Dear Harry: I have had a "small business" checking account with Bank of America ever since they first opened offices in this area. I have almost always maintained a balance in five figures even though the required minimum is only $3,000. Last month, mistakenly thinking that the minimum was $2,500, I let the balance get down to about $2,800. Sure enough, they hit me with a $16 charge. I called the bank to inquire about the charge, and I was told that it was proper. I agreed after I was reminded of the minimum. Then I asked if they would waive the charge in view of my long history of maintaining a balance way in excess of the $3,000. No dice. Apparently the bank has a very rigid policy. The $16 won't break me, but I didn't like the idea of the one-way street on balances. I am now in the process of seeking out another bank that will consider the past history of an account before assessing a penalty. Do you know of any?

What Harry says: Not offhand. However, keep trying. Be sure to check out some of the smaller banks in the area that are hungry for new customers. Most people would just swallow the penalty and offer no protest. Go get 'em!

Dear Harry: I have a child at one of the big universities that have the new "no-tuition" policies for low- and middle-income families. I am also divorced from a man who has totally refused to pay any support for our children who are past 18. Unfortunately, on the form to apply for the tuition-aid program, there is a requirement that information be submitted for non-custodial parents. I called to see if there were any exceptions for my situation, and I was told that there weren't any. If I can get the information, it will almost certainly mean no aid because of his high income. It looks like I'm stuck because of this. Do you know of any way around it?

What Harry says: The big problem is the rule in Pennsylvania that a parent is not required to support a child once the child reaches 18. This hurts the custodial parent in many ways. The application you're referring to has the requirement because it's too easy for a non-custodial parent to just walk away and refuse to support children when they would normally elect to do so in the hope that the tuition bill will be covered. It really is unfortunate that the universities have taken this position. I'm reminded of what the great English bard said, in "Macbeth," about 500 years ago: "And be these juggling fiends no more believed . . . that keep the word of promise to our ear and break it to our hope."

Dear Harry: I have read and heard many times about the necessity for keeping close tabs when I reveal my SS number. I just applied for credit at a department store under a special discount deal. Where the application asked for my number, I just put a long dash. The application came back with a notation in large red letters that they could not process it without the SS number. I called, offered them an alternative number and other means of ID, but they insisted. I had no choice. Did I do the wrong thing?

What Harry says: Let's hope not. There are so many things tied to your SS number that they didn't want to be bothered with any other ID. This is unfortunate and dangerous. The more you use that number, the more people have access to it, and the greater is the threat of identity theft. I wish it weren't so. Using a fake SS number won't help in these cases. All this only reinforces my challenge: Why does anyone need more than two credit cards? In any event, keep trying to protect that SS number. I still use a fake telephone number if someone asks for it when I use my card. I never had any problem with that.

Dear Harry: I am a volunteer in helping veterans. In 2007, I got two checks amounting to a total of $100 to cover my expenses such as parking. Back in January, I got a Form 1099 from the organization for the very first time. The $100 was shown as "Non-employee Compensation." The form also indicated that it was to be shown on my 1040 on Schedule C. There are instructions all over the 1099 that indicate that it is to be used for compensation in excess of $600. I have called the organization and the IRS for help on this, and I am getting all kinds of conflicting answers. Can I deduct the relevant expenses? Would I have to file a form SE to pay SS and Medicare? Is the City going to come after me for Business Privilege Taxes? Why do I have to report it at all since it's less than $600? Is it wise to report it as Other Income on line 21 and forego the deduction of related expenses? I requested a filing extension because of all these questions. Help!

What Harry says: The $600 amount is the minimum amount for the required Form 1099. This does not mean that lesser amounts can't be reported or that lesser amounts are not taxable. Treating the $100 as Other Income would be perfectly fine even though the expenses would probably be lost by the 2 percent offset required on Schedule A. However, if the expenses are large enough, it will save money to file the Schedules C and SE.

Dear Harry: I know that this is partly my own fault, but I thought you'd like to know another reason for not using debit cards. I used my debit card for a department-store purchase last month. Unfortunately, the store goofed and put the same purchase through a second time. That cut my bank balance down to $850. I sent a check to my mortgage company for $978 before I knew of the foul-up. Naturally, it bounced. I'm still trying to get the department store to pay for the overdraft charge by my bank. They did reverse the erroneous second charge. If I had used a credit card, my bank balance would have been well above the amount I needed for the mortgage because the bad charge would have been on my credit card statement, not taken out of my bank account. So let me confirm what you've been saying for a long time: debit cards are just no good for consumers and other living species. They're worse than checks because what happened to me wouldn't happen with a check.

What Harry says: Fortunately, you only had a little aggravation and no financial loss. I'm certain that the department store will reimburse you for that overdraft charge.

Dear Harry: My father died a few weeks ago. His will appointed me as executor and left everything equally to my sister and me. I live in Chicago and my sister lives in Austin. When my mother died, I lived in Philadelphia, so I could easily handle all the necessary legal requirements. Now, doing all the necessary legal stuff will be costly if I have to keep coming back to Philly. Is it possible that I could have the whole thing transferred to Illinois? Is there some less costly alternative?

What Harry says: There's no way to transfer the estate to Illinois if your dad was a Pennsylvania resident. However, you could undoubtedly save money by having a local lawyer handle all the details for you. The transportation costs and hotels could very easily exceed the lawyer's fees by a pretty husky amount. *

Write Harry Gross c/o the Daily News, Box 7788, Philadelphia, PA 19101. Harry urges all his readers to give blood - contact the American Red Cross at 800-GIVE LIFE.