Brielle Biermann’s Striped Maxi Dress on Instagram

Don’t Be Tardy Instagram Fashion 2020

Considering her show has been tardy in making a comeback to our screens in 2020, it’s definitely been a minute since we’ve reported on Brielle Biermann here on our site. However she’s totally caught our attention on Instagram with this super cute striped maxi dress that she wore while celebrating her birthday in the Bahamas (pre-social distancing obvs), which we have to say paired perfectly with the beachy backdrop and her fabulous Big Blonde Brown Hair. 

Fashionably,

Faryn

Click Here to Shop Her LoveShackFancy Dress on Sale

Photos: @BrielleBiermann

Originally posted at: Brielle Biermann’s Striped Maxi Dress

No matter how much money we make, most of us go through life without really ever getting control of our finances. While we are building our careers, we worry more about increasing our income than decreasing our costs. And, “small” charges like unwanted website subscriptions or the occasional overdraft fee fall by the wayside.

Then, as we start to approach retirement, things start to change. Even if we still have stable jobs, we start to realize that we have fewer peak-earning years ahead of us than behind us. And, as we check our retirement accounts, we suddenly discover that we aren’t as prepared for 20-30 years in retirement as we thought we would be.

So, determined
not to end up on the street in “the best years of our lives,” we start to
tighten our belts and look for ways to reduce our costs. Some of us actually
manage to do this before we retire, but, the great majority of us wait until we
are forced to reduce our spending.

Unfortunately, after years of fairly relaxed spending, many of us have forgotten the art of fighting for every single penny.

So, today, I wanted to focus on one example of how we can reduce our monthly expenses… not because it is a huge cost, but, because it is symbolic of the small little financial piranhas that nibble away at our financial future.

What Are Overdraft Fees?

Of course, you
probably already know this by now, but, since most of us don’t pay attention to
them when we have a regular salary payment going into our accounts, it’s not a
bad idea to do a quick review.

Overdraft fees
are additional charges that your bank takes when you spend more money from your
checking account than you actually have. Or to put it another way, overdraft
fees are what the bank charges you for spending money that you don’t have.

In absolute
dollar terms, overdraft fees aren’t the end of the world. You might be charged
$35 for a single transaction. But, if you’re not careful, you can get multiple
transaction fees in a single day, which can add up… especially if you are
already in retirement and are relying on a fixed income.

The crazy thing is that while overdraft facilities are often portrayed as “services,” they are really only good for two things: 1. Collecting fees for the bank and 2. Making sure transactions go through – once again, this benefits the bank, who doesn’t want commerce to slow down for any reason. After all, the more people spend, the more they make.

Just how big of a business are overdraft fees for the big banks? According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), banks made $11.16 Billion from insufficient funds fees in 2015. That’s 8% of their entire revenue base.

No wonder they want to keep them around!

How to Get Your Overdraft Fees Waved (Including My Own Script)

Banks walk a
tight line when it comes to fees. On the one hand, they make tons of cash by
nickeling-and-diming their customers. On the other hand, thanks to new
innovations in the financial space, it has never been easier to switch banks if
you are unhappy with your current one. As a result, the bank will go quite far
to keep you as a customer.

The easiest
way to get an overdraft fee waved is simply to ask for it. If you have been a
good customer for several years, the bank should be willing to help. And, if
not, what does that say about how much they value your relationship?

The good news is that, most of the time, you can get an overdraft fee waved with a single call. Here’s an example of a less than 5-minute conversation that I had several years ago.

Margaret:
“Hi! I just noticed an overdraft fee on my statement. This is the first time
that this has happened to me and I’d really love to get this waved. Is this
something that you can help me with?”

Note: I’m
asking him to “help me.” This puts us both on the same side of the table.

Bank Representative: “Well, first, thanks for being a loyal Bank of Many Fees customer. I’d love to help you, but, unfortunately, our overdraft policy doesn’t give me any flexibility. I’m really sorry. Is there anything else that I can help you with today?”

Margaret:
“I totally understand what you’re saying. Here’s the thing… I’ve been with your
bank for 10 years. I’ve always payed my bills on time and this is my first
overdraft fee. Is there any way that you could make an exception in this case?
I really appreciate your help.

Note: I
always find that it’s best to acknowledge a person’s situation (“I understand
what you’re saying…”) and I find that “here’s the thing…” is a nice gentle way
to voice an objection.

Bank
Representative: Let me just check something. Can I put you on hold for 1
minute? [Elevator music] You know, I just checked and I think that we’ll be
able to make an exception in this case. I’ll go ahead and take care of this. Is
there anything else that I can do for you today?

Note: Bank representatives
will almost never say “yes” to a request that costs the bank money on the first
try. But, in my experience, if you are polite but firm, you can usually get
them to say yes eventually.

If you
continue to get a negative response, I find that speaking to a supervisor
usually does the trick. Sometimes, the bank representative that you are
initially connected with is just having a bad day and there is nothing wrong
with going around them. Or, you could call back a bit later and speak with
another representative.

How to Stop Overdraft Fees Forever

The easiest
way to avoid overdraft fees is to opt out of overdraft protection. When you do
this, any transaction requests that exceed the amount of money that you have in
your account will simply be rejected.

So, if there
is such a simple solution to overdraft fees, why don’t more people take
advantage of it? Because banks convince them that overdraft protection is a
service. It’s all about spin and marketing taking precedence over what is
actually good for the customer.

If you want to
opt out of overdraft protection, simply contact your bank. Ask them to confirm
that, once you opt out, any transactions that exceed the amount in your account
will be declined with no additional fees to you. And, voila! Less money for the
bank = more money in your pocket!

