Everyday Cheapskate

Dear Mary: I read your recent column "Using a Debit Card Online Is Dangerous to Your Wealth." I have credit card debt that I'm trying to pay off. I use my debit card online so I don't add to my debt. Now, I understand that is risky. How should those of us who either don't want to use credit cards or don't even have credit cards make purchases online? — Jamie S., Kentucky

Dear Jamie: Have you considered a PayPal account? This is an account that connects to your checking account. You can use PayPal online to protect your purchases, thereby precluding the need to use a credit or debit card. Check it out at http://www.paypal.com.

Dear Mary: I was recently divorced. We removed my ex-husband's name from our shared checking account. I noticed that our credit line VISA account ($33,000) and our reserve line ($7,000) still includes his name. I called the bank. They said we need to close the existing joint accounts and apply separately. Of course, this will impact my credit score. Both of our scores are 800. How should I handle this? Do I just have to take the hit to my score? — C.W., Minnesota

Dear C.W.: Your choices are two: Leave the accounts as they are and trust that your ex-husband will not run up debt on them (I would not advise it, but it's a choice you have) or close the accounts as the bank suggested. Divorce is an ugly thing and you are facing one of the many fallouts.

But take heart. If your score is 800, you will not have a difficult time opening an account in your name alone.

I think that sometimes we have the tendency to obsess inappropriately over our credit scores, giving them far too much power in our lives. Just continue to do the right thing and your score will reflect that.

Dear Mary: I have always had a problem with rodents, specifically mice. Usually, I get it under control in the winter. This year, nothing is working, and I no longer have pets to control them. The mice snap traps and take the food without getting caught. Sticky traps don't work, and I have plugged holes with steel wool. I hear them running through the heating ducts and between the walls in our house. I have used poison, but they take it and store it for later which results in a terrible odor. Do you have any clever ways to solve my mouse problem? — Amy C., e-mail

Dear Amy: Not all problems can be solved by amateurs. If you are not willing to peacefully cohabitate with these varmints, accept the fact that you have reached your personal level of rodent incompetence. Call an exterminator.

Do you have a question for Mary? E-mail her at mary@everydaycheapskate.com, or write to Everyday Cheapskate, P.O. Box 2135, Paramount, CA 90723. Mary Hunt is the founder of www.DebtProofLiving.com and author of 18 books, including "Can I Pay My Credit Card Bill With a Credit Card?" To find out more about Mary and read her past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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