[rsmurano]

I’ve been accessing my bank online for over 23 years to pay my bills and move money around. I’ve also been controlling my investments online for 20+ years. In the old days, I used Quicken but for over a decade the banks have made advances in their bill pay app. I use a brick and mortar bank because if I have to deposit cash or take out a large amount of cash, I can just go into a local branch.

Anytime you do anything online in regards to banking/finance/brokerages, protect yourself. I use LifeLock and VPN. Anytime I make a payment or get a charge against any of my credit cards, or do any kind of trade or get dividends, I’m alerted by LifeLock. Plus my bank alerts me if a strange charge comes in. VPN provides security because your IP presents itself as it’s in another state, or wherever.

Also, a lot of the investment brokerages are also banks. These institutions can provide home loans and secured loans against your assets. I’ve built 3 custom homes using my brokers secured loan feature so I was the bank and didn’t have to pay all the fees to take out a loan. I get up to 10 years of interest only payback to payoff the loan. I save 2-3% of the home purchase price using this feature over getting a conventional home loan and construction loan. Then I pay this off when my existing house sells.