Now that the heat of summer has is in full effect and dreams of Christmas in July have gone, many local stores are doing their best to remind patrons that Fall is just around the corner. Walmart hasn't quite put up their Christmas decorations yet...
What they really want to know is, "Have you started saving for Christmas?"
While it's true that banks are not offering the best interest rates right now (average of local banks in the Norman area is around 0.5%), now is a good time to start a savings account, or start seriously contributing to the one you have, and keep contributing throughout the year.
The third quarter earnings are going to be very high for a lot of regional banks, which have been benefiting from the record low mortgage rates and strong feelings of insecurity and distrust in national bank chains, which will push up interest rates on all deposit items (savings accounts, money markets, and CDs). These reports will be released internally by the end of October and externally in November, usually in time for Black Friday. August and September are also months when most banks offer specials on some deposit accounts, such as CD's and first time checking accounts for college students.
Many banks offer a "Christmas Club" Savings account, which will only allow deposits until November, when it will either send out a check for the balance of the account, transfer the funds to a pre assigned checking account, or send a out a prepaid Visa. These accounts are separate from normal savings accounts so emergency funds aren't confused with Christmas money. Christmas Savings accounts sometimes have differing interest rates from normal savings accounts, since they function as an 11 month rolling deposit CD.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
False Choice in Public Option Debate
As I was watching the news this morning, the anchor and his interviewee kept saying how scared Americans are about their employers opting to support the “public option” rather than continue contracts with private health insurance providers and I thought to myself, “How is that different than any other year?”
Last year, my dad’s company changed insurance providers, as many companies do every year. My dad lost a significant portion of his vision coverage and his optometrist is no longer on the ‘in network’ provider list. And yet his premiums and deductible are higher. When he reviewed his health care package in January, there were no multiple choices for insurance providers, just different plans offered by the same provider.
Also last year, my insurance provider also raised their premiums and lowered coverage. The health insurance offered by my company doesn’t cover labs, x-rays, or medications for asthma. Now it’s little more than a discount plan. And I’m on the ‘optimum’ plan offered by my company. Again, when I went through my enrollment in December of 08, there is only one company listed, and the option to go to Afflac for a stopgap plan.
My grandma is the widow of a retiree of GM. She recently lost her dental coverage since GM’s collapse. She’s going in this week for a biopsy. She had cancer as a young adult and recently found a lesion that could be a recurrence, or so I expect the insurance company will claim. Her previous cancer was on her eye, which was removed when she was 26. The lesion is on her kidney some 52 years later.
So am I afraid that my company will opt for the public option? Not really. It couldn’t possibly be worse than what my company currently offers and I might even get vision coverage (not currently offered by my employer or my fiancé’s). And who knows, if it saves enough money, maybe they’ll be able offer all of us a miniscule raise to opt out. Is my dad afraid that his company will opt out? No. His company has enough employees in other countries that opting out wouldn’t make sense. As for my gran, she’s a conservative Republican who’s afraid that the public option won’t pass and she won’t be able to pay for long term care unless she sells her house.
The other major concern that has been raised by the opponents of the public option is that there will be ‘long lines’ to see our doctors.
For the last three months, I’ve been trying to get my doctor to call in a prescription and make an appointment. I have gotten the office several times, and finally succeeded in getting the appointment, but haven’t had any luck with the prescription she said was necessary when I was in her office. I finally went in to the office to try to get one of the nurse’s to write it out. I waited 20 minutes and was eventually told to call again and go home (Yes, I am getting a new doctor). The appointment I got? The first opening was in August. That’s a wait time of approximately 45 days from when I spoke with the office. That’s a wait of 70 to 80 days from the day that she asked me to make the appointment. The lines for treatment by specialists in Canadian hospitals are between 46 days for cancer patients and 18 weeks (126 days) for non-life threatening treatments. So my poor Dr is already acting like she’s operating in Canada.
To be fair, I also called my dentist last week with a concern and his office asked me, “Are you free right now?” I was in and back to playing WOW in less than thirty minutes. And the wait for my primary care physician is usually fairly low, so if I call thinking I have the flu, I can see him next week when I’m feeling better.
Last year, my dad’s company changed insurance providers, as many companies do every year. My dad lost a significant portion of his vision coverage and his optometrist is no longer on the ‘in network’ provider list. And yet his premiums and deductible are higher. When he reviewed his health care package in January, there were no multiple choices for insurance providers, just different plans offered by the same provider.