It’s Only $35! Who Cares?

At the end of
the day, this article really isn’t about getting overdraft fees waved. It is
about developing your negotiating muscles. It is about refusing to accept
charges which, while small individually, add up to hundreds (or thousands) of
dollars.

The truth is that most people fail at negotiating because they fail to negotiate. Or, they fail to persist when they get an initial “no.”

Overdraft fees are a great place to start training your negotiating skills because they involve low-risk discussions. Then, when you are negotiating something bigger, like a rental agreement or debt reduction plan, you’ll have some experience to draw on.

Besides, if you are ignoring small feels (like a $35 overdraft charge), chances are you are also missing other avoidable costs. It’s all about taking control of the little things so that they don’t distract you from the big things in life.

Have you ever managed to get an overdraft fee waived? How did your conversation go? What other small fees or costs have you eliminated as you have started to think about retirement? Let’s have a conversation!

Sonja Morgan and Dorinda Medley’s Face Masks in The Hamptons

Real Housewives of New York Season 12 Episode 4 Fashion

For those of us wondering how the RHONY ladies have the magical ability to wake up looking fresh as a daisy after a night of drinking more than college girls at a frat party, we finally got an answer from Sonja Morgan and Dorinda Medley on this week’s episode in The Hamptons: patch face masks. Which may not erase your antics from the night before, however still seem like a perfect way to save face.

Fashionably,

Faryn

Click Here to Shop the SiO Beauty Facelift Pack

Click Here to Shop the Super LipLift Patches

Click Here to Shop the Super EyeLift Patches

Click Here to Shop More SiO Beauty Products

Info: @SonjaTMorgan

Click Here to See Sonja’s Sold Out Sonja By Sonja Morgan Pajamas

Dorinda’s Pajamas are Sold Out at J.Crew

Originally posted at: Sonja Morgan and Dorinda Medley’s Face Masks

In normal times, my children fly into my life in Miami like the wind, often resembling a soft and balmy breeze, though at times their visits can feel more like a hurricane. They bring precious cargo, my 10 grandchildren, who fill every space in my house – and also my heart – with pleasure and laughter.

They remind me of the urgency of little ones, their wants and needs and their wonder and delight in the simplest of things. My house becomes small in their presence. They fill up and own every space they choose to enter just like their parents did before them.

Now these visits have had to stop. Two of my daughters live in Singapore, my son lives in Georgia, and my eldest in Ottawa, Canada. The consolation is that even if they lived close by, I still would not be able to see them in person.

… And We’re Locked In

With the advent of Covid-19, the biggest expression of love and caring that we can offer our loved ones is to stay away from them. To be home and stay home. In my case, that’s where the Internet comes to the rescue.

Being able to see their faces, I feel so fortunate to be living in this current technological age that gives me access to immediate forms of communication like Skype, Zoom, Facetime, and WhatsApp to keep in touch and current with their present realities, and mine.

Using Technology to Give and Express Love

I pat myself on the back for having embraced working with my computer many years ago and now feel very comfortable with the many uses that I give it daily.

“Mr. Google” is my good friend. Facebook may have issues, but for me, it is a way to connect with friends all around the world and see what they post about their interests and opinions.

With Instagram I can share the work I do in my studio not only with my family but also with people who come to check out my latest work.

My son kiddingly tells me, “Mom, you have entirely too much technology,” when I tell him about my newest gadget or app. He doesn’t fool me.

I know he’s also proud that I know how to use my gizmos and use them I do, mainly to be connected with my tribe and the rest of my family and friends – even those who live in the same time zone – some a few minutes away but now living in isolation.

My new way of life consists of offering the littlest ones in Singapore a class called “Art with Abu,” short for Abuela – Grandma in Spanish. When they visit, they love to spend time in my studio, so the next best thing is getting a video narrated and drawn by me with a simple project to complete.

Then their parents make a video to show me the results with the child in question proudly displaying their drawing or painting while they describe how they completed it. They look forward to getting my video in the morning.

I have transferred the weekly creative writing class that I teach in person to Zoom where we can see and listen to each other’s stories for around an hour and a half. I have taught many reticent seniors to get online and join our fun meetings now that we can’t do it in person.

It is such a joy for me to see their happy expressions when they connect and see their classmates on their screens and for a while forget loneliness and worry. By popular demand, we are now meeting twice a week.

The class extends to the budding authors in my own family, and I love to hear the stories that I assign to them. Eva, one of my twin granddaughters in Canada, used Facetime last week to ask if I knew the song “Fly me to the Moon” and then proceeded to sing it for me with her sweet crystal-clear voice.

I taught her “Itsy bitsy teeny weenie yellow polka dot bikini,” and we giggled while I played it on Spotify and sang it with her. Little moments like that are super special for me and for the kids.

Computer Skills Finally Pay Off

My grandchildren know that we have to postpone visits for a while, but there is a bond that my children and I have worked very hard to establish and maintain which involves much more than letting a pandemic distance us and keep us from being part of each other’s lives.

Thanks to my experience with the Internet I was fully prepared for this Covid-19 situation of social distancing. I am never alone for long. Love comes in many forms. For me at the moment, it resides in my trusty Mac where all the people I care for hang out these days. All I have to do is open my laptop.

How do you connect with your grandchildren in this time of self-isolation? What do you do with them? What interesting projects have you completed together? What tools do you use the most and what do you think about their usefulness? Please share with the rest of our confined ladies!