The Internet Transformed Banking & Gave Us Options!
We're all used to online savings accounts and banking now, but remember what it was like pre-internet? When we had to literally walk INTO a bank to get anything done? Or when we had to fill out 15 pages of paperwork and show 13 ID's just to create an account?Well the times have changed my friends, and today we go back down memory lane to remind ourselves how grateful we should be for all this new technology! It's added a lot more distraction to our lives, but it's also done wonders for our financial management. Do you know how much FASTER we can do things now? Here's a list of all the differences I could come up with this morning, check it out:
Banking: Before the Internet
ING, Emigrant Direct, they were mere embryos waiting to come out and play. If you wanted your bank accounts, you had to roll up to a building and get them. Remember how UNTRUSTING people were even when the internet did come around? Trying to get people to enter their socials or xfer money online was like pulling teeth. Before the internet, we had a whole other way of doing our banking:- You had to walk into physical stores to open/close bank accounts.
- You had to walk into physical stores to deposit checks.
- You might have been lucky enough to have automatic paychecks deposited, but if not then it was time to make yet another trip.
- And my favorite (by which I mean it makes me want to cry): You had to wait for statements in the mail to see how much damage you've caused on your credit cards! Something tells me this only encouraged bad spending habits as you could never tell how well you were doing until after that statement came in the mail. Bleh.
Bill Paying: Before the internet
You needed 3 main things before the internet: checks, stamps, and good handwriting (you mess up a check and it was the end of the world). We still use these in some fashion or another, like for those who refuse to live in the 21st century, but for the most part they're archaic methods. Back in the day:- You had to write a check to pay the bills, no online bill pay.
- Attach those weird "payment coupons" along with that month's payment (for mortgages, car loans, etc - remember that?)
- You spent a lot more on stamps
- You allotted much more time for delivery - which probably was a good thing!
- Balance your checkbook (you still have to now, but not as much)
Budgeting/Money Management B.I.
No Mint, Yodlee, Wesabe, Google Docs, or Budgets Are Sexy :( We either used pen & paper (or, pencil I should say for all those mistakes!) or we booted up our computer and opened up Excel. Which, I might add, still does the trick just fine. For most people though, having your accounts pinged every day and seeing all your gritty details on a single page has done wonders. The fact that we can now see our savings, checkings, credit cards, mortgages, utilities, etc, etc on one digital page is unbelievable. I'd go as far as listing it in the Top 10 Best Uses of the Internet!Stock Trading: Before Internet
Do you have a broker? You better. There weren't no Zeccos, E*Trades, or Scott Trades, or "Enter your name here"Trades. You had to ring your financial adviser or place a call to your long lost cousin in NYC to make it happen. And doing your research before you picked your stocks? Hah! I couldn't tell you what, exactly, you needed to do back then, but I can only imagine the pain you'd be in.And those are just a few of the things that come to mind right now. I was only 15 or so when the internet first made it's appearance @ our house (kinda like my puberty), so if I've missed anything big or small, drop us a note! Regarding money, that is. We all know what porn and twitter has done to the landscape ;)
Labels: awesomely awesome, banking, life, money management
posted by J. Money at
7:50 AM
19 Comments:
Hahaha!!! I think I now know how old you are.
Aside from that, you still need checks for direct deposit requests (to Payroll). Tear a check and write VOID. But apparently banks want to get rid of them so I have a box of 198 sitting around. I also think you need them for setting up retirement accounts...at least I needed one for my Roth.
My parents still believe weird things happen on the internet, thanks to twitter and porn, so they refuse to do online banking. They still use money orders and stamps like its 1995!!!
Definitely a "Long Live Tinternet!" moment. It has simplified PF so much, but I wonder if it enables you to be almost psychotic over it?
Mind you, where PF is concerned, perhaps that's no bad thing.
Great article!
The thing I love most about the new school banking system is the speed in which everything now happens.
We can now overdraw accounts and incur $35 overdraft fees with lightning speed - if your good you can even do it several times in the same day!
This is what I did this morning within a span of one minute and a few clicks of the mouse:
Took a $500 cash advance from my World Card (No fee when transferred to a USAA bank account! Yes, I'll be charged interest, albeit at the same rate as purchases, but so fee, so hold your fire.)
Took that from the USAA checking account it had been instantly deposited it, and transferred it to my Etrade investment account instantly.
So, to reiterate, the path was: 1. Loan from USAA World Card 2. Into USAA checking account 3. Into Etrade investment account 4. into EWZ where it's only made me $4.71 today (but hey, that's after overcoming the $9.99 purchase commission!) Yeah, if I sold it right now I'd be down about 5 bucks since it's $9.99 to sell, also.
