standard bank

[murdock]

i know i am going on about this but as it is the 26 th of the month...interest on overdraft which i no longer have and havent had for 20 days of the 25.

heres the catch i have paid up my overdraft as you know and now am in the credit for the same amount...and have been for 20 days...i still get charged nearly R300 for interest on overdraft for the 5 days i was in overdraft...no interest on the money in the credit...it must be so small that you dont even notice it.

but hey thats not what i am upset about...its the R0.30 interest charged on my other bussiness account which has never been into an overdraft yet i have to pay R0.30 interest...just think 30 million other customers getting charged 30 cents it adds up...makes you think doesnt it.

[Dave A]

...no interest on the money in the credit...it must be so small that you dont even notice it.

but hey thats not what i am upset about...

Actually, that's the bit that I would get upset about. We used to get interest on our current accounts, but it just magically disappeared a few years ago. It wasn't much -about 2% if I remember correctly -but at least it was something.

Not exactly an incentive for saving.

[Frankincense]

@ Dave : "Upset????..exactely just how upset...as your bank manager????....do tell???.....


....ok fine...complaining about interest revocations only????.....how about starting to a complain about a microchip for transactions and with that you get a free eternal hell damnation (unless you exile -oooh...that's a survival issue - no comforts included) sentence to let you know about the shi!t that's gotta go down????

Trust me..better we allow flesh to complain about their interest revocations.....than carry out 666....for now...*wishing it was not like this*....*but understanding that the sooner "IT IS DONE"...the better*....

Humans....Gird your loins....never has such misery and damnation dawned upon an unsuspecting and clueless(beside those who hearkened to these words) time befallen...soon shall the mystery of Jehovah (Tetragrammaton - much respect) be revealed....and low and behold those who do not like what He is about....

[murdock]

Probably that too

My comment comes from a discussion I had with my bank manager when doing a credit risk assessment on the government funded hospital sector about a month ago. I ended up walking away from a R1.5 million deal over three years as a result, but amongst the high risk sectors mentioned in that little chat was that one word, "electrical."

I could go into quite a bit of detail as to why the concern is probably valid - there are huge challenges in the electrical contracting industry even at the best of times - but perhaps in another thread; let's stick to keeping in your bank's good books. Or maybe that should be how easy it is to fall out of favour with your bank.

I suggest a few habits that will help.

1. Only draw from cleared funds. Don't count on cheques from your clients as cleared for at least 48 hours, and preferably at least 7 days. And make sure that any one unpaid cheque won't put you over your limit - ever!

2. Never draw on funds the same day it is deposited, even if it is cleared funds such as an internet transfer. Yes, that means you'll probably never push your account to the absolute limit, but that 24 hour safety margin is as close to the edge you ever want to get.

3. Never write a cheque unless you have the funds to cover it. And I mean cleared funds already in the account. If you face the choice of writing a bad cheque or getting your kneecaps broken, take the broken kneecaps. They're going to get broken anyway when the cheque bounces, so you may as well take the pain now.

4. Check your bank balance every day. Know exactly what you have available all the time.

5. Spend some time working out your monthly cashflow cycle. When does the money go out? When does the money normally come in? If you're signing a debit order this information is invaluable when you've got the option of choosing a date for the debit order to run. Knowing what's coming in and what has to go out means you know what is really available as your discretionary spend.

6. Understand yourself! If you have trouble with impulse buying, don't go shopping until you've paid all the accounts that need to be paid before you go shopping.

easier said than done...you sound like my bank manager

just kidding dave i am with you on all the statements made above but its not always that easy...if i had to live like that i would have closed down my bussiness 18 years ago.

something i was thinking about this mornining...a mistake a lot of us make when deciding to start a bussiness...man i am a good artisan why not start a bussiness i can make much more money working for myself than making my boss rich (how many people can relate to this statement)...dont be stupid...become a good bussinessman before you start a bussiness...i could have been a millionare many times over with all that windows that have opened for me...but because i am not a good bussiness man i have not spent or invested my money wisely...but hey i am still young almost 20 years in bussiness and still 20 to go before i get to retirement at 63 (will be celebrating 20 years in feb. 2011)

by the way speaking to the bank manager the other day...i was told there is no interest on cheque accounts...see what i mean these are the kind of things i should know before i open the account or leave the money in this account...use it for what it is designed for...move the money to a savings or
investment portfolio.

another thing to watch out for is life cover on overdrafts and credit facilities...take out one policy to cover all of them...not one for each credit facitlity.

[wynn]

I spent most of my money on whiskey and women, the rest I wasted!!!

[Dave A]

@ Dave : "Upset????..exactely just how upset...

Not very - as Murdock points out, there is a solution

by the way speaking to the bank manager the other day...i was told there is no interest on cheque accounts...see what i mean these are the kind of things i should know before i open the account or leave the money in this account...use it for what it is designed for...move the money to a savings or investment portfolio.

and if we live in overdraft most of the time, who cares

I spent most of my money on whiskey and women, the rest I wasted!!!

Most Dangerous Catch - probably the funniest quote of the 2009 series.