Money Blue Book

Cheapskate, Appropriately Frugal, or Brilliantly Simple? You Decide

Well we’ve finally reached the dog days of summer – the hottest stretch of heat sweltering days of July and August. For those of you who live in colder climates, bless your hearts – enjoy the mild temperatures while you can because colder weather will be upon you soon. But for everyone else who lives in a state or region that enjoys four seasons year round with hot and humid summers like I do, it’s time for all of us to get outside and enjoy that nice sunshine warmth.

One of the best ways to get some mild exercise, and enjoy the great outdoors with the family at the same time is to visit an amusement theme park like Six Flags, Busch Gardens, or Disney World. Now you might be thinking to yourself – wait, visiting an amusement isn’t exercise and it sure isn’t the great outdoors. Where is the huffing and puffing, and where are the essential greenery that make up the great outdoors? I guess that’s where you and I differ – I consider the great outdoors to be anywhere that’s not cooped up inside an air conditioned house or apartment on a summer’s day spent watching TV or playing Nintendo Wii. As long as you are out and about, walking around outside, enjoying the sun’s natural Vitamin-D inducing rays, you are immersed in the great outdoors my friend.

In addition, all that walking around, waiting in line, and strolling from roller coaster ride to concession stand is definitely exercise. It’s not exactly running an Olympic marathon, but you’ll likely burn off some needed calories in the process. The last time I went to Six Flags, my poor puppies (my weird slang for feet) ached after walking around all day. I visited the amusement theme park during pre-season so the lines were incredibly short and non existent, prompting me and my travel companion to walk around even faster to ensure we hit every single roller coaster ride and gaming stand by day’s end. It was a fun, but rather tiring and dizzying experience.

You’re Getting Off Track Again – What About The Free Roller Coaster Photos?

Now, anyone who has ever been to one knows that spending a day at the amusement park does not come cheap. In fact, most places are pretty expensive and if you’re not careful about your budget or keep a tight reign on careless spending on snacks and drinks, you mind find yourself blowing more money than expected – just like you do at the movies. At amusement theme parks like Six Flags, you can expect to shell out anywhere from $25 to $50 per person depending on your age and height, and even more on top of that for meals and other gaming experiences. At mega theme parks like Orlando Florida’s Disney World resorts, tickets range anywhere from $70 for young children to more than $160 for adults for multi-park access. Thus, any little thing you can do to cut costs here and there will help you save lots of money in the long run and prevent you from losing your financial mind.

Here’s a little tip I picked up a while back on how to get free roller coaster photographs of yourself and free on-board pictures of your friends at any amusement theme park. After every major roller coaster ride, as you’re walking down the exit ramp rather dizzily from the experience, you’re likely to bump into the ubiquitous roller coaster souvenir photo booth. At the stand you’ll usually find a sales counter along with multiple television monitors mounted high up, cycling through live digital photo shots of roller coaster riders taken in various stages of facial displays ranging from joy and happiness, to sheer terror (but they are usually all funny). The images are all photos automatically taken by strategically mounted on-ride cameras located throughout the track. Oftentimes, the cameras are installed on segments where the riders experience the greatest speed, resulting in a variety of funny displays of wacky and distorted expressions due to excitement, fear, or just plain wind resistance. Sometimes, all occupants of a single roller coaster car are displayed in one photograph, and sometimes only two or four people are displayed at one time. The photos on the display screen are usually numbered and park customers willing to purchase their own can do so. The instant photos are usually available immediately after the ride is over should you choose to buy them – and they frequently come in a variety of specialty trinket forms like T-shirts and key chains. The prices charged however, are frequently expensive rip off prices. A tiny wallet size photo may cost in excess of $15-20 each. Larger photos may be priced as high as $25-$35 each. Keychains and T shirts can easily cost in excess of $25-$45.