Also last year, my insurance provider also raised their premiums and lowered coverage. The health insurance offered by my company doesn’t cover labs, x-rays, or medications for asthma. Now it’s little more than a discount plan. And I’m on the ‘optimum’ plan offered by my company. Again, when I went through my enrollment in December of 08, there is only one company listed, and the option to go to Afflac for a stopgap plan.
My grandma is the widow of a retiree of GM. She recently lost her dental coverage since GM’s collapse. She’s going in this week for a biopsy. She had cancer as a young adult and recently found a lesion that could be a recurrence, or so I expect the insurance company will claim. Her previous cancer was on her eye, which was removed when she was 26. The lesion is on her kidney some 52 years later.
So am I afraid that my company will opt for the public option? Not really. It couldn’t possibly be worse than what my company currently offers and I might even get vision coverage (not currently offered by my employer or my fiancé’s). And who knows, if it saves enough money, maybe they’ll be able offer all of us a miniscule raise to opt out. Is my dad afraid that his company will opt out? No. His company has enough employees in other countries that opting out wouldn’t make sense. As for my gran, she’s a conservative Republican who’s afraid that the public option won’t pass and she won’t be able to pay for long term care unless she sells her house.
The other major concern that has been raised by the opponents of the public option is that there will be ‘long lines’ to see our doctors.
For the last three months, I’ve been trying to get my doctor to call in a prescription and make an appointment. I have gotten the office several times, and finally succeeded in getting the appointment, but haven’t had any luck with the prescription she said was necessary when I was in her office. I finally went in to the office to try to get one of the nurse’s to write it out. I waited 20 minutes and was eventually told to call again and go home (Yes, I am getting a new doctor). The appointment I got? The first opening was in August. That’s a wait time of approximately 45 days from when I spoke with the office. That’s a wait of 70 to 80 days from the day that she asked me to make the appointment. The lines for treatment by specialists in Canadian hospitals are between 46 days for cancer patients and 18 weeks (126 days) for non-life threatening treatments. So my poor Dr is already acting like she’s operating in Canada.
To be fair, I also called my dentist last week with a concern and his office asked me, “Are you free right now?” I was in and back to playing WOW in less than thirty minutes. And the wait for my primary care physician is usually fairly low, so if I call thinking I have the flu, I can see him next week when I’m feeling better.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Cash or Credit?
Let’s face it, carrying cash, while a good budgeting strategy, is dangerous and passé. But how much risk are you putting yourself in if you carry only cards?
I have CID written on the back of all my plastic, but I rarely get asked for my ID, even at stores I don’t frequent. A debit card may have a spending limit of around $1,500 for pinned purchases and $2,500 for signature based transactions. For people with Overdraft Protection, that could put an account negative thousands before Overdraft fees if a debit card is stolen. When I was a call center employee for a local bank, I would get calls from people who hadn’t seen their debit card in weeks and not know why they were over drawn, let alone where the card was used. “Who’s PCC anyway?” they’d ask. (Answer: Stripes gas station and deli)
While Visa will guarantee returning funds on credit and debit purchases made fraudulently, the process for funds being returned can take up to 90 days. Many banks will give immediate credit for disputed transactions, for differing definitions of “immediate,” and only if their dispute process is followed exactly, and occasionally involves additional information requests which customers can’t provide, such as, “Who was using your card? Do you know who might have used your card?” If it turns out fraudulent transactions were made by a friend or family member, banks will ask permission to prosecute or remove the credit given to the account.
Of course, if your wallet is stolen and you’re carrying cash, you can’t call your bank and ask that they put a stop on it. 1-800-VISA-911 may not be local, but they have the number to your local bank and can shut down missing cards immediately while contacting your bank.
I have CID written on the back of all my plastic, but I rarely get asked for my ID, even at stores I don’t frequent. A debit card may have a spending limit of around $1,500 for pinned purchases and $2,500 for signature based transactions. For people with Overdraft Protection, that could put an account negative thousands before Overdraft fees if a debit card is stolen. When I was a call center employee for a local bank, I would get calls from people who hadn’t seen their debit card in weeks and not know why they were over drawn, let alone where the card was used. “Who’s PCC anyway?” they’d ask. (Answer: Stripes gas station and deli)
While Visa will guarantee returning funds on credit and debit purchases made fraudulently, the process for funds being returned can take up to 90 days. Many banks will give immediate credit for disputed transactions, for differing definitions of “immediate,” and only if their dispute process is followed exactly, and occasionally involves additional information requests which customers can’t provide, such as, “Who was using your card? Do you know who might have used your card?” If it turns out fraudulent transactions were made by a friend or family member, banks will ask permission to prosecute or remove the credit given to the account.