But I plan to leave it in there for a few weeks and then reverse the process, paying back the cash advance before my card's due date. If I've made more money on stock appreciation than USAA charged me in interest over the course of the days between now and Oct. 30, then I came out a few dollars ahead.
This was all made possible by the advances in internet banking you mentioned.
I love the internet!
LOL - SO true. Walking into a bank and talking to a teller is just bizarre now.
@ "the Dad"
Yeah, and when I'm on the phone and a CSR says, "I can take care of that right now for you or you could go online and do it," I politely say I'll do it myself but I'm thinking, "Hands off my account. This is none of your business. I'll take care of it online."
LOL - feeds into the control freak in us, huh?
@Rachelle - I know, I still remember the days of Chat rooms and dial up - bleh. In fact, my senior year one of my teachers asked our class what we thought the best search engine was, and of course, we all said Yahoo. He went, and I quote, "No. Google is. Start using it now and you'll be ahead of the game!" And while I thought the name was even kookier than "Yahoo", I did from that day forward and it's stuck w/ me since :)
@Lee - Oh yeah, the world of addictions have opened up even more now. But you're right, I'd take personal finance over most others any day.
@Vinny Financio - haha, indeed my newly named friend ;) Vinny sounds much more like a dude, I like it.
@444 - Hell yeah!!! That's exactly what I'm talking about - great timing. I didn't know what EWZ was but now I see it's iShares MSCI Brazil Index, and it's up 2.5%! I don't know enough to try doing this myself, but it's all rather interesting.
@Jessie - :)
@the Dad - It always takes so LONG these days, too. I hit up Bank Of America a cple times a week for work, and rarely do I get in and out of there in under 15-20 mins, just to make a deposit too. I do enjoy the atmosphere at banks though, so I'm still keeping it on my list of cool jobs to try out :)
I only go to the bank if I have a hard-copy check to deposit. All my bills are paid online -- some manually, some are automatic withdrawals. Stamps? What are those?
Unfortunately, the internet has also brought about more scams and easier credit lines. I agree the benefits outweigh the pitfalls.....but it hasn't been all roses.
Dave
LifeExcursion
The bill pay changes probably explain why the USPS is heading for the scrap heap (or another Federal bailout in the making). I think the USPS should have been on the cutting edge of the nacent electronic bill pay business, especially as they had a monopoly on the transportation of the previous method. If they didn't see that trend changes no wonder they are in dire straights. Talk about ignore your internal data to the detriment of future business opportunities.
-Luke Sidewalker
I hope you enjoyed my retro un-spellchecked, un-previewed comment above. Old School... In keeping with the theme of your post.
-Luke Sidewalker
Despite all its technological advancements, I find myself in the stone age in regards to money in Japan.
They don't do online banking, bill pay, online budgeting tools, or plastic (debit or credit). I was issued a bank book when I got here and I have to take it to the ATM where it stamps my new information. I'm not sure how they do investing, but I'll have to ask around.
In closing, the next time you grab your debit card or check your balance online smile at how much time you're saving!
Great post, J!
Hi J - Reminds me of two things.
A) When you had an issue with your account in the past you had to go back to the same branch that you opened your account at. This was a problem for me after I moved from where I went to college.
B) I recall pressing the buy button my first internet purchase with dreadful fear that I'd never see the ticket to Fiji that I was purchasing. I was delighted when I showed up to find a ticket at the airport!
Cheers,
Miel
i think that i am addicted to the internet. and this obsession that i have is not helped by the fact that my connection is free and i have an internet business. i should cut down but i dont think i will
I'm fairly "modern" for our personal bills, if I don't have bills set up to automatically withdraw, I send a check by billpay, or go to the site directly to make online payments. However, with my husband's business, primarily so that I can keep him involved with the process of watching the money flowing in and out, I'm mostly using checks. I am a signer on his account, but I make him sign the checks. He really would rather not have anything to do with finances but I feel like he should be in the loop when it involves his business! Oh, and I totally remember all the things you mention, lol!! I opened my very first checking account in 1983...
Yes, GOOD idea w/ keeping your husband in check (no pun intended)! My wife doesn't like dealing with any of it either, but we have to go over it once a month or so in order for all of us to be on the same page. God forbid anything should happen to us and they don't now where to find stuff! It's pretty scary to think about, but great job keeping him in the loop :)
and that is awesome you had an account in '83. add 15 years to it and you've got mine ;)
FYI, I still do my bank transaction by physically going to the bank. But then again I live in a third world country. LOL
haha, nice. I actually have to walk in a lot myself at work, but it's always so strange to me :)
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Back to Budgetsaresexy.com