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Jun 29, 2010    |       56 comments

Negative Net Worth…

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Buried somewhere deep inside my life insurance application is an awful question…

‘What is your total net worth?’

I calculated my mortgage debt, subtracted my tiny home value, added my student loan debt and my auto loan debt, and then subtracted my liquid cash. The total? An astonishingly huge negative number representing my net worth.

Not wanting to stop at the large, large, large negative number, I added the amount in our retirement accounts (though technically locked up for the next 27 years under mounds of government and ESOP paperwork).

I landed at a number closer to zero but still negative none the less.

I received the following question from my insurer:

PLEASE EXPLAIN WHY YOUR TOTAL NET WORTH IS A NEGATIVE NUMBER.

Yes, they wrote it in all caps. As if I needed a reminder that I’ve made some pretty large financial snafus. Little do they know that if my number landed anywhere close to zero, they’d find me dancing excitedly like a lunatic on top of the bus I take every day.

I sent a long explanatory e-mail to the agent and figured she’d understand. Instead, I received a disdainful, ‘Fine. I’ll alert your Case Manager.’

Certainly I can’t be the only one with an insanely underwater mortgage that throws off my net worth right? Let’s do a poll. Is your net worth a positive or negative number?

And if you see 14 comments after I post this that say ‘positive’ and you’re about to say ‘positive’ as well, say ‘negative’ just to make me feel better.

Have mercy.

Jun 28, 2010    |       26 comments

New Chase Overdraft Rules…

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I bank with Great Western… oops, I bank with Washington Mutual… uh, no, I bank with Chase. Yeah, Chase. Sorry, my bank keeps getting bought out and I never know what to call it anymore. But each time the bank changes hands, I get a whole new set of rules and regulations.

I’m a nerd, therefore, I read the 7 million pages of information they send each time someone takes over.

One piece of information Chase customers couldn’t have possibly missed over the last month, even if they aren’t nerds and throw away 90% of the information, is the new set of overdraft rules. Unless customers are protected by the new ‘Chase Debit Card Overdraft Coverage’, everyday debit card purchases will not be approved if you don’t have sufficient available funds.

If you elect to add the Chase Debit Card Overdraft Coverage, you will be charged the standard $34 overdraft fee per transaction.

I haven’t had an overdraft charge in a very long time but I’m excited that I have the option to be declined rather than accidentally pay $35 for a Snickers bar. I decided to decline the Overdraft Coverage.

Trust me, I can handle the embarrassment of someone telling me I’m broke.

What do you think? Are you a “Decline me. I don’t care” sort of person or do you think there is a reason to keep the overdraft protection?

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