Tag Archive for credit

Reagan Wisdom

I admit, I wasn’t overjoyed with Ronald Reagan as the governor of my state, and I disagreed with some of his Presidential policies. Often, though, he made good sense, as in today’s Thursday Thought quote.

Credit Cards and Disabilities

I may have to re-start paying cash for everything. I’d miss the cash-back percentage I get from my credit card company, but I may have no choice.

Go back a bit, when those card readers were installed for “our convenience.” Even at my doctors’ offices they’re up high on a counter. That’s great for people who aren’t in a wheelchair or scooter, like me, but too high for me to swipe. Then they added the chip, with a slot that was lower. But many of the card readers don’t angle down to a usable position for me–some don’t allow any real space between the reader and the counter top for a person to manipulate the card into the slot.  And as far as signing, forget it, because the screen is at the highest point on the reader. I’m lucky if I can scrawl an “X” or have the cashier do so, neither of which is exactly a secure signature.

Now they’re talking about using a fingerprint for ID.  Since I can’t lift my arms any further than straight out (on a good day), how will I be able to press my finger against their screen?  Also, I worry about my often-home-bound friends (especially in bad weather). They (sometimes me) depend on others to do their shopping, sending along their credit card.  We can’t send along our finger, so the card is useless.

Credit card companies should realize that people with disabilities spend as much (or more) money than everyone else, and that everyone else is, in fact, only currently non-disabled. If they want our money, they need to make it easier for us to spend it.

Warning to Widows/Widowers & Others

My husband passed away over a year ago, but I’ve been keeping his email account open to tie up loose ends.  I was about to close it yesterday and discovered that his credit was still available.

I had frozen my credit at all three agencies but left his, thinking that it would disappear after he died.

The problem here is that our credit info was on each other’s  report, since we co-borrowed, for example, home and auto loans.  I started to wonder, then, if someone could access my information through our shared data and gather enough from it and elsewhere to steal my identity.  Nobody that I asked could answer for certain if his open credit could help lead to my identity theft.

So I froze his credit yesterday. Considering how lax at least one of the credit reporting agencies has been in guarding our information, I felt it would be a good idea.  Especially since older persons and widowed persons are often targets of financial scams.

You might want to freeze your credit, too.  Even if you aren’t widowed.  You can unfreeze it if you need to apply for a loan or new credit card.  Be sure you do so at all three credit reporting agencies: Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian.  It’s easy to do online.

Be safe.

 

Support Trump?! Yes/No???!!!

Love him or hate him, agree with him or not, trust him or not–as of noon today, Donald J. Trump is President of the United States.

We are all Americans, who pride ourselves on being fair-minded and willing to give people a chance.  Let’s come together and do just that, give him a chance to demonstrate that he is truly a President for all the people and has our country as his top priority.  Once we see what he actually does we can react by expressing our displeasure (and pressuring our lawmakers to do something about it) or give credit where credit is due.

Our nation is divided and angry enough.  Giving President Trump the opportunity to prove himself and his intentions is not only less divisive but is also the American ideal.