How to Manage Your Finances with No Bank Account

How to Manage Your Finances with No Bank Account.

For many people a bank account is a must have. You deposit your paycheck into it and then use checks to pay bills and a debit card to make daily purchases. However, it is possible to manage your finances without a bank account. To live financially “off the grid,” you’ll need to find a way to receive money and then pay bills. Fortunately, there are many options. For example, you can cash checks at a retail store and use money orders to pay bills. Perhaps the most convenient option is to get a prepaid debit card.

Part 1 Receiving Money.

1. Find a place to cash a check. If you get paid with a check, then you have several options for cashing it. Find the option that works best for you. Consider the following:

Use a retail store. Large chains such as Walmart will cash a check for you. You’ll have to pay a fee, so check ahead of time.

Ask a bank. Stop into the bank used by the person paying you by check. For example, if someone wrote a check on a Bank of America account, you can typically cash it at a Bank of America branch. You’ll pay a small fee of 1-3%.

Find a business. Some businesses will cash check as well. Stop into convenience stores and supermarkets and ask. They may charge a fee, but it is usually smaller than what a check-cashing chain will charge.

Sign the check over to a friend. Endorse the back of the check by writing “Pay to the order of [person’s name].” Of course, you need to trust the person to give you the money.

2. Direct deposit onto a prepaid debit card. You can have your paycheck directly deposited onto a debit card. The two most prominent options are the AccountNow Visa Prepaid Debit Card and American Express’ Bluebird. Bluebird won’t mail to post office boxes, but otherwise the two cards are similar.

You can have your paycheck or benefits check directly deposited onto the card. Your funds will be deposited into a bank account and will be FDIC insured.

You can also cash checks if you download an app for your smartphone.

You can manually load cash at a store, such as Walmart. You will be charged a fee to load by cash. Compare cards so that you will get the best deal.

There are daily and monthly limits on deposits. However, the limits are pretty high. For example, the AccountNow Visa Card has a $1,500 daily limit for cash loads, and a total monthly limit of $9,500. However, you can have up to $10,000 directly deposited onto the card each day.

3. Accept money via PayPal. If you have an email address, then you can receive money using PayPal. Create an account at their website, which is easy to do. You can also get a PayPal debit card once you have an account. This debit card is a prepaid debit card, like those described above.

Part 2 Paying Bills.

1. Pay bills with debit cards. You can use your AccountNow Visa Card or your Bluebird account to pay bills. You enter the payee information and schedule a payment. You’ll receive an email notification when the payment has been sent. There is usually no fee for this service.

Check if there is a limit on the dollar amount for bills. Bluebird, for example, has a monthly limit of $15,000.

You can also get paper checks that you can use to pay bills. You will have to be authorized by showing that you have sufficient funds in your account to cover the check.

2. Pay a utility at a check-cashing chain. Some utility companies have direct relationships with check-cashing business. For example, you might be able to pay your electric bill or your telephone by using cash. Stop in and ask.

3. Use a money order. Money orders work like checks. You can get money orders from check-cashing places, banks, and grocery stores. You will have to pay a fee, which can range from under a dollar to a few bucks.

Generally, you’ll need to use cash to buy your money order. However, the U.S. Postal Service lets you use buy money orders with a debit card.

You’ll fill out your name and contact information on the front of the money order. Also provide the name and contact information for the person you are paying (the “payee”).

Send the money order to the payee, just as you would a check. They endorse the back of the money order and then cash it.

4. Send someone money using PayPal. You can use PayPal to send money to anyone, provided they have a PayPal account. You can enter their email or mobile number and add the amount you want to send.

You can also set up automatic payments with some companies, such as Hulu, Walmart, and Netflix. Visit the PayPal page to check.

You need to get money onto your PayPal account. If you have a prepaid debit card, you can link it to your PayPal account. You can also load cash onto your PayPal account by using a PayPal My Cash card. They are available at retailers such as CVS, County Fair, 7-Eleven, and Rite Aid. You buy with cash and then go online to load the funds.

Part 3 Managing Your Money.

1. Ask for receipts. With a bank account, you receive monthly statements which makes it easy to track your financial transactions. Without a bank account, you’ll need to carefully hold onto all receipts.

For example, if you use a money order to pay a bill, then hold onto the receipt, which is a paper slip or a carbon copy of the order.

If you ever pay for something with cash, also get a receipt, which is proof of payment.

2. Stay on top of your balances. You should always know how much money you have. If you are using a lot of cash, then you should create a spreadsheet. Enter the amount spent and received each day.

This might seem like a hassle, but there’s no other way to accurately account for how much money you have. If someone steals from you, you won’t know it because you won’t know how much money you are supposed to have.

If you use a prepaid debit card like Bluebird, you can always check your balance by logging into your account. This makes managing your money a breeze.

3. Consider a savings account. You can also save money without using a bank’s savings account. It’s not as convenient as having a savings account, and you won’t earn interest (though interest rates are low anyway today). Consider your options:

Buy a U.S. savings bond. You can get them at banks and credit unions, as well as over the phone through Federal Reserve Banks. You can cash out the bond after one year, and they continue to earn interest for up to 30 years.

Set up a second debit card as your savings account. For example, you can have a portion of your salary deposited onto the debit card, or you can load money onto the card. The key is not to touch the money you load onto the card. Instead, let the money accumulate.

Tips

Try to limit your use of cash. If cash is stolen from you, you’ll have no record of the money. You are also inviting theft by keeping a lot of cash. By contrast, if your debit card is stolen, you can report the stolen card and freeze your account.