by Hanna Edwards

Created on: January 03, 2009

Living without banks is hardly an easy task. Banks are intertwined into everything we do. But we can eliminate or reduce bank involvement in our lives. Here are some alternatives for paying bills, preserving capital and getting credit when needed:

CARRYING MONEY AND PAYING BILLS

Staying away from banks could mean carrying wads of cash around. But that may be an uncomfortable thought. What about being robbed or losing the cash?

Consider using a prepaid debit card by Visa or Mastercard. Reloadable debit cards can be obtained using cash at retail locations listed on visa.com or mastercard.com. These prepaid cards can be used over and over, and have very high limits - from $500-$10,000. Visa's cards even allow you to directly deposit your paycheck or other regular payments onto the card, so you can avoid reload fees and check cashing fees. The companies give similar protection as credit cards in the case of loss or theft of your card. Mastercard has a greater number of places to reload your card in person, but only Visa advertises the ability of direct deposit onto the prepaid card.

Money orders are another alternative to use for paying bills, especially rent bills or anything that needs to be mailed. Banks will not issue these to anyone without an account, but you can purchase them at any post office and also at drug stores or Western Union money transfer stores. Retail stores will give you change from a money order purchase, so you can use them like checks. But, be careful about walking around with unsigned money orders - if they are lost and then used by someone else, you will not be able to get reimbursed.

Pay bills in cash by using some companies' bill paying stations. Utilities, cable companies, mobile phone companies and even credit card companies will accept cash payments made in person at designated kiosks (or, for credit card companies, at teller windows of the banks that issued the card).

Third party checks are out of fashion but not gone. How it works: if you have a check that is made out to your name, you can endorse the back (sign your name) and then write "payable to ..." the merchant that you wish to pay. Utilities and mortgage companies will still accept these checks via mail. This method keeps you from paying out fees to cash a check and get a money order. But there's no way to get change, so if you pay more than is owed, you'll have to let them put the rest on your account as a credit.

INVESTMENT AND WEALTH PRESERVATION.

Inflation eats away at our purchasing

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