I recently opened my cable bill to find a $0.25 additional charge for a television remote. Having neither a television remote nor even a television, I was convinced of being unduly fined.

Something similar happened at my workplace. As a membership coordinator for an association that boasts over 110,000 members, I run into my fair share of incorrect mailing addresses. Each error in our database ultimately translates into a $0.50 charge by the Postal Service. Those charges can add up very quickly, especially when there are one to three months delays on their return.

Most Americans aren’t going to waste their time chasing a quarter or even half a buck because it just isn’t a huge amount of money. That’s where the majority of Americans and the Solvency Shark part ways. Money is a valuable resource and should be conserved accordingly. If you see a dime in the parking lot outside your grocery store, the universe just threw money at you. Pick it up.

If the cable company tries to charge you $0.25 for a television remote you don’t have, fight the charge. They could have simply made a clerical error, or they could have made a calculated gamble that you wouldn’t care. Either way, one free quarter from each of their clients adds up the same way those Postal Service charges do – very quickly. Don’t be part of the numbers.

I barter a great deal of time and energy to get the money I have in my pocket; it makes perfect sense to me to spend a little extra time and energy making sure it stays there. I called my cable company and asked to have the charge removed. The phone call was pleasant, it only took four minutes, and they removed both the $0.25 charge and a percentage of the taxes applied thereto.

Don’t think that was worth it? If I had continued to pay the cable company without paying attention to the undue charges for the next sixty years of my life (and paying for cable and internet services for the rest of my life does seem conceivable at the point), I would be $180 poorer. At a current hourly rate of $12 for my services in the workplace, that translates to fifteen stolen hours of my life. That’s an entire waking day right there, folks.

Placing the problem of small charges on a bigger scale may help motivate you to fight them. The time delay between Postal Service address changes and their delivery to our office was roughly two months. That means we commit the same error two additional times before being given the tools to correct that error. For every $0.50 we pay, we pay an additional $1.00 for the Postal Service’s inefficiencies.

Over the course of eight days, I was able to find $620 of change of address fines that could be attributed to the Postal Service’s inability to act promptly. Extrapolating those numbers over the course of one year, my association can expect to pay an additional $28,300 in service fees. Combine that with the $11,400 that can be attributed to our own inaccurate records and you have more than enough money to hire an additional employee. It adds up, people, it. adds. up.

You spend a great deal of time and energy to make money. It only takes a little extra effort to prevent other people and companies from taking your money unless they truly deserve it.

Live well, live well within your means, and remember – that’s how the Solvency Shark seas it!

The New York Times and NPR reported at the beginning of this month that the U.S. Department of Justice has agreed a deal with Visa and Mastercard to allow merchants to charge customers less if they opt to use cheaper forms of payment. Credit cards with rewards programs are currently the most expensive way for a merchant to accept your payment. Cash is the cheapest.

Whenever you swipe your magnetized plastic to pay for a transaction, the merchant is charged a small percentage as a fee. How much depends on what form of payment you use. Most credit card companies charge a base rate of $0.10 regardless of the item’s price. Then, if you use a credit card with a rewards program, the merchant is fined a further $0.03 for every dollar spent. Send a basic, no-frills credit card through the scanner and he’s out $0.02 on the dollar. Break out your bank’s debit card and he’s only charged $0.01 per dollar. Using cash costs the merchant nothing.

This new settlement allows merchants to nudge customers towards payment options that are less expensive for them to accept. These incentives could take the form of discounts, rebates, or free perks. Although I haven’t seen anything reported on a possible system of staggered prices, I can easily imagine a lunch meal at your local mom and pop joint running $10.40 for rewards cards, $10.30 for credit cards, $10.20 for debit cards, and $10.00 for cash. Seeing those prices listed may make you think twice about reaching for your airline miles card.

I can also imagine detractors labeling this possibility unfair and discriminatory to those who simply prefer to use plastic rather than cash. After all, cash can be inconvenient in that it must be deliberately collected from a bank or ATM machine, can leave you at the register without enough money to pay for your purchase, or simply be lost or stolen.