For those who want to get their roller coaster photos for free, you’ll have to act fast as soon as the ride is over. Usually the rollercoaster souvenir booth video displays cycle through the most recent ride results from one car to another before moving on to the next set of new vehicle riders. As guests exit the ride, the display screens update the photos with the latest riders, thereby gradually burying the photos of riders that came before. If you want to save some money, take the limited time opportunity to raise up your digital camera, zoom in, and take a direct digital photograph of the display screen when your rollercoaster shot cycles through. You’ll want to act fast as your photo will likely only be flipped through a few times before disappearing for good. If you’re quick, you just might be able to walk away with a high quality, free roller coaster self shot.

The last time I was at Six Flags, I did just that for numerous rides. It sort of baffled me at the time why no one else was doing it though. As soon as I saw the screen display of my friend and I, I raised my Canon Digital Elph sky high to rise above the crowd of riders waiting to buy souvenir photos, and quickly snapped off a few free shots. As soon as I did that, everyone looked at me with eyes widened, and immediately took out their own cameras to do the same – frantically snapping their own self pics as the display screens flipped to images of them. Such frugal tips seem so common-sensical that we oftentimes fail to realize that we can easily get many things for free just by trying.

Financially or Morally Ethical? It’s Up To You – But Remember, You Did Pay The Price Of Your Pricey Admissions Ticket

While I doubt Six Flags, Disney World, Disney Land, Kings Dominion, Busch Gardens, or Cedar Point officials condone this type of free photograph taking, I’ve never noticed any signs or ticket stub fine print restricting this frugal (albeit freeloading) practice. Support the park and pay your $35 roller coaster souvenir photo at Kingda Ka or any other popular ride if you want. However, in my opinion, you’ve already paid for your price of amusement park admission, so you might as well maximize your budget by taking advantage of free photographing opportunities. Once you snap a photo with your digital camera, you can pretty much make as many digital prints as you want.

I suppose the lawyer part of me feels compelled to address one more concern. As for questions about copyright infringement legalities, don’t worry. Copyright laws only protect the rights of actual tangible mediums of expression whether it be an expression of writing, photography, or music. Yes it would be a possible copyright violation if you were to copy the digital photographs off of the souvenir booth computers directly and reproduce them (that might be considered criminal theft as well). But by using your own personal digital camera to take a photograph of the monitor indirectly, you are in the clear. Feel free to snap away. You are now your own paparazzi!

What Do the Credit Card Numbers Mean, and How Are Valid Credit Card Accounts Generated?

Have you ever wondered how credit card companies generate all those account numbers that appear on the face of the credit cards you carry around in your wallet? At first glance the numbers, while neatly arranged, appear to be completely random. But would it surprise you to know that there is indeed meaning and actual mathematical methodology to the way the numbers are sequenced? The process of generating real credit card numbers and validating them based on a proven mathematical formula is not only intriguing on an intellectual level and a hacker’s dream, the carefully calculated way the numbers are ordered is actually quite beautiful and elegant when you come to understand how it works.

Before I get down to explaining the anatomy of credit card numbers and discussing how credit card numbers are generated, I think it’s prudent to remind everyone the intent of this article. The goal of this blog post is not to encourage or get people thinking about how to go out and create fake credit card numbers on their own for improper means. The purpose is to shed some light on the science behind the mathematical sequencing technology of valid credit card numbers and offer some insight into something that many of us frequently see and use everyday, but oftentimes don’t pay much attention to.

Please take in the information provided for purely academic and entertainment reasons. I’m not trying to encourage anyone to create fake credit card numbers and get themselves in trouble with the law. For anyone even thinking about engaging in fake credit card number hacking, keep this in mind – using mathematically generated credit card numbers to purchase products over the Internet or in real life is not only unethical and highly illegal, it’s also not yet technologically possible (yet), based on the sheer probability of long shot odds of 1 in trillions. After reading everything I’m about to say carefully, you’ll also realize that there is no realistic way to generate actual working credit card numbers that could be used for anything but entertainment reasons. The math and science behind generating authentic credit card numbers are only good for validation purposes and not sufficient for creating workable numbers as several highly encrypted numerical components are still needed. So, with that obligatory disclaimer out of the way, here is a short guide on how anyone can generate and verify the authenticity of any credit card number.

