MAJOR money rant

[Suki Wingy]

I can't believe it. I am fuming. I just got an invoice saying I have -$1.48 in my checking, and I have virtually nothing in my savings. I'm just so SICK of this happening, I try and keep track, and I usually know when I'm very low, but I honestly was positive I had $30+ in the account. On Wednesday I deposited a $90 check, and withdrew $30 cash for gas. On Thursday, I wrote a $40 check for my riding lesson, as usual. AND, on Wednesday when I walked out of the credit union with a little deposite slip saying that I had $75 and some change in my account.
NOW TODAY I GET THAT INVOICE TELLING ME I'VE OVERDRAWN!!!?!?!?!?!

I never have any money, it's a huge stressor for me. Most times that I am driving my car it's in fear I won't run out of gas in the middle of the road. (It's happened before more than once) All of my money goes to my weekly riding lessons, which honestly are the highlight of every week. I'd do it every day if I could. I used to clean the barn in exchange for free lessons, but I had to drive 30-45 minutes each way to get to the barn, and that was three days a week, so it ended up costing me $30 and about 8 hours, which my parents wanted me to stop since I only was saving $20 each week, but that's a lot, now I'm thinking I should have stayed on with the job, no matter how much time it was wasting, but I can't since they've tried something new.

I have a very nice job right now that pays $8 an hour, the only problem is I have been asking for a minimum of 14 hours a week, and even started asking for 20 but I still get a maximum of about 12, it's usually more like 10 a week. I've applied at more than 14 other places, and most of them were rather rude. The two interviews I got told me they'd call and let me know, but I never heard a word back. I worked at Walgreens for 3 weeks as my first job, and it was incredibly taxing on my mind and self esteem, so I quit asap, but I'm starting to want that job back. All the worrying I do is starting to give me more frequent migraines and heartburn. It's especially hard now that I'm moving in two months so now no one wants to hire me. Here's the list of places I've been rejected at.

Petsmart (three times even when they had a "Now Hiring" sign)
Petco (Never called back)
Serpent Safari (never called back and made me drive 30 minutes for a 5 minute interview to ask me the exact same questions I answered on the phone)
Claires (three locations)
AMC Theatres
Borders Books and Music
Wet Seal
Papyrus Stationery
Flash Digital Portraits
Color Me Mine
Hot Topic
Aeoropastale (or whatever it's called)
Blockbuster
Michaels Crafts
the kennel and doggy daycare down the road, I worked there for a day but never got my tax info into them on time so they've been giving me the silent treatment.
Some of these places had codes against my hair, and I (reluctantly inside) TOLD them I'd dye it black if I got the job. I did dye it black anyway, back in April, and I hated it so much. It made me look and start to feel ill and sullen.


Sorry, I just needed to get that out of my system.

[Moesha]

Are you able to access your account online or by phone to get an itemized list of where your money has gone? Do you have any bills that are automatically withdrawn that you may have forgotten to deduct from your balance?

[Kfamr]

Are you sure the invoice is recent? It could very well have been printed before you deposited the $90.


I have a hard time keeping track of my checking account, too. I decided to do away with debit/ATM cards and rarely write checks because of this.

[Suki Wingy]

I can't talk to them until Monday, when I'll be just down the street. I passed Consumer Education fine, but I have such a hard time figuring out what is going on with mine. I don't have a debit card, only checks, and when I want cash I have to go down to the credit union and fill out a form to make a withdrawal. I'd think this was old, but it clearly shows withdrawal -40.00 (check number)

[Cinder & Smoke]

Isn't your Credit Union open on Saturday mornings?

I would RUN, not walk, to see them ASAP!
Unless you belong to a very generous Credit Union, most of them charge a
very hefty Penalty if you account is overdrawn!

And to make it worse, if the Penalty results in an overdraft, they charge
another Penalty - and it keeps dragging you balance lower and lower.

Ask if they will temporarily freeze your account until you can make a couple of deposits.