Of course, if your wallet is stolen and you’re carrying cash, you can’t call your bank and ask that they put a stop on it. 1-800-VISA-911 may not be local, but they have the number to your local bank and can shut down missing cards immediately while contacting your bank.
A Query From This Banker
After talking with one of the bank associates today while depositing Fiance's paycheck, I got to thinking. Mostly about budgets but also about pay schedules.
When Fiance started his job, he was lead to believe he would be paid more than he has and when I made our budget, I used some slightly less optimistic numbers which turned out to be closer to reality and which don't leave us much wiggle room. I've talked to him before about the possibility of me getting a second job since my hours are friendlier for that sort of thing and he's against it on the basis that we only get to see eachother an hour a day (plus whatever we get when he comes home for lunch). This is true and I don't think that hour will likely change if I do get a second job. This is the summer months, when he expects to earn the bigger checks. I'm not looking forward to the winter checks.
About my hours- I have a specific task list which I am supposed to accomplish each day at my job. I was recently told by my boss that on Saturdays I'm supposed to be doing two different task lists...which lead me to wonder what the heck I'm supposed to be doing on Mondays, the day I've set aside to finish the second task list. If I don't finish my task list, I am supposed to explain why, and more often than not, my answer is, "If I'd finished that task, I would have been over hours and you have told us consistently that you haven't approaved any over time so I'd be explaining why I'm over hours." I am at a loss as to why our department is hourly rather than salary since all of us are in the same situation- we have our tasks and are expected to complete them "regaurdless of how long it takes" unless it puts us over hours.
When Fiance started his job, he was lead to believe he would be paid more than he has and when I made our budget, I used some slightly less optimistic numbers which turned out to be closer to reality and which don't leave us much wiggle room. I've talked to him before about the possibility of me getting a second job since my hours are friendlier for that sort of thing and he's against it on the basis that we only get to see eachother an hour a day (plus whatever we get when he comes home for lunch). This is true and I don't think that hour will likely change if I do get a second job. This is the summer months, when he expects to earn the bigger checks. I'm not looking forward to the winter checks.
About my hours- I have a specific task list which I am supposed to accomplish each day at my job. I was recently told by my boss that on Saturdays I'm supposed to be doing two different task lists...which lead me to wonder what the heck I'm supposed to be doing on Mondays, the day I've set aside to finish the second task list. If I don't finish my task list, I am supposed to explain why, and more often than not, my answer is, "If I'd finished that task, I would have been over hours and you have told us consistently that you haven't approaved any over time so I'd be explaining why I'm over hours." I am at a loss as to why our department is hourly rather than salary since all of us are in the same situation- we have our tasks and are expected to complete them "regaurdless of how long it takes" unless it puts us over hours.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
"Unwritten" comic
Picked up issue 1 of Vertigo's "Unwritten" by Mike Carey and Peter Gross. It's a very nice read, so good we went out and got the second issue this morning.
All Harry Potter fans over 12 will love this. Readers under 12 may also love it, but I would suggest parental approval first due voilence and the like. Not that the presence of such things is bad but I remember my mom happening accross my " Johnny" comics. Worst time to have a therapist parent. The premise is that fictional characters arecoming to the real world, which is a fairly popular idea now days (thank you Jasper Fforde).
Tommy Taylor, more popular than Harry Potter in this world and with a Real Life Tommy as the writer's son and supposed inspiration, finds himself in a rut. He's been living on his dissappeared father's coat tails doing conventions and the like for years. One day a lady appears and accuses him of being an identity thief. Now he's on a quest to find out who or what he really is.
The art style is old school: clear lines, tri color template, but with a mix of "the real," computer screenshots mostly. The writting is similar to CS Lewis in the "fiction" world and rather journalistic in the "real" world.
The concepts being dealt with are, to me any way, like those of Jasper Fforde's literary detectives. We have seen a bad guy who's power seems to be acting as a text sieve- he melts things down past their basic textual descrptions, leavingbehinda pool of letters. The characters are warping the world around them to fit their story.
All in all, a great read that I fully recommend and intend to keep reading.
No tips from a banker right now, I'm on vacation :)
All Harry Potter fans over 12 will love this. Readers under 12 may also love it, but I would suggest parental approval first due voilence and the like. Not that the presence of such things is bad but I remember my mom happening accross my " Johnny" comics. Worst time to have a therapist parent. The premise is that fictional characters arecoming to the real world, which is a fairly popular idea now days (thank you Jasper Fforde).