Basic Background About Credit Card Numbers and How They Work

Rather than ask you to take out a credit card out of your wallet to examine it, I’ve provided a picture of a prototypical card – in this case, it’s a Visa credit card. While different card types offer different lengths of numerical digits, most major credit card issuers popular in the United States have 16 primary numbers on the front face of the card. Visa, MasterCard, and Discover cards all have 16 digits. American Express is the only major credit card issuer in the U.S. with one less number – at 15 digits. Regardless of the length of numbers, their numerical sequencing is still guided by the same Luhn validation formula, the mathematical check sum equation that makes all valid credit card numbers error free.

As you can see from the picture of the Visa card above, the very first 6 credit card number sequence is known as the issuer identification number (IIN) or bank identification number (BIN). These first 6 numerical digits denote the credit card network and the banking institution the card is a member of. The issuer identifier number also incorporates the card type’s special identifying numerical prefix.

• All typical 16 digit Visa account credit card numbers start with a prefix of 4.
• All 16 digit MasterCard account numbers start with a prefix of 5.
• All 16 digit Discover account numbers start with a prefix of 6011.
• All 15 digit American Express credit card numbers start with a prefix of 37.

There is less randomization during this initial set of 6 digits as the numbers are determined purely by the card issuing source. Validation systems that want to go the extra mile in verifying authenticity oftentimes scan this first numerical sequence to match the known bank and issuing location of the card with the provided customer billing address for further validation accuracy.

The lone digit at the very right end of the complete 15 or 16 digit credit card number sequence is known as the “check digit”, which often is the final number that is computer generated to satisfy the mathematical formulations of the Luhn check sum process. Meanwhile, in between the first 6 digits and the last single check digit is the actual personalized account number – the 8 or 9 digit sequence given by the card issuer. For more basic background information about credit card numbers, check out this credit card features brochure for more useful knowledge about the embossed and printed information found on your typical plastic credit card.

What’s The Secret Behind The Luhn Algorithm, Also Known As The “Modulus 10″ Or “Mod-10″ Formula?

The Luhn Algorithm is the check sum formula used by payment verification systems and mathematicians to verify the sequential integrity of real credit card numbers. It’s used to help bring order to seemingly random numbers and used to prevent erroneous credit card numbers from being cleared for use. The Luhn Algorithm is not used for straight credit card number generation from scratch, but rather utilized as a simple computational way to distinguish valid credit card numbers from random collections of numbers put together. The validation formula also works with most debit cards as well.

The Luhn formula was created and filed as a patent (now freely in the public domain) in 1954 by Hans Peter Luhn of IBM to detect numerical errors found in pre-existing and newly generated identification numbers. Since then, it’s primary use has been in the area of check sum validation, made popular with its use to verify the validity of important sequences such as credit card numbers. Currently, almost all credit card numbers issued today are generated and verified using the Luhn Algorithm or Modulus, Mod-10 Formula. Needless to say, if you come upon some existing credit card numbers that fail the Luhn algorithm when put to the test, it is safe to assume that they are not valid or genuine numbers.

The one thing to keep in mind is that validity in terms of passing the Luhn test only means that it is mathematically valid for computational compliance purposes. It does not guarantee that the credit card number sequence is indeed a working number that is backed up with a valid credit card account on the card issuer’s end. It is not unremarkable for one to artificially generate a mathematically valid credit card number that passes the Luhn validation check, but still ultimately fails as a fake credit card number with no actual substance. The Luhn algorithm only validates the 15-16 digit credit card number and not the other critical components of a genuine working credit card account such as the expiration date and the commonly used Card Verification Value (CVV) and Card Verification Code (CVC) numbers (used to prove physical possession of the debit or credit card).

