Nigerian Scam.

Some people still live under rocks as this story about a county treasurer shows. If you get a email or letter from a dethroned prince from another country with lots of money to put in your care. Run the other way.

Systematic Savings

The United States has one of the lowest rates of saving money in the world. Our buy now pay later style of living has put many of us in the hole. Having a cash savings account that we can fall back on can be a huge benefit if our financial situation takes a turn for the worse. Many people feel that do not have the financial resources to start a savings account. Some people start a savings program then use the savings for a purchase of fun things instead of emergency items. One way to achieve a cash reserve is to systematically put money into a savings account set aside strictly for emergency purposes. Many banks and other financial institutions will allow as little as $25.00 a month transferred automatically into another account. The more ambitious you are the more money you could transfer. If you do $50.00 a month that is $600.00 a year. Some might think this isn't much, but if you can do this for a few years you could have a nice nest egg to fall back on in times of need. Having a saving plan is a sure step on the way to financial security. If you have to give up a few things to start this plan, do it. It will be worth it.

Is my check local?

One of the most confusing things in banking is how fast your deposits become available to use. Local vs Non-local checks is not as straight forward as you think. Local means that the bank that the check was written on is in the same Federal Reserve Zone as the bank receiving the check. So a local check could be from another state. At the bottom of your personal check is a set of nine numbers (not the account number). This number is unique to your bank, like a bank serial number. It is good to familiarize yourself with your banks number. Once you know that you can identify which checks are not in your Federal Reserve Zone and possible delays of funds availability. Here is a great link with some details on the numbering system.