Can't believe I did this!!

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Can't believe I did this!!
6
Fri, 11-18-2005 - 1:03pm

Balanced checkbook the other day by seeing what (recently) cleared on-line. Then I quickly took a look at the balance today, and I am almost $200 overdrawn! I missed one check for $100 that I wrote weeks ago and they just cashed it the other day...Now I have to re-calculate what gets paid this week and what doesn't. I am just fuming over this! I have OD, but the fees alone for what has bounced is horrible. Thank God DH gets paid today. He can't get to bank fast enough today!! I am SOOO ANGRY!!

kathy

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-30-2003
Fri, 11-18-2005 - 1:32pm

Just focus on the lucky part--your husband gets paid today. Just tell yourself to keep better records of your checks and maybe keep a cushion and forget about the money in case this happens again. A warning, though, keeping a cushion and forgetting about it may be hard to keep a balanced checkbook.

I almost broke my spending rule today. My co-worker works for a retail store and told me about a purse that was $70 that has been marked down to $8. Yeah, big markdown. On top of her employee discount since she works there part-time. So I gave her the cash. This was a purse I didn't NEED or was the color I want. I beat myself up for even forking out the cash. But just a few minutes ago told her I changed my mind. So no harm done. just a more conscious money awareness feeling (if that makes sense). Moving on.

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-09-2002
Fri, 11-18-2005 - 2:44pm

I just wanted to let you know I understand COMPLETELY. I was cutting it way too close and as of yesterday was a few hundred negative. I have no overdraft because my credit is too poor to get one. The circle I cannot escape. So I just racked up $222 in fees becaus of the one mistake. I was the "bagel cost me $39 dollar poster". My bank charges $37 per NSF. Yes, unforunately I just built them a branch this year so I am going to cash.

This is my rational to get through throwing the money away - at least it was not a purchase on a credit card I pay interest on, at least my bank put through everything even if at the time it hurt me worse, my name is in good standing in the consumer world. I am right there with you. I got paid today, but now have hardly anything for 13 more days.

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-14-1999
Fri, 11-18-2005 - 2:58pm

I'm right there with you.

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-10-2005
Fri, 11-18-2005 - 3:53pm

I do that kind of stuff all the time and it drives me crazy. So I finally broke down and put everything in Quicken and bank on-line with my bank so I can download every transaction once a day. I pay $9.95 a month for that but since I've started I haven't bounced any checks and haven't had to pay any fees which were much higher than the $9.95 a month.

I find that have to micromanage my money or I loose track of it.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Fri, 11-18-2005 - 4:02pm

The irony here is that I went to the online banking so I could DOWNLOAD it into my Quicken!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Turns out there were two checks that I wrote in SEPTEMBER that put me over! So when I last checked balances I guess I didn't go back far enough....and now I am paying almost $70 in fees.

THIS won't happen again!

Kathy

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iVillage Member
Registered: 12-12-2004
Sun, 11-20-2005 - 12:58am
HI, KL. Thanks for gc tips. I, too, had bad math habits--OD, miscalculations. Finally got overdraft protection. Rarely had to use it. I keep an extra $50 cushion in each one (savings and checking). Checks are now processed faster with the new technology so you dont have much grace periods like you used to. It happens. Just keep a little extra on hand. Since I now have this, havent OD'd anymore. Whiz.