The Nerdy Process Of Applying The Luhn Algorithm To The Creation and Validation Of Credit Card Number Sequences

For those who hate math or get scared when they encounter a bunch of scary looking mathematical formulas and numerically inspired descriptions, you are not alone. I personally hate math as an academic subject and was rather terrible at it back in high school and college, but if you like visual, thinking puzzles like Sudoku, you’ll like working with the Luhn Algorithm. It’s pretty clever and remarkably well put together. It’s also pretty easy to explain.

1. First, you’ll need to lay out all 15 or 16 numerical digits of the credit or debit card number. The Luhn Algorithm always starts from right to left, beginning with the rightmost digit on the credit card face (the check digit). Starting with the check digit and moving left, double the value of every alternate digit. Non-doubled digits will remain the same. Remember that the check digit is never doubled. For example, if the credit card is a 16 digit Visa card, the check digit would be the rightmost 16th digit. Thus you would double the value of the 15th, 13th, 11th, 9th digits, and so on until all odd digits have been doubled. The even digits would be left the same.
2. For any digit that becomes a two digit number of 10 or more when doubled, add the two digits together. For example, the digit 5 when doubled will become 10, which turns into a 1 (when 1 and 0 are added together). Likewise, the digit 9 when doubled will become 18, which becomes 9 (as 1 and 8 are added together). Obviously, 0 when doubled will remain 0.
3. Now, lay out the new sequence of numbers. The new doubled digits will replace the old digits. Non-doubled digits will remain the same. Thus, you should be able to come up with a new sequence of 15 or 16 numerical digits depending on card type.
4. Add up the new sequence of numbers together to get a sum total. If the combined tally is perfectly divisible by ten (ends in 0, like 60 for example), then the account number is mathematically valid according to the Luhn formula. If not, the credit card number provided is not valid and thus fake or improperly generated.

An Example Of the Luhn Validation Technique In Action – Using Homemade Graphics

For the visual types like myself, let’s use the American Express credit card on the right to better demonstrate the doubling and addition mathematics of the Luhn Algorithm. Follow the numbers and you’ll realize that it’s not as difficult as it may first appear. It’s actually very easy once you get the hang of it. You won’t look at credit card numbers the same way ever again after you get a good grip of it – I assure you. You’ll find yourself testing credit card numbers for fun!

Ignoring the obvious Amex logo on the card, right of the bat it’s clear the account number is that of an American Express number – denoted by the numerical prefix – “37″. Now let’s crunch the numbers through the Luhn Algorithm using the following displayed Amex credit card number: 3759-876543-21001. It doesn’t matter if the credit card number sequence has 15 numbers like the American Express or 16 numbers like Visa, MasterCard, or Discover, the Luhn validation check should be able to verify whether this card number is a mathematically authentic credit card number regardless. Follow the Luhn steps from #1 to #4 below, starting with the rightmost check digit.

In this case, the total calculated sum was 57, which is not divisible by 10 (the added up sum does not end with zero). Thus the number fails the Luhn Algorithm validation check. According to the Luhn test, this particular Amex credit card number is completely bogus and fake. The numbers were likely randomly slapped together. To make this particular set of numbers Luhn compliant and error free, all we would have to do is change the all important “check digit” number from 1 to a 4, which would result in a total sum of 60, thereby becoming Luhn compliant.

If you want to test this mathematical theory out in real life, I recommend pulling out your own credit cards and spending a few seconds to run a quick Luhn screening on them just for your own amusement and education. Pretty neat isn’t it? If you want another credit card number to test on, try using the credit card number that is displayed on the cartoon “VIZA Card” [sic] that Bart Simpson is holding up in the graphic at the top right of this article – the card is in the name of “Rod Flanders”, and the credit card number is: 8525-4941-2525-4158. Tip: Just by looking at the prefix numbers you probably should already be able to tell that the account number’s completely random and fake.