But in the current system, everybody pays $10.40 for that mom and pop lunch regardless of how they do it. Mom and Pop aren’t falling on the sword of credit card fees to keep prices low for their valued customers; they’re simply raising the price of their merchandise to incorporate the possibility of credit card fees while keeping their bottom line intact.

So, whatever I may think about the new settlement, if I can get the same meal at the same restaurant for $0.40 less simply by paying in a different way, I’ll do it. If you’re not convinced that the extra change in your pocket is worth the trouble, convince yourself.

This new agreement still needs to be approved by the courts, but don’t be surprised if you start seeing less plastic and more green in your wallet.

Live well, live well within your means, and remember – that’s how the Solvency Shark seas it!

The Christian Science Monitor (CSM) reported three months ago that low-income families that pay with cash are subsidizing higher-income families that pay using rewards credit cards. That’s because of fees that merchants pay every time they accept customer plastic.

Large credit card companies usually charge an initial fee for swiping the card before tacking on an additional percentage of the transaction for good measure. This translates to roughly $0.10 plus an extra $0.01 to $0.03 for every dollar spent. Imagine this example: if you use a rewards credit card to purchase a $50 video game at your local electronics store, that store’s owner will be charged $1.60 for accepting your card with airline miles perks.

In our current economy, taking a 3% blow to your profit margin can hurt your bottom line, and dearly so. So, rather than lose $1.60 every time a plastic user waltzes into their store, merchants simply pass the cost on to the consumer. That $50 video game now costs $52. As a rewards card user, you get 52 points towards your next free round-trip flight while the store owner turns a profit on the original $50 price tag.

If you paid for that video game in cash, you just lost two dollars. Where did those two dollars go? To the rich jerk standing in line in front of you who’s buying a handheld video game for his free trip to Aspen. To think, he didn’t even turn around and thank you for subsidizing his lifestyle!

The CSM breaks it down further: if you make more than $150,000, you are netting $756 on average from rewards perks each year. If you make less than $20,000 a year, chances are you are paying up to $23 into the system. If you do the math for a financially troubled person who starts taking care of themselves at twenty years old and lives to be eighty-five, that person is losing an additional $1500 on top of the money he spends throughout his life.

If you’ve read the most recent posts by the Solvency Shark, you’ll know how focused I am on how small amounts of money can add up to big losses over time. If you’re losing money every time you pay for something in cash, it’s time to find a new method. In this case, rewards cards are ideal because they offset the merchant’s price increase by funneling perks, gifts, and air travel down to you. You should weigh the advantages and disadvantages of a rewards card and decide if it’s right for you.

Additionally, it’s possible that a new agreement between the U.S. Department of Justice and the big credit card companies could see a tiered payment system develop for credit card and cash users. Do the research and you could avoid being nickel and dimed to death either way!

Live well, live well within your means, and remember – that’s how the Solvency Shark seas it!

Twenty years ago, while Germany was just starting to undertake its massive pay-off of debt interest from the First World War, Brazil also faced an overwhelming problem: 80% inflation. Chana Joffe-Walt of NPR’s Planet Money team wrote a story about how the Brazilians used a creative system of making fake money real to stabilize their currency and reduce inflation. She contextualizes the problem with a carton of eggs: if you buy them at $1 to bake your birthday cake, they’ll cost $1000 by the time your next one rolls around.

Joffe-Walt continues, “The problem went back to the 1950s, when the government printed money to build a new capital in Brasilia.”

STOP.

Did you read that? The problem occurred when the government just printed money. The money was not the result of a robust economy. It was just made to build a new capital.

Have you ever taken out a loan because you wanted to build a pool in your backyard to beat the summer heat? Taken out a home equity loan because you wanted a faster car in your garage?

Brazil did it, too. They wanted a new capital and used money that wasn’t theirs to get it. Brazil printed their money out of thin air while your loan actually comes from a creditor, but look at it from its most abstract angle: in both cases, we are using money that isn’t ours to get what we want before we can really afford it.

