The Official Modest Needs Blog

It's Coming: Debit Card Fees for Hard-Working Consumers

These days, cash is no longer king. It's the debit card that rules the land. Banks have made it so easy to whip out a debit card to pay for items as small as a pack of gum, so keeping cash on hand is less and less of a necessity.

It's amazing the number of vendors who take debit cards. A dress made by a local designer selling at a roadside bazaar can be paid for with a debit card thanks to products you can now attach to your phone. A debit card is a single, waterproof, convenient method of payment that people pull from their wallets millions of times a day.

However, it is highly possible that in the very near future, many will be hesitant to swipe their debit card. Federal regulations are requiring banks to charge vendors less for each debit card transaction, which is currently a steep rate. But banks are unlikely to take this change lying down. Experts predict that, just as you might expect, banks will be passing this loss in revenue on to you, the consumer:

Already, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo & Co. and many other banks are reducing or phasing out rewards programs that gave users cash back for using debit cards. Chase has been testing a monthly $3 fee for debit cards in some states, and Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. have added new fees to some checking accounts.

At least one credit union has capped debit purchases at $300 a day, and most of the nation’s 7,534 banks and thrifts are testing or plan to test consumer reaction to new fees or limits on debit cards or the checking accounts to which they’re linked, said Richard Hunt of the Consumer Bankers Association.

Industry consultant Michael Moebs predicted the typical cost to consumers might approximate a Sam’s Club or Costco membership, about $36 a year on average.

With the economy showing little signs of improvement, Americans are still living paycheck to paycheck, cutting spending to the bone, and if using debit cards to buy necessities means a new line in the budget just for bank fees, how will the working poor fare? And will banks be transparent about new fees when using debit cards.

A lot of this is pure speculation, but banks do have a history of not being exactly forthcoming. They also have a history of bilking customers out of essential "nominal" fees.

Let's hear from you on this issue. Do you use your debit card often? Always? Rarely? And do you expect to see changes to your fees associated with that use? Just let us know in the comments below.

[Photo by Bryan Rosengrant]

Application of the Day: Forced to Choose between Dental Work or Food

This Davenport, Iowa man is unable to work due to disability and must take care of himself with only the small amount he receives in disability benefits. But when severe dental pain became too much to bear, he made the difficult but crucial choice to see a doctor about his immense suffering, even though it meant going without rent money or electricity or food.

He is asking Modest Needs donors to help pay for his dental work so that he can keep his home, keep his lights on, put food on the table and continue a life with as much dignity and quality as possible.

You can invest in the life of this single Iowa man by recommending this application for funding at 643 points, when we will immediately remit payment in full to his dental office for the essential, pain-relieving care for his teeth.

[Photo by Adela Yepes Pace]

How You've Helped: Thank You Notes

A few people want to say thank you for investing in them and their future:

"I am already feeling stronger every day and your help has given me the courage to move on with my new life." -Single mother and bus driver in Alpharetta, Georgia who was diagnosed with Lymphoblastic Leukemia and was running out sick days 

"I am not eligible for help from any place because I work part-time to supplement my disability income. I have no family to help and my friends are struggling as much (or worse) than I am. I had begun to think about a payday loan which I know would have made things much worse over the long run. Again, thank you so much for your kindness and generosity in this difficult time. This may very well have prevented me and Ivory from becoming homeless." -Single woman whose therapy dog needed emergency surgery

"Without all you wonderful people, I could also possibly be awaiting foreclosure on my home, which is all I have at this point in time in my life and more chemo treatments a head of me, all having to paid in cash or no treatment. You are wonderful people who truly care for the human race and mankind." -Single woman laid off after cancer diagnosis, left with no income or insurance

"You have done your country, as well as your fellow man an immeasurable kindness. I cannot stress enough the amount of gratitude I have for you. I will now, thanks to you be able to serve OUR country and OUR fellow man much more successfully in the current struggles that we are battling." -Soldier who needed glasses and ballistic goggles

"With your generosity, we are now going to be able to store food, and have a cold drink. If you have ever experienced this loss, you know the frustration of not being able to prepare a nutritious meal. It is difficult to make many meals without eggs, milk, etc., so we had to be creative. We do not live close to a store, so frequent trips were not possible. Your generosity allows us to go to the store, buy refrigerated foods and rest assured that they will be safe to eat. I can give food to our sons and know that it is safe to eat. I can be assured that my insulin will be at the proper temperature, and will not have to discard bad medication. This act of yours assures my health to be regulated. Thank you life saver!" -Family in Westerville, Ohio who needed a working refrigerator

[Photo by Ben Fredricson]

Application of the Day: Hospice Patient Needs Help to Eat

He is a seventy-two year-old bedridden hospice patient with cancer, as well as cardiac, neurological, and digestive disorders. His caretaker will be away for two weeks, leaving him with no way to eat unless he hires someone to stand in for the person who normally feeds him.