Use The Luhn Formula To Validate Existing Accounts But Don’t Attempt To Create and Use Fake Credit Card Numbers

Now with this new found knowledge, keep in mind you still won’t be able to randomly generate genuine workable credit card numbers. The Luhn theory only allows you to generate mathematically compliant credit card test numbers, not hack workable ones. Besides, without valid expiration dates, and valid CVV2, CVC2, or CID numbers (the special security codes printed on the back or front of credit cards as additional authentication measures), you still wouldn’t be able to legitimately use your self generated numbers to run credit transactions anyway.

Cracking and hacking the security codes found on credit cards is currently impossible. To calculate a workable 3 digit CVV2 security code, the algorithm requires a primary account number (PAN), the 4 digit expiration date, a special 3 digit service code, and a pair of DES keys. With such heavy encryption and billions to trillions of numerical possibilities, unless you have God-like mental processing power and a fleet of super computers at your disposal, you won’t be able to use brute force guessing attempts to crack the codes.

While it’s good to use this type of information to education yourself on the inner workings of credit cards and mathematical validation theory, it’s best to stay away from trying to further crack the secret of credit card codes to come up with free workable account numbers. Don’t use the Luhn Algorithm for anything else but personal entertainment and amusement.  Please don’t go around trying to generate a list of fake credit card numbers on your own and trying to buy stuff with them. I know some of you out there may be tempted to try, but you’ll just get yourself in trouble.

While I have my own convenient and jack-rabbity-fast high speed broadband connection at home, sometimes I just want to get out of the house for a change of scenery. Ever since I began the gradual transition from traditional office life to the work from home routine, I’ve noticed that it can sometimes be pretty boring working from the confines of one’s own house or apartment all the time. While working from home on the computer is great because it’s nice to be your own boss, loneliness and lack of human contact can become troubling issues, especially if you are working by yourself all the time. While it’s certainly very convenient to do business related work from one’s home office (necessary supplies, kitchen amenities, and even bathroom conveniences are only a few steps away), the work at home experience can be plagued by boredom and frequent feelings of isolation. Once in a while, I just want to pick up my laptop and head out to some cafe, restaurant, or public location, and momentarily work at an Internet accessible place where there’s random people milling about. That way I don’t feel so cut off from the real world.

One’s Home Office Can Be Any Cafe, Restaurant, Or Public Park With Free WiFi and Electrical Outlet Access

Since I’m trying to transition into running my own home based businesses full time and no longer work frequent contract attorney projects as a result, I no longer have an Internet equipped office computer outside of my home that I can go to everyday to get me in the right day job mindset. Sometimes it’s difficult to work from home because it just doesn’t feel like a real work zone and it’s so easy to get distracted and sidetracked. After all, my bedroom, home office desk computer, and television entertainment gadgets are only a few feet apart from each other. So at least once or twice a week, I enjoy driving out to local public places to swap my home office for a more productive working environment.

As a savvy saver and frugal fellow, I prefer to seek out suitable local neighborhood businesses and public work spaces that offer free but necessary business amenities like convenient restroom access, proximity to drinks and food, and most important of all – free or very affordable wireless internet access. While not all places provide truly free wireless Internet for customers (instead requiring them to purchase usage time or limiting free surfing to only an hour or two), there are places that do provide this particular perk. Free Wi-Fi hotspots are everywhere – at the mall, the park, in public places where people gather – you just need to know where to look. Many major fast food chain restaurants and many sit down coffee cafe shops provide free wireless hotspot services for customers to enjoy. Often times they don’t even require you to purchase anything – although I’d recommend that you at least buy a coffee or a light snack. You don’t need to purchase a three course meal, but on principle, you don’t want to be a freeloader do you? Speaking of eating and working at the same time, I do however at times question the wisdom of placing an expensive laptop in very close proximity to food and drink. Just be careful – your laptop and your caramel macchiato drink don’t mix!

