Money Issues

 

So, I had some recent money problems. It all started on Saturday when I went with the Sauder boys to pick up some Halloween stuff. I get to Wal-Mart and my debit card is declined. I told the lady I know there is money in my account and I know exactly how much. She tried and tried to make it work, scanning it countless times to no avail. Giving up we went to a Halloween store at which it worked fine. A couple days later I went to gas up and was slightly worried that it wouldn’t work, but was relieved when it did. Then I went to McDonalds for a sandwich and it didn’t work. That’s it, I thought,  I’m going to get to the bottom of this. Went to the bank and told them that there is something wrong with the card. They spend a little time on the computer. The teller looks up and very quietly and kindly says, “Well, that might be because you have no money in your account.” WHAT!!! I knew what was in there and there sure was more than none when I last checked. She tells me that a big check cleared recently and I remembered that was for the ICC mission trip and I was anticipating that. I was sure there should have been more in there. I’m not a big spender.

Well, first I had to call mom and she tells me to get on my internet banking account to check it out, just in case someone might be stealing my money. I start scanning through the withdraws and deposits and it all seems pretty normal until I see a check for an odd amount. I didn’t remember writing a check for that much ever, at least not recently. I click on it and find that it is a check to Jackie and in the “for” box it says bonus. When I looked at the signature line I find who the culprit was. Mom’s name was scrawled across the bottom of that check. She has her name on my account so the check cleared fine.

Later when I went to deposit the money mom owed me, Barb, one of the ladies at the bank joked with me saying, you can never trust those mothers. Sneaky, sneaky. Of course, I know it was an innocent mistake and mom couldn’t believe she had done it. I’m just glad to know I didn’t spend all my money in four short weeks. I’m also glad for the lesson. I realized that between selling baby goats, to selling baby birds, to Cindy’s foal that I took the profit for, I’ve always had money come to me pretty easy and certainly have always had more than enough in my bank account. Until now, I didn’t know what it was like to have none. It was a bad feeling and I hope it helps me use money wisely in the future.