International Nesties
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
an adjustment to living at home.
I am having a hard time around here with paying our bills. It sounds so odd but in the NL everything was steam lined. You got an email with your bill from all your ammenities the same week (cable, electricity, etc etc etc) and you just went online to your bank and you pushed a few buttons and viola! PAID! Bills done for the month.
Here we have 700 different bills for 400 services and some I pay with check, some automatically deduct and some I pay online. In the past two months, I have double paid our car payment, cable bill, and not paid our trash bill at all (yeah, that one sucked when they cancelled our service for non-payment).
I wish the banking systems would adopt the NL banking systems.
Re: an adjustment to living at home.
I agree as well. Why hasn't the US adopted the online bill payment more?
I was shocked by a post on MM about a girl waiting for her rent check to be cashed. Come on USA.
Bio
You mean, enter the 21st century?
WORD.
Nope - it's electronic transfer / direct debit here. All Americans are laughed at when they first arrive and ask about checks. They don't exist here anymore. Banking is far more secure and easier here. I love the ABN/AMRO iPhone app. - I use it for almost everything.
I lived in a world where checks didn't exist.
We are supposed to have ONE BILL from Verizon for our cell phones, internet, cable, home phone, etc. We get three separate bills a month that are due at three separate times. I need to call them and find out how the hell that is one bill.
It takes three clicks on the computer. It would take more steps to pull out your checkbook from your wallet, write the check, sign the check and give it to your friend. It is also automatic. You could do it before your friend bought you something. "Hey Mrs.Bini I'm at the store and see those thing-a-ma-whatsits you want on sale for $10. Should I get you one?" You could send her the money instantly.
It's amazing. All you need is the person's code. Mine was 8 numbers I think. Easier to remember than a phone number. You log into your bank account, click a button or two and it's done!
Yep, same thing here. My family could not believe I did not have a check book in Oz. I don't even know anyone who has one.
Even when we rented we just paid our rent by direct deposit.
I am going to see Mary Poppins in Nov with some family friends, I just deposited money for the ticket into my friends account. Too easy.
My CU in the states has had online bill pay for years. I'd definately look into it a bit more.
And you think people in the US are afraid of electronic banking? ... my SIL & BIL still go to the Post Office to pay their bills, in cash, in person because they don't trust the BPay system or the automatic debit options.
Sorry you are having a rough time with that part.
We paid bills online in the U.S. and don't have that overseas. In Italy I paid the rent in cash and in person to the landlord, the utilities were paid at the post office or a tabacchi. Here in Bahrain we pay the rent in cash to the landlord. Gas for my kitchen I pay in person when the drop it off. Our internet we go to the vendor kiosk but at least they have a self-service machine we can pay by credit card. Drinking water we pay per bottle when they drop it off.
Our Italian landlord tried to have us just deposit the rent into his bank. I had to do it in person. Guess what one of the reasons why the bank wouldn't take my money? I was just the woman and my husband was supposed to be handling the money. Fun times.
I'm giggling while I picture this scene playing out. I'm assuming it did not end well?
so wait when i move to the US im not gonna be able to pay all my bills by direct debit??
i havent owned a cheque book in about 10 years - setting up a direct debit is just so much easier and i never have to worry or wonder if ive paid on time. Its done automatically done for me.
Had to call the translator, who I'm sure gave him an earful. Translator ultimately told me to just leave because the bank people were too stupid to work with. Kinda wish I could have heard and understood the conversation.
I agree with this. We pay virtually nothing by check, save maybe medical bills and even our dr is changing to an online bill pay
Switzerland is very easy too, you just pay everything, one time a month at the post office.
I remember my mom spending hours on "bill night" paying for things either online or via check. She had a big checklist to make sure everything was covered.
We never even bothered going to the post. We just had all invoices sent directly to our current bank account and paid them as they came in--although all recurring bills were set to just pay automatically. Having to do nothing was glorious.
We have an ING savings account and a TD bank checking account. I can move money back and forth between them as many times as I want, as much or little as I want. No fees involved.
No, elsewhere you can do a direct automatic debit to their account. I was doing it that way with a private landlord in 1997. And having my pay and welfare direct deposited. And sending text messages.
I have a military credit union and they claim it is a federal law. Whatever. My interest rate on my CC is 4% and all our insurance is through them for a very good rate. I will eat that for the other savings!
I've had banks that put limits on that. If it is a law, it's specific to the CU, because I've also had banks that didn't have limits. I think in the case of my banks, it was just a way to charge more fees (I could do it more than four times, but then I had to pay), to encourage me to accidentally end up with overdraft fees for not moving more money up front, and to save on interest payments by forcing me to keep more money in the checking instead of the savings.
US banks really do astonish me. And they go on and on about "free checking" and other "free" banking services, which are nice, but honestly, I'd rather use my bank here, where I have to pay $20/yr in admin for my debit card, but they pay me $100/yr in interest. Compared to the US, where the debit card would be free, but the interest is only $15/yr.