The last few days, I purposely visited various popular WiFi hotspot locations to confirm and inspect the business’ free wireless Internet service offerings. Below, I’ve listed the places I’ve found to be the most widely available and easily found free wireless Internet locales. So long as you have a portable notebook computer that is WiFi enabled that you can suitably lug around, you are good to go for free web surfing. All you’ll need to do is run the wireless signal manager, search for the target business’ public wireless network name (also called the SSID), and you should be able to connect instantly to the WiFi service. For habitual free WiFi hotspot seekers who browse the Internet for hours at a time, I recommend investing in extra long lasting laptop batteries. Some of the places below either don’t offer electrical outlets for customers to use, or simply don’t have sufficient numbers to go around.

Some Of The Top WiFi Hotspot Places To Enjoy Free Wireless Internet

1) Panera Bread – This place is one of my favorite free wireless hotspot destinations for unlimited use. Panera has become a very popular choice for young professionals and home business types who want a relaxing place to access the web for free, while enjoying a tasty sandwich, hot soup, or one of their delicious salads at the same time (please bring back the Fuji apple chicken salad). There are lots of tables and electrical outlets available, but single Internet users should focus on the small tables, and leave the bigger ones for groups. The cafe is a common meeting location for small businesses and sometimes you’ll see such meetings take place in corners – as the place has sort of a trendy, Internet cafe vibe to it (at least that’s the case for the one near where I live). Panera Bread is a popular choice for free WiFi seekers but its popularity also causes greater strain on the shared Internet connection. I found the WiFi access speed to be very slow during peak usage times. Avoid using the WiFi from 12 pm to 2 pm if you can since that is when most people try to get on. Panera also heavily filters out many (ahem) questionable websites – I’m sure some of you hanky panky web surfers are disappointed.

2) Corner Bakery – Right around the corner (pun very much intended) is the Corner Bakery, which offers free WiFi for unlimited use and is also a great place to relax, eat, and surf the web for free. There is no obligation to buy anything either, although Corner Bakery offers quite a selection of pretty decent pastas, sandwiches, and soups. Corner Bakery franchises seem to be located mostly in the major states. As for the WiFi, I think few people are aware that Corner Bakery offers free wireless Internet for patrons, which probably explains why there’s less connection crowding. The WiFi speeds were much faster and less congested than that offered by other restaurants, including Panera. Electrical outlets are not plentiful, but they are available at certain tables.

3) McDonald’s – While McDonald’s used to charge for extended wireless Internet usage at participating restaurants, they’ve recently started to offer free unlimited WiFi use. Free WiFi access is now being offered at most McDonald locations. There is no obligation to buy – just power up your laptop computer and surf to your heart’s content. However, you might want to get used to nosy people peeking at your screen over your shoulder – McDonald restaurants are usually filled with all sorts of interesting characters. Also, aside from the unhealthy aspects of McDonald’s fast food choices, one other big problem with McDonald’s is that their restaurants lack electrical outlets. I wasn’t able to find a single outlet for my laptop.

4) Starbucks - While Starbucks coffee shops have started to offer free wireless internet access for coffee and tea drinking customers, this top free WiFi hotspot needs a little asterisk next to it. While WiFi use at Starbucks is indeed free, it’s only currently free for a single use of two consecutive hours at a time. Since Starbucks switched from T-Mobile to AT&T, customers must now register their Starbucks Card and use it at least once a month (buy a drink with it), to receive two consecutive hours a day of free internet use. While it’s not unlimited use, I needed to mention Starbucks, if only because of the fact that they have locations almost everywhere.

5) Caribou Coffee – I like Caribou coffee drinks much more than the unremarkable ones brewed at Starbucks, so I prefer to hang out at Caribou more often than I do at Starbucks. However, Caribou locations are not as widely available as Starbucks. But at Caribou, WiFi internet use is completely free and usage is unlimited. There is no demand that you actually purchase a drink, but it’s probably advisable to do so as a courtesy. If you want to use your laptop in a trendy environment decked out in wood to look like some type of ski lodge, Caribou’s the place to be. Plus, their daily trivia questions are not only whimsically interesting, but getting them right can also help you save a few cents off your drink!

