Once I had successfully mailed the bank-certified check, and paid my father’s mortgage, I decided to go back down to the bank just to make sure that everything was in order. When I got there, a different CSR tried to assist me, but I firmly told them that I would only deal with the original CSR that helped me through the mortgage fiasco. Luckily, I had remembered to take the original CSR’s business card, so I just sat in the waiting room until she was available.
She was more than happy to double-check all of the paperwork for me, and while she was looking into the consent forms, I started telling her how upset I was that my father kept overdrawing his bank account. I was really just babbling to fill the silence, but she was a very good listener, and offered up a few suggestions.
Her first suggestion to me was that I set my father up with an overdraft line of credit, but unfortunately, his credit was shot. So, her second option was for me to open up a brand new checking account for him.
I wasn’t completely sold on managing yet another account for my father, but she explained that I could budget him very well this way. All I would have to do was to figure out how much money I needed each month to pay his mandatory bills and expenses, and then I would know how much money was left over.
I could then take the “overages” amount, and deposit it into this new “spending” account. This way, my father could still keep his day-to-day independence, but I could ensure that all of his bills were paid, on time, and without bouncing. This way we wouldn’t incur anymore overdraft fees.
I really liked this idea, and decided to go for it. My father would get his own debit card, but I linked this new “spending” account to his main account, so that I could just transfer him money whenever I saw that his balance was approaching zero.
The best part was that Chase has a texting feature that I was able to attach to his bank accounts, and now they text me when his balance gets too low. This feature also enables you to transfer funds between bank accounts, so you can make a transfer right from your cell phone.
To give myself some wiggle room, I set his accounts to text me when his balance hits $150.00, and when it does, I receive a “warning” text. This feature is working out really well for me simply because it reduces my stress levels. Now I don’t have to log into the online bank accounts every morning just to make sure he doesn’t bounce any checks.
So, my fifth piece of advice is: Get to know the people at your loved one’s bank; they can provide you with some helpful ideas as to how you can manage your loved ones financial situations.
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