Tommy Taylor, more popular than Harry Potter in this world and with a Real Life Tommy as the writer's son and supposed inspiration, finds himself in a rut. He's been living on his dissappeared father's coat tails doing conventions and the like for years. One day a lady appears and accuses him of being an identity thief. Now he's on a quest to find out who or what he really is.
The art style is old school: clear lines, tri color template, but with a mix of "the real," computer screenshots mostly. The writting is similar to CS Lewis in the "fiction" world and rather journalistic in the "real" world.
The concepts being dealt with are, to me any way, like those of Jasper Fforde's literary detectives. We have seen a bad guy who's power seems to be acting as a text sieve- he melts things down past their basic textual descrptions, leavingbehinda pool of letters. The characters are warping the world around them to fit their story.
All in all, a great read that I fully recommend and intend to keep reading.
No tips from a banker right now, I'm on vacation :)
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Media Circus History
Several events making the rounds in the media circuit- Senator Sanford, the Iranian protests, and Oklahoma Rep. Sally Kern.
I'm amazed that Sanford is saying the things he's saying. He's treating this as some kind of weird Livejournal. I thought he'd been to couples counsiling and he's still saying the most damaging things to his marraige. Isn't it a no-brainer to praise your wife over the Other Woman if you're trying to get back into her good graces? To appologize and mean it? I suppose he might be appologizing in a sense of "I'm sorry this betrayal happs ened to you," but he hasn't made that clear. As a woman who's been lied to by people she's cared about, I have no sympathy for him. If he really has found his soul mate he should still respect the bounds of his marriage, as he's criticized others to do. It's a difficult thing to do...unless you just don't care about the person you've married. From Mrs. Sanford's remarks, I take it she's been hurt and had enough.
In Iran, a revolution facilitated by Twitter. How cool is that? Not nearly as cool as the rumors of Anonymous helping protestors (Note: no relation to Richard Brennan). While I'm sad that the Iranians didn't get the regime change they were wanting, I am amazed that it has been as well documented as we've seen.
Lastly, I would like to mention Oklahoma State Rep. Sally Kern. As a liberal in Oklahoma, and a humanist, I am appalled by her ignorance and assupmtion to place that ignorance into yet another harmful policy. Yes, laws are traditionally based upon the social mores that make up a society. Mores are not morals nor are they religions. Which is why some unpopular things which are useful to society are legal but not supported by mores (executions and integration at its inception for example). I think my friend Rodney Derrick had the best response in Facebook, "This is a bold and ignorant statement that indicates a growing intolerance for people's differences in the state of Oklahoma. I haven't come across any proof that homosexuals wrecked the economy, and I doubt that I ever will. It's a mean-spirited statement that commands people of all faiths to smack it down before this ignorance metastasizes across the state." Her statements, to me anyway, are too close to other statements that minorities have destroyed the economy...before World War II in Germany.
I'm amazed that Sanford is saying the things he's saying. He's treating this as some kind of weird Livejournal. I thought he'd been to couples counsiling and he's still saying the most damaging things to his marraige. Isn't it a no-brainer to praise your wife over the Other Woman if you're trying to get back into her good graces? To appologize and mean it? I suppose he might be appologizing in a sense of "I'm sorry this betrayal happs ened to you," but he hasn't made that clear. As a woman who's been lied to by people she's cared about, I have no sympathy for him. If he really has found his soul mate he should still respect the bounds of his marriage, as he's criticized others to do. It's a difficult thing to do...unless you just don't care about the person you've married. From Mrs. Sanford's remarks, I take it she's been hurt and had enough.
In Iran, a revolution facilitated by Twitter. How cool is that? Not nearly as cool as the rumors of Anonymous helping protestors (Note: no relation to Richard Brennan). While I'm sad that the Iranians didn't get the regime change they were wanting, I am amazed that it has been as well documented as we've seen.
Lastly, I would like to mention Oklahoma State Rep. Sally Kern. As a liberal in Oklahoma, and a humanist, I am appalled by her ignorance and assupmtion to place that ignorance into yet another harmful policy. Yes, laws are traditionally based upon the social mores that make up a society. Mores are not morals nor are they religions. Which is why some unpopular things which are useful to society are legal but not supported by mores (executions and integration at its inception for example). I think my friend Rodney Derrick had the best response in Facebook, "This is a bold and ignorant statement that indicates a growing intolerance for people's differences in the state of Oklahoma. I haven't come across any proof that homosexuals wrecked the economy, and I doubt that I ever will. It's a mean-spirited statement that commands people of all faiths to smack it down before this ignorance metastasizes across the state." Her statements, to me anyway, are too close to other statements that minorities have destroyed the economy...before World War II in Germany.