Your fake money comes with interest. Brazil’s fake money came with inflation. Brazil didn’t pay much attention to what they were doing and it lead to 80% inflation, which we can all agree is uncontrollable. Don’t do like Brazil did. Pay attention to what you’re doing and be very careful when taking out loans. Why are you doing it? Is it for a profitable investment like your child’s education? Or are you simply trying to replace your unattractive but functioning car with one that makes you feel special?

When choosing to go into debt, be sure to ask yourself: am I building the capital of Brazil?

On a side note, let’s take a moment to connect the dots. Some of you may also have read my articles on Germany’s repayment of its war debt. If you have, there is a relevant connection to make between these two nations and your own wallet.

Let me start off by saying that Brazil isn’t the bad guy here. Yes, they made some mistakes in their past, but if you read Joffe-Walt’s article, you’ll see that four brilliant economists were able to employ a subtle plan that has led to a Brazil ascendant. They have a booming economy, a rich cultural heritage, and a growing presence in international politics.

In fact, they have much in common with Germany’s recent repayment of its World War One debt. Why? They both got their financial house in order. Each country had its problems, but they sat down and solved them no matter how epic or unbeatable they seemed. You can solve your problems, too. We can help. In addition to our articles on relevant financial topics, we have a team of debt experts that can help you build a good budget (German, Brazilian, or otherwise).

Live well, live well within your means, and remember – that’s how the Solvency Shark seas it!

THE LESSONS

Germany wasted no time concentrating on a highly qualified citizenry that was committed to maximum productivity. They also made sure to develop razor-sharp budgets that encouraged growth while reducing the size of their debts. I don’t know about you, but I am getting weak in the knees just writing about this stuff.

How can we become more like Germany? First and foremost, we need a sharp budget. Figure out how much you earn each month and go from there. Make room for fixed expenses like rent and utilities, then move on to variable expenses like groceries and gasoline.

If you run out of room, start cutting. Drive less, unsubscribe from cable television, or skip this weekend’s round of golf. When tackling personal debt aggressively, it is not acceptable under any circumstances to spend more than you earn.

Next, target your spending towards “growth.” You may not be able to engineer a massive national infrastructure that promotes a healthy export economy, but you can set money aside for investments. It shouldn’t be a large portion of your budget just yet (considering the lion’s share should be diverted towards your debts), but remember: Germany emerged from their situation both debt-free and financially stable. If you don’t know where you want to invest right away, you can start by just stashing some of your money in a savings account. Long-term wealth calls for long-term investments.

Granted, “growth” doesn’t come in only one flavor. Investments are desirable, but remember that highly qualified citizenry we were talking about? If you choose to invest in your own personal “growth,” that could be you. If you need an advanced degree to climb the next few rungs on your chosen ladder, enroll today. If you need to learn a foreign language to stay competitive in a global marketplace, break out your flash cards and get to work.

All this motivational talk about working hard leads neatly to my next point: maximal productivity. All the degrees and personal growth in the world don’t mean anything if you don’t apply yourself. The Germans have degrees and they work hard. Now, they’re smart and wealthy. Oxen work hard and have giant flexing muscles to prove it. Mules make oxen and the Germans look like lazy people who quit early to drink lemon grass smoothies at the spa. Mules are unbeatable, stubborn, fantastic animals that work until you get tired just watching them.

Learn from these examples and be productive. If you’re in a financial bind, don’t sit on the couch worrying about how you’re going to solve the problem. Get up on your feet and solve the problem. If you need more money and your boss allows overtime, snatch it up. If you feel tired all the time and breathe hard going up the stairs, hit the floor, do some push-ups, then drink a bunch of water (you are taking the stairs, aren’t you?). Then run out and get a pull-up bar.

Above all, use your renewed mental and physical energy to reduce the size of your debt. Germany didn’t balk at US $2 billion in 20 years. Don’t buckle your knees at $7000 in seven months. Channel your German. Channel your ox. Better yet, channel your mule.

The Germans weren’t afraid to attack their debt aggressively. You shouldn’t be, either.

Live well, live well within your means, and remember – that’s how the Solvency Shark seas it!