulent charges do occur. It’s called the Zero Liability Protection

Visa’s Zero Liability policy
MasterCard Zero Liability Protection statement
American Express’s stated policy
Discover’s statement

I also share how I use my debit card
There are times I choose to use my debit card and PIN. I forego the Zero Liability protection to save the merchant from paying unnecessary processing fees.

 

 
Balancing the 3 Pillars of Personal Finance
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As a financial coach, I hear people make this statement, “If I could just make more money I could start saving for retirement.”

For the majority of Americans, producing a healthy income is only half the challenge.

There are two other factors that make up the other half: How you spend and how much you save. Finding the right balance between the three pillars of personal finance doesn’t take a college degree or incredible amount of willpower.

However, knowing the ratios of income versus spending versus the need to spend is paramount:

Earn big money + spend big money = need to save big money
Earn little money + spend little money = need to save some money
Earn big money + spend little money = need to save some money
Earn little money + spend big money = need to save big money

This segment was originally an article I wrote for LibertyInvestor.com

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