Dragon Masters World, iPhone App
I finally got an iPhone last week. It wasn't the phone I'd wanted, but it was consideribly cheaper, being the discontinued 3 G, and I can tease my fiance that I got the toy he wanted. Then I got some apps.
Since starting my new job at the bank in May, I haven't had the same time to look at the news and keep up with this blog. But now...there's a highly commercialized saying for that. I'm still not going to be able to glance at my phone very often the hours I'm in the office, but I can keep an RSS feed going and listen to the news at least. I can't read anything, but I can certainly listen to it.
Since moving jobs, I've found that Audble.com is now my best friend with the morning read of Wall Street Journal and books read by James Marsters and other people with calm voices. Which has lead to me listening to "Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies," by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith, a delightful listen, even if you do mind listening to someone saying "the killing arts" in an even Brittish accent every other sentance. Seriously, that is my only complaint about the retelling of the classic Austen story with zombies, and it's something that I don't think I'd mind if reading to myself.
One of the other neat things on my iPhone is the game Dragon Master World, from Aftershock. It's essentially the Facebook game Mafia, Lords and Ladies, and Warewolves only with dragons and a Paypal option to get neat but otherwise useless items or stat recharges. One thing on strategy- you'll make more money attacking other players than doing quests, so keep a high attack and a high defense. My usual complaint for games like this: I finally got enough gems set aside to buy one of the expensive dragons, got the cash out of the bank and while I was navigating to the page to buy the darn thing, I was attacked 5 times by the same guy and lost more than half my savings. There isn't an option to turn off PVP in the game, since that's it main point.
Another thing that mystifies me at the moment: Players collect other players into Tribes and Clans, but they are only as powerful as the player using them. For example:
Player A has a clan made up of {A, B, C, D, E, and F} and hasn't outfitted them, choosing to follow the RPG subset of the game, which still makes you collect a tribe, and has focused his/her skills on those relevent to RPG (Mana).
Player G has a clan made up of {B, F, G} but has focused on PVP, outfitting her/his clan with the latest and most expensive things, and focused her/his skills on Attack and Defense. As long as they are comparable in level, Player G would win most battles against Player A even though A has a bigger clan and regaurdless of how the individual players in that clan have outfitted themselves or what type of clans those players may have amassed (I assume this is because subset A has gone to Player A's 'house' and must use whatever Player A has available rather than what the subset might have at home).
But this is only true in comparative ratios. If Player A had more than double the clan members, Player G had better play a defensive game.
Hopefully I'll get back on the ball with updates. I have some stories I'd like to share, comics I'd still like to review (I'm looking at you "Oz/Wonderland Chronicals" and "Love and Capes." In case I don't find the time, both wonderful reads), video games I've watched my fiance play, and of course some thoughts on the silliness of the news media.
Last but not least, a tip from a banker.
If you are depositing a large check and will need funds available immediately, say for a car purchase or down payment on a house, there are three things you can do to make things easier:
1) Make the deposit in a guaranteed funds negotiable item. That means a cashiers check. Very few banks will place a hold on a cashier's check and usually only if they can't verify it. Banks that I know will not verify anything: Wachovia, JPMorgan Chase, Liberty Mutual. In general, Bank of America is pretty decent on offering ways to verify checks but they will not verify personal checks drawn on their credit lines.
2) Make the deposit on a Monday or Tuesday. All banks will be open to verify with those banks that do verify and if there is a hold placed, it will usually expire by the following Monday.
3) Ask the teller taking your deposit if s/he will A) Fax a copy of the check to their risk department and B) call the issuing bank to verify funds. The teller might not have time to do option B, but it is possible that someone in the risk depatment might have time to call the same day.
Other options: ask to speak with the teller supervisor and explain what you're doing. It isn't always up to the individuals in the bank location you're visiting whether or not a hold will be placed, but they have the option of alerting the risk department a head of time and requesting that no hold be placed. And the last option I would suggest: Try to deposit a cashier's check from the same bank you'll be depositing with. Yes, it is a kind of bizzare, but a bank looks at their own casheir's checks as less suspicous than someone depositing a random $10-100 k in cash.