6) Schlotzsky’s – Schlotzsky’s, like the slogan says, has a funny name, but provides serious sandwiches. If you enjoy relatively healthy deli sandwiches, subs, and wraps, this is a nice place to hang out. This New York style deli sandwich chain provides free wireless Internet access for its customers through its Cool Cloud wireless network. Most locations also provide free computer workstations for laptop-less customers to jump online and browse.

7) Public Library – While there seems to be plenty of odd and quirky folks who hang out at public libraries, not to mention the hordes of kids everywhere, I like public libraries, mostly because of the comfortable presence of people that it affords work at home entrepreneurs like myself. Most local libraries provide a wealth of free county sponsored services, including free wireless Internet access. Your tax dollars pay for them so you might as well take full advantage when you can. Most public county libraries also have free computers for patrons to use although sometimes you’ll need to sign up for a library card to access them. Because there are usually a large number of simultaneously connected users, public library connections are notoriously slower than average. I recommend bringing along electrical extension cords in case available electrical outlets are not conveniently located next to your desired table. Based on my observations, public libraries seem less strict about patrons stringing cables and cords around anyway.

8) Local University Library or Study Lounge – I recently returned to my alma mater’s university library to see if I could still access the library’s internet connections for free. Unfortunately my old school doesn’t provide free WiFi access for non active students, even for an alumnus such as myself. Students are required to log onto the network with secured passwords, and unauthorized laptops are denied Internet access. However, at another local college, I was able to access the school’s free wireless signal from a study lounge area, despite not being a student there. While not exactly publicly available, the signal wasn’t restricted. If you’re lucky to find a free university library WiFi signal, you’re quite fortunate. University wireless signals tend to be extremely fast and rarely congested – perfect for home business workers who want a change of scenery.

9) Unsecured Wireless Router – This one is controversial, but another interesting way to work somewhere besides from your home computer is to find a public work space where you can obtain a freely available WiFi signal from some random person’s wireless router. While most home network owners are getting better at securing and protecting their wireless broadcast signals, there are still some people who either purposely choose not to or neglect to do so (like my neighbor). If you don’t have ethical qualms about doing so, it’s an option. Be careful though, open wireless networks make it easy for hackers and evil-doers to access your computer and intercept data that you submit through the connection. I don’t think it’s very likely as it requires some fancy knowhow, but it’s a possibility. Keep in mind, while I’ve done this before in the past, this grey area practice is fraught with debatable legal issues.

10) Public Parks or Certain Downtown Areas – In the downtown city area close to where I live, my local city government has decided to shell out money to provide free public WiFi access for all city residents that frequent the heavily trafficked area. The wireless signal area is populated by restaurants, shops, and lots of open sitting spaces – perfect for those who desire to work on the Internet and enjoy the great outdoors at the same time. In major metropolitan areas like New York City, there are lots of public places where the city government has provided complimentary wireless Internet signals for free public use. The only drawback with these places is that electrical outlets are usually nonexistent.

Oh great – well I hope this article doesn’t foretell or signify a trend that’s going to be widely picked up by the gas industry in the coming future. While they’ve been one of the most credit card friendly industries in the past, some gas station chains are apparently starting to scale back their payment options in favor of cash due to diminishing profit margins caused by higher gas prices and rising credit card interchange fees. The credit card interchange fee, a percentage of the total sales price paid to credit card companies by the merchant on every transaction, is usually fixed at somewhere just under 2% – but the dollar amount of the fee rises with the price of the goods or services. As gas prices have risen dramatically, so have the credit card acceptance fees that gas pump merchants pay, drastically cutting into their profitability.

I Always Use My Credit Card To Pay For Gas And Don’t Intend To Change This Payment Practice Anytime Soon

While I understand why some gas station owners and advocates are pushing for the move back to cash payment only for gas purchases, I hope this is not an emerging or widely adopted trend. Paying cash at the pump may work for some, but it’s not going to fly for me.