[steel]

Just be sure to write all your transactions on your check ledger located inside your check book.Keep track of all transactions including cash withdraws.

[Taz_Zoee]

One thing my mom taught us was to create a cushion in your account. I could not do this for the longest time because I just didn't have enough money to do it. But now I have it and I'm very thankful I do, or I would probably be overdrawn many times.
Even if you can't do this now, keep it in mind for down the road.
What you do is deduct "x" amount of dollars (I have a $100 cushion) from your check register so you do not see that money on a regular basis when writing checks. It does take time to get used to. I go online regularly (at least once a week) to reconcile my checking account and I now just know that my balance online should be $100 more than what my check register says. This way (like right now, in fact) if I am strapped for money before my next paycheck I have a some wiggle room to tide me over until payday.
Hang in there. This is frustrating right now, but it will work out. I still live paycheck to paycheck. Hopefully some day it will be different for me too.

[Karen]

Just because you deposit a check, that does not mean the money is instantly available to you. It can take a week or more for a check to clear, and until then, the bank cannot put that money in your account.

Our bank has two lines on the slip you get from the ATM: Available Balance and Ledger Balance. The Ledger Balance includes checks you have deposited, but that have not yet cleared. See if your bank will do this, and if they can give you a list of the last week's transactions.

[rosethecopycat]

Ahh... I remember my woes of over 20 years ago. No money. Car repairs weekly costing more than I earned. I tried to eat for $1 a day. Lots of fish sticks, canned spinach and refried beans.
But you know what? Things change. It will seem like a distant memory one day. The thing is they change gradually, you won't likely notice it happen.
You will get a better job, a break here and there. You'll advance yourself.

When it was happening to me, I couldn't even figure how I was going to get out of it. I couldn't fathom how I was going to own a home, or rent an apartment no less. Now, I have a home with no mortgage, and am debt free.
It didn't just fall in my lap, it took discipline.

You are what we call: Payin' your dues.

Hang in there, don't abuse credit and work hard. It will all be in the past one day.

[moosmom]

SW,

While living in Michigan, whenever I got my paycheck, I'd go directly to the bank the check is drawn from. The INISISTED that I either open up an account with them or pay anywhere between $2.50 to $5.00 fee which I refused to pay, and caused a scene. They finally relented, saying I always came to THAT bank so they'd waive the fee. Sounded like extortion to me.

They don't do that here in CT.

[Suki Wingy]

I found the problem, and it was my fault. My riding stable didn't deposit a check I gave them two weeks ago until last week on friday, and I thought they had already.

[Karen]

Good to know you found the problem!

[lizbud]

I found the problem, and it was my fault. My riding stable didn't deposit a check I gave them two weeks ago until last week on friday, and I thought they had already.

That's tripped me up before too. Of all the things they teach in school,
I believe having a money management class would help a lot of people,
myself included.

[Rachel]

Okay, I'm going to be a bit hard on you, so prepare yourself.

This is all part of being an adult.

Point #1 You need to know the requirements of your bank as far as minimum balance, when deposits are credited and available, fees that can be charged and for what. It's their bank and if you want to use it, you have to know the rules. I know that wasn't the problem but in the future, it could be.

Point #2 It's addition and subtraction. That you can handle. That's why you have the credit and debit portion of the checkbook. Use it, then check your calculations. Nuts to the idea of adding something extra to the amount when you write a check. You'll never be able to balance a checkbook that way. By the way, balance it. That way you know how much you have based on the checks that are written, not just the ones that have cleared. That was the problem.

Point#3 Don't live paycheck to paycheck. Have a little extra built up.

[Logan]

You should hire "Mama Rachel" as your bookkeeper!! She's good!

Honestly, with the availability of online banking, you should be able to watch your account on a daily basis and balance it against your checkbook so you'll know what has cleared and what hasn't. It shouldn't be hard if you are only using checks. Its the debit card that gets me in trouble!