Definately do NOT: write yourself a big check. Nothing is nearly as suspicous as CG Lastname hand writing a $100k check to him/herself, especailly if done in thick marker and your normal balance in the receiving bank is less than a third of the check you're depositing. The only way to avoid a hold on that is to know the bank manager very well and have him/her vouch for you, and for $100k, they may not.
Since starting my new job at the bank in May, I haven't had the same time to look at the news and keep up with this blog. But now...there's a highly commercialized saying for that. I'm still not going to be able to glance at my phone very often the hours I'm in the office, but I can keep an RSS feed going and listen to the news at least. I can't read anything, but I can certainly listen to it.
Since moving jobs, I've found that Audble.com is now my best friend with the morning read of Wall Street Journal and books read by James Marsters and other people with calm voices. Which has lead to me listening to "Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies," by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith, a delightful listen, even if you do mind listening to someone saying "the killing arts" in an even Brittish accent every other sentance. Seriously, that is my only complaint about the retelling of the classic Austen story with zombies, and it's something that I don't think I'd mind if reading to myself.
One of the other neat things on my iPhone is the game Dragon Master World, from Aftershock. It's essentially the Facebook game Mafia, Lords and Ladies, and Warewolves only with dragons and a Paypal option to get neat but otherwise useless items or stat recharges. One thing on strategy- you'll make more money attacking other players than doing quests, so keep a high attack and a high defense. My usual complaint for games like this: I finally got enough gems set aside to buy one of the expensive dragons, got the cash out of the bank and while I was navigating to the page to buy the darn thing, I was attacked 5 times by the same guy and lost more than half my savings. There isn't an option to turn off PVP in the game, since that's it main point.
Another thing that mystifies me at the moment: Players collect other players into Tribes and Clans, but they are only as powerful as the player using them. For example:
Player A has a clan made up of {A, B, C, D, E, and F} and hasn't outfitted them, choosing to follow the RPG subset of the game, which still makes you collect a tribe, and has focused his/her skills on those relevent to RPG (Mana).
Player G has a clan made up of {B, F, G} but has focused on PVP, outfitting her/his clan with the latest and most expensive things, and focused her/his skills on Attack and Defense. As long as they are comparable in level, Player G would win most battles against Player A even though A has a bigger clan and regaurdless of how the individual players in that clan have outfitted themselves or what type of clans those players may have amassed (I assume this is because subset A has gone to Player A's 'house' and must use whatever Player A has available rather than what the subset might have at home).
But this is only true in comparative ratios. If Player A had more than double the clan members, Player G had better play a defensive game.
Hopefully I'll get back on the ball with updates. I have some stories I'd like to share, comics I'd still like to review (I'm looking at you "Oz/Wonderland Chronicals" and "Love and Capes." In case I don't find the time, both wonderful reads), video games I've watched my fiance play, and of course some thoughts on the silliness of the news media.
Last but not least, a tip from a banker.
If you are depositing a large check and will need funds available immediately, say for a car purchase or down payment on a house, there are three things you can do to make things easier:
1) Make the deposit in a guaranteed funds negotiable item. That means a cashiers check. Very few banks will place a hold on a cashier's check and usually only if they can't verify it. Banks that I know will not verify anything: Wachovia, JPMorgan Chase, Liberty Mutual. In general, Bank of America is pretty decent on offering ways to verify checks but they will not verify personal checks drawn on their credit lines.
2) Make the deposit on a Monday or Tuesday. All banks will be open to verify with those banks that do verify and if there is a hold placed, it will usually expire by the following Monday.
3) Ask the teller taking your deposit if s/he will A) Fax a copy of the check to their risk department and B) call the issuing bank to verify funds. The teller might not have time to do option B, but it is possible that someone in the risk depatment might have time to call the same day.
Other options: ask to speak with the teller supervisor and explain what you're doing. It isn't always up to the individuals in the bank location you're visiting whether or not a hold will be placed, but they have the option of alerting the risk department a head of time and requesting that no hold be placed. And the last option I would suggest: Try to deposit a cashier's check from the same bank you'll be depositing with. Yes, it is a kind of bizzare, but a bank looks at their own casheir's checks as less suspicous than someone depositing a random $10-100 k in cash.
Definately do NOT: write yourself a big check. Nothing is nearly as suspicous as CG Lastname hand writing a $100k check to him/herself, especailly if done in thick marker and your normal balance in the receiving bank is less than a third of the check you're depositing. The only way to avoid a hold on that is to know the bank manager very well and have him/her vouch for you, and for $100k, they may not.
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