Bank Overdrafts: Outrageous Bank Overdraft Fees & Practices – How to Prevent Excessive Overdraft Fees

The Rights Radio Self Help Hour features outrageous bank overdraft fees. Consumers are being raked over the coals by overdraft rates and by the reordering of debits to increase fees. Show Date: April 9, 2009

Rights Radio financial guru Joe Stallard joins me in identifying ways to prevent or reduce exorbitant bank overdraft fees.The streaming replay is available below.

The Federal Reserve’s website has been hit with repeated complaints about unexpected overdraft fees, exorbitant overdraft fee rates and the reordering of debits to increase fees. Consumers complain about being raked over the coals and about the “reprioritizing” of their transactions.

The bottom line: We’re told that “bailout” banks have more cash stashed away then they did prior to the banking crisis – and your overdraft fees are only making them richer.

Discover key steps you can take to prevent exorbitant bank overdraft fees.

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POST UPDATE: January 2010!

This show and post generated many comments and questions! I promised you an update and here it is:

1. Many banks provide instant overdraft protection and charge $39.00 every time you exceed your balance. A number of banks have “reportedly” agreed to limit how many times they will charge customers on a single day and also allow them to opt out of “instant” overdraft protection. Call your bank and ask about their policy. Get it in writing if possible. A bank that permits up to five overdrafts per day, but refuses to limit the number of times they can charge you should be avoided.
2. Best Choice! Ask for FREE overdraft protection. If they grant it, the bank is supposed to phone you and allow you a day or more to cover the short-fall at no charge. (Make sure they do both.) Alternatively, sign up for true overdraft protection linked to your savings account or credit card. You may still incur a fee, but it should be much lower.
3. The big problem arises when banks process your largest expense last on a given day, rather than in chronological order. The first check or charge might be $10.00, the second $20 and so on. No problem – no overdraft. But when the $450 check hits, you’re out $39 and in the red. The solution: Make sure that your bank processes your transactions in chronological order. (CNBC personal-finance expert Carment Wong Ulrich, author of “Generation Debt,” Parade, November 15, 2009.)
4. Use your debit card sparingly when you travel overseas or purchase online from a company located outside of the United States, because you can incur a 2 to 3 percent fee per transaction.
5. Choose a bank that requires little or no minimum and thus no penalty if your account falls below a certain level. Many banks provide free checking with no minimums for seniors and students.
6. Ask for a brochure or written statement re clearing out of state checks. Don’t assume that the check will clear in 24 hours. Banks only count business days versus calendar days so that they can use your money for free, (naturally).

To your empowerment!

Genetically Modifed Food Risks for Humans & Pets: How to Make Informed Decisions

The RightsRadio.com Self-Help-Hour features genetically modified (GM) food risks to humans and pets. Dr. Joyce Starr interviews author Stephen Becker, a dedicated critic of GM foods.

Show Date: May 28, 2009

Super “Natural” Vitality for Pets: What every pet owner MUST know about natural nutrition for their pets. The author reveals what many pharmaceutical and pet food industry “gurus” don’t want you to know about your pet’s digestive health. He explains how to extend the lives of beloved pets by a decade or more.

How to Listen: Bookmark this page for the streaming replay below. Please scroll to the end of the page.

Issue: How to make informed decisions for yourself, your family and your beloved pet(s) re genetically modified food and genetically modified organisms? Here’s a list of questions we address.

(1) What plants are genetically modified?

(2) What are GMOs, Genetically Modified Organisms?

(3) How does genetic engineering work?

(4) Why are GMOs dangerous?

(5) What does the FDA say about the safety of GMOs?

(6) What are the specific concerns about the health consequences of GMO foods?

(7) Some scientists think GMOs are safe and others think they are unsafe. Why should we believe one over the other?

(8) Have there been any large scale population studies done on the effects of GMOs?

(9) What are the potential dangers for humans?

(10) What are the dangers for the environment?

Listen HERE. Press the play button.

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Prevent Sun Aging & Skin Cancer

Concerned about sun aging and skin cancer? Prevent sun aging with our new SunAWARE CD. This CD could save your skin and your life. Gift this CD to loved ones and friends. Don’t wait for a wake-up call from your doctor.

Join our list to learn more about sun aging.

To your health security!

Home Security: How to Prevent Home Invasions, Burglaries and Personal Attacks

Home Security: How to protect your home against burglaries and criminal attacks.

My guest, Paul Pradines, has over twenty-five years experience in Law Enforcement, including twenty years in SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics), twelve years as a SWAT Team Leader and seven years experience as supervisor of the Burglary Strike Force. The Tactical Police unit he headed specializes in covert patrols, intelligence gathering, and surveillance. Show Date: April 30, 2009.

Listen to the show replay on this page and or on our Self Help Hour page.