This Applicant of the Day writes, "My nerve damage and abscessed teeth and gums require mechanical preparation of the three foods I can eat. Thermometers and technical instruments are used in the preparation...Living on Social Security, I cannot afford a trained agency caregiver to cook for me and I must find a way to eat. I am desperate."

This application expires in just a little over a week and needs fewer than 400 points to be fully funded. Together we can help this individuals last days not be marred by suffering that can be avoided.

Get Sparked: Microvolunteer for Modest Needs

Because you are all so awesome, you often ask us how you can volunteer at Modest Needs. But since we are a very small staff of six in a single office in New York, it can be difficult to find volunteering opportunities for our community members across the country.

Until today. Thanks to a new microvolunteering service called Sparked, which facilitates online volunteering.

Modest Needs has registered as one of their non-profits, and just today I've posted three challenges that you can choose to undertake any time you have a few spare minutes.

Head over to our Sparked page and check out the three super easy challenges you can take to help Modest Needs continue to grow.

Application of the Day: Dad Got Behind Putting Daughter 1st

When this single father learned that his three-year-old daughter was being molested by her mother's boyfriend, he did whatever it took to rescue her from the abuse. He moved his child from Pennsylvania (where she'd been living with her mother) to Ohio to live with him. In the process, he lost a great deal of time at work dealing with court appointments, child service interviews and taking his daughter to therapy in not one, but two states.

Because, as this single dad wrote, '[his] employer than could not grant me the time needed to dedicate to my daughter's well being,' he had no choice but put his daughter first. To better care for his child, he took the job that kept him from providing the best possible home environment and began seeking new employment that would provide for him and his daughter while allowing him the time necessary to look after personal needs, particularly during a very difficult time in his daughter's life.

Though he now has a new, stable and better paying job that allows him essential time with his still-healing child, this struggling single father is facing eviction because, in taking off work to care for his daughter, he has fallen behind on his rent. He's asking Modest Needs to remit the rental payment that will stop his eviction, provide for his ongoing self-sufficiency and - most importantly - allow him to offer his little girl the safe, secure and stable environment that all children deserve.

[Photo by Britt-knee]

Set to Expire: Directly Prevent Poverty for One South Carolina Lady Today

Once a week on the Modest Needs blog we feature requests from individuals and families all across the country that are about to expire. We do this so that, if you so choose, your gift to Modest Needs can be used almost immediately to change the life of a person who might be on the brink of poverty with nowhere else to turn.

I am pleased to say that this week, there is only one single application for assistance that is set to expire before the end of the month. Just one. This is a remarkable achievement for our donors this month, making it one of the few times all but one request has been fully funded.

The one and only application still open for the month of June at Modest Needs is this application from a lady in Westminster, South Carolina who took a terrible fall, injured her knee and had to have surgery to correct it. The lack of income while recovering put her behind on her bills.

She says in her request:

I am falling behind on my mortgage, due to both my loss of wages and having to pay for my co-pays before the surgery. I am the sole provider of my household and I do not receive any assistance, so this has made it difficult to pay for all of the little things, as well as food and utilities.

I would really like to extend the gratitude that I feel for this organization and all of the donors. If I receive your help, I will be greatly indebted to you. If I am unable to be assisted with my mortgage, I will still stand strong and be an advocate for such a caring, outstanding, and strong Foundation. Thank you for taking the time to even look at my application. God Bless You All.

Her attitude, clearly, is one of a fighter with a resolute and positive outlook on life. We can help her with her mortgage and get her back on her feet today, before her application expires on Thursday. Even a small donation will go a long way to keeping this lady independent and self-sufficient.

[Photo by Tyler Nienhouse]

Application of the Day: Car Repairs So That He Can Continue Working

The Applicant of the Day lost nearly a quarter of his income due to the worst economy in the United States since the Great Depression. On top of that misfortune, he was recently the victim of a hit and run accident. Now this hard-working husband is stuck paying the deductible from his insurance carrier to get his car fixed, his only way to get to work.

When we say Modest Needs helps families in trouble through no fault of their own, this is what we mean. You can help this couple in Louisville, Kentucky get to work, keep their source of income and remain self-sufficient contributors to society. Click the link to see how little it takes to get this man the help he needs--especially if we all pitch in together, no matter how little we have to give.

[Photo by followtheseinstructions]

One Word Sunday

Cooperation.

Saturday Inspiration

This is the brief and moving story of a man named Herman, who is unemployed, but who every Tuesday provides a lifeline for the elderly and in need in his community.

Let Herman inspire you today: