Moving to Cash and Prepaid Debit/Credit?

[Txgirl]

So my husband and I are currently behind on my private student loans. I do send in what I can.

Anyways, in TX they can freeze your account prior to a judgement (of course I guess they would need to find where you bank first).

I know eventually it's not going to get pretty. I have tried to talk my husband into getting paper checks from our employers. Cashing them and putting what we need to on a (good) pre-paid debit/credit to pay the monthly bills.

Then pay cash for everything else.

I know it would be a pain at first, but it would also help us be more liable on how we spend our money!

Any advice!

[ready2puke]

Your right on with this. You will feel a real sense of relief when you pay cash and debit. I know I did and do..Never again will I use credit cards....the only one I would consider is a gas card just in case of emergencies.

[blankslate]

You can actually have your paychecks directly deposited onto the greendot prepaid cards. I've been using mine for over a year and it's so much better than dealing with a bank and worrying what they're going to do to me. greendotonline.com has a list of locations where you can buy them.

[Txgirl]

I think as well...it's so easy for me to go to the grocery store and drop more money than I need. IF I used cash for something like that...I take it with me and once it's gone it's gone.

I am curious with the direct deposit. I can change mine online, but it ask for a routing number and account number. If I was to use a prepaid card am I provided with that information?

Also I looked at Walmart's prepaid cards and you can only load a certain amount on the card at one time.

Now to get my husband on board. I was able to talk him into switching banks recently. When I even mention to going cash and prepaid, he throws the why did we even switch line?

Plus I think we would be the only ones in our offices that did the papercheck route. Awww...decisions, decisions!

[NowImDownInIt]

Yes. There are many prepaid debit cards that have direct deposit available. I used a capital one prepaid debit card for almost two years for direct deposit for my paycheck and it was wonderful. You are provided with a routing number and account number.

I am sure that other card companies would work in much the same way.

[blankslate]

Once you activate your card you get access to it online and there is a direct deposit page that will give you a routing and account number that is the same as a checking account number. I think the max is $2000 at a time for a balance but you can get more than one card and have your direct deposit split between them. Sadly for me, I never have checks that are over $2k. You can also set up a small credit union account not associated with anyone you owe money too and have part of your paychecks deposited into that.

It really is so much easier. You don't overdraft your account and get fees like the banks do. $5 a month.. that's it. The only thing is, pay for your gas in advance and don't use the pumps. Some gas stations try to hold $100 on those cards.

[WillinVT]

For close to a month now, I have been paying cash for everything. It is a very nice feeling. The only pain I have right now (and it's a very small pain) is going to the Post Office for money orders to pay my rent and other bills.

I stopped having my checks done directed deposit at the beginning on the month until further notice. I will probably wait until I am discharged before going back to direct deposit.

Another small pain is when I bring my paycheck to the bank and they ask if I have an account with them before they will cash my check, then ask for 2 proofs of ID and then they tell me they have to go to the vault and get the cash.

Again, I am only nit-picking here because I am so use to having everything done automatically. With time, I will get use to it and I plan on never going back to credit cards again.

I am thinking about doing that prepaid debit card for things like gas, diapers and groceries when the time comes.

For those of you who use the Green Dot prepaid card, what do you pay a month in fee's?