Questions to be addressed on the show:

• I understand that large Palm Beach estates have been the targets of professional burglars.  How do professional burglars get into these large estates without detection?
• I don’t have a large estate & tons of money.  What can I do to protect my home?
• What about Firearms?  Should  I have one in my home?   How about a Taser?
• What can I do to protect myself when I go out for dinner or maybe out to a movie?
• You were in SWAT for over twenty years.  What were the most dangerous types of situations that you had to deal with?
• I see that you are a Taser Instructor.  Did you ever use it in Police work?  Do Tasers really kill people like the news often reports?
• When you retired from Police work, you went into private security consulting for some very wealthy clients.  What is that like?  What kind of work do you do?
• When you are protecting a dignitary or executive, what kind of things do you watch out for?
• What can I do when I am traveling in another part of the world to protect myself?
• What do you think about the Pirate attacks in Somalia?  What do you think we should do about it?
• Have any of your clients ever been attacked.  What would you do if that happened?
• Is there a difference between a bodyguard and someone who provides executive protection?

LISTEN HERE!

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Concerned about your home security rights? Sign up below for notices about our next webinar on home security. Paul Pradines will answer questions from class members. This webinar could save you thousands. Don’t wait for a robbery wake-up call.

Learn how to protect your homeowner rights here.

Tax Tea Party Protests: Tax Mama on Flat Tax + Government Spending

Tax Tea Party Protests: The Rights Radio Self Help Hour welcomes back Tax Mama Eva Rosenberg. Tax Tea Parties groups hope to pressure both Congress and states to reject government spending as a way out of recession and to fix the tax code. What results can we expect re a flat tax and a response to protest demands? Show Date: April 16, 2009.

A nationwide protest is scheduled for April 15, the deadline for filing federal income tax returns. It all began on February 19, 2009 with an on-air vent by Rick Santelli of CNBC, who complained that President Obama’s $75 billion bailout of mortgage defaulters rewarded bad behavior.

Anger over bailouts, the $787 billion stimulus package and the President’s budget has grown into scores of tea parties across the country, with 500 planned for Tax Day in cities and towns across the United States.

The Congressional Budget Office says that the President’s proposed $3.6 trillion budget will produce record-breaking deficits of $9.3 trillion over 10 years.

Bookmark Us! Tell Your Friends. You can hear this show on our Self Help Hour page. The streaming replay will also be posted on this page, so please return to listen.

Tax Mama Eva Rosenberg appeared on the Self Help Hour on March 19, 2009, speaking about Mortgage Interest and First Time Homeowners Credit: What you can and can’t do to get the first time homeowners credit.

The show is currently available on the Self Help Hour page, and we will be adding a post dedicated to this popular show.

To your empowerment!

Star Wars Ballistic Missile Defense: Our National Security Defense Against Rogue Nations

National Security Rights featured on the Rights Radio Self Help Hour. President Ronald Reagan created the Star Wars Program (Strategic Defense Initiative) in 1983. Mike Gamble, former director of Boeing’s Ballistic Missile Defense Program, explains what happened to the program. Show Date: March 26, 2009.

Rights Radio was ahead of the news! This show aired the very day that North Korea announced their so called “satellite” launch. The public learned for the first time that North Korean missiles could hit Alaska in the not so distant future.

You have a right to know how the US Government plans to defend you and your family against ballistic missile attacks from rogue nations.

Citizens might well assume that Star Wars is still in place. Not so.

Congress passed laws that starved the Star Wars program and declared there would be no weapons in space. Yet, Author Nelson DeMille describes a highly secret protocol for retaliating against those who trigger a major terrorist attack in his book entitled Wild Fire.

Listen to the streaming replay for this important show. Click the play button below.

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To your security rights!

Rights Radio Self Help Hour: Healthy, Affordable, Comfort Food at…Macy’s Taste Bar!

Low cost, high quality, comfort food lunch in a department store?

I discovered Macy’s Taste Bar Cafe purely by chance. What a shock. Not only is the food healthy and delicious, it’s also reasonably priced – one of the best buys in town.

The service is also outstanding.

In these trying economic times, let’s give credit where credit is due.

Guest: My Self Help Hour guest is Kashleigh Greenwood, Training Manager of the Florida Food Division of Macy’s. You read that correctly. Macy’s has a Food Division, a Culinary Council comprised of outstanding chefs and Taste Bars in numerous cities. You heard it here.

Show Date: March 5 at 5:00 pm.

We’re a  professional food organization. We take great care about customer service. All of our team leaders have a food service background. Our products are as fresh as possible,  offered at good price, and we deliver them with a smile. Everything we do is above board. I make certain that our employees properly wash their hands and use gloves when preparing food. We have food checks twice daily and only produce the amount we will serve that day. It’s not about the money. It’s about reputation. – Kashleigh Greenwod

Listen to the Repay. Click the play button below.

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Here’s a list of Taste Bars and an example of the comforting cuisine.