I take frequent road trips and one of the most appreciated benefits of fueling at the gas pump is the ability to easily slide into a gas station off the freeway, punch in my prepayment, fuel up, and get out quickly. With a gas credit card, I can do that easily. With just a quick swipe and the press of a few buttons on the automated gas pump, my car is instantly refueled without hassle. With cash payment, not only is the practice comparatively more time consuming, but it’s a major inconvenience for those of us who have grown dependent on using our credit cards to pay for everything. I rarely carry more than $50 worth of emergency cash in my wallet and dislike the annoyance of walking around with dollar bills and loose coins jiggling around in my pockets. My efficient credit card usage habit also stems from my view that handling paper money is inherently dirty and unsanitary. I’m by no means a germa-phobe, but I feel that money is one of those heavily transacted items that you never truly know where it’s been before. For all I know, the bills were last taken out and manhandled by some hairy, sweaty dude while he was sitting in a bathroom stall doing his business somewhere. Hey, you never know. With my personal credit cards, at least I know where they’ve been and while I’ve never actually cleaned them before, they are at least washable.

I don’t know what I would do if gas stations suddenly and uniformly stopped accepting credit card payments due to their displeasure at having to pay spiraling credit card interchange fees. While I sort of vaguely sympathize with their declining profit margin plight (not really), as an oil consumer, I’m bound to take my gas business elsewhere to a place that does accept credit cards. The convenience of using my trusty gas rebate credit card to pay for gas and earn cash back rewards at the same time is not something I’m willing to give up anytime soon. I’ve been known to stop at a low priced gas station only to drive off immediately after finding out the place only accepted cash payment.

In the Washington D.C. region, there is a chain of el-cheapo gas stations called Free State that is known for offering greatly discounted gas at prices that’s frequently much lower than that offered by more recognized competitors. However, the biggest downside is that they only accept cash payment. Obviously this is to keep prices low and avoid having to pay merchant fees to credit card companies for each credit card transaction. But for heavy credit card users like myself, this is a complete deal breaker. While I see them everywhere along my driving route, I always avoid Free State gas stations because of their cash only payment policy. I would rather drive across the street to a slightly more expensive gas pump than deal with the inconvenience and hassle of paying by cash. It’s just one of those expected perks in life that I’ve come to insist on and demand. Other local gas station chains sometimes offer discounts for cash payments, but I would still rather pay the slightly higher fuel rate just to have the benefit of paying by plastic. Besides, any potential cash payment discount offered by the pump owner will be unlikely to offset the nice gas credit card rewards that I earn using my usual method of payment. I don’t expect or intend to give that perk up anytime soon as long as they are around.

I Have Also Come To Rely On The Budget Tracking Benefits That Credit Card Usage Affords Me

It’s not just the convenience and speed at which credit card payment at the gas pump affords me, it’s also the record keeping benefits as well. I pay by credit card at gas stations, restaurants, and everywhere else because it affords me convenient and reliable expense tracking. Payment by cash requires me to retain all of my paper receipts to keep track of total monthly spending. Credit card payments on the other hand allow me to permanently record and retain transaction dates and pricing information on my credit card statement to access at a later time of my choosing. I can easily log onto my online account from home to review the frequency of gasoline fill ups and the amount of money spent per visit with a just few key strokes.

Change Might Be A Good Catch Phrase For Politics, But It’s Bad When It Comes To How I Pay For Gas

Knowing the pervasive and established nature of credit card payment at the pump, I think most major gas stations like Exxon Mobil, Shell, BP, and Sunoco are unlikely to go cash only no matter how high gas prices may go, and no matter how badly their financial bottom lines will be hurt by having to pay higher transaction fees. Such brand name gas stations are likely to find other ways to cut costs than deprive consumers of this important convenience. Besides, switching to cash only would probably hurt their revenue stream more detrimentally than any potential cost saving benefits from going all cash due to loss of business volume. They’d lose the patronage of gas guzzling, dinosaur liquid loving, weekend road warriors like myself.