Thursday, September 4, 2008

Even YOU can prevent OVERDRAFT fees

Okay so I am willing to admit that I am compulsive when it comes to one of two things:
(willingly anyway)

  • Shopping
  • Overdraft Fees

Today we are discussing the latter. I will go to all ends, to try and avoid a negative balance resulting in EXTREMELY OUTRAGEOUS, CRIPPLING, Overdraft fees. I mean who can afford to hand out 4 or five increments of $30 just because some unexpected bill reared its ugly head and wiped you out before you saw it coming? I can already hear some of you saying, "thats what overdraft protection is for", and I say to you, observe all the many hidden fees therein as well. Banks don't make money by handing out free checking accounts, they make money by stealing your money with tedious redundant fees, that often go unnoticed.

Today I opened my online banking which I checked at 10pm last night, to find that I no longer had a positive balance of $20 but rather a negative pending balance of $46!!! The stupid United Studios of America, waited an entire month to process my payment for their "services" if you could call them that, and totally screwed me. I took the following actions:

1- Nearly had an anxiety attack
2- Called the bank, even though I knew they couldnt help me
3- Texted Joe, which text he did not read
4- Cashed in all of our change in the local "Coinstar" at my Fry's. They took 8cents to the dollar, but it chipped $23 off my debt.
5- Collected up some old DVD's we dont plan to watch again, and took them to F.Y.E (Formerly known as the Wherehouse) where they took like 6 of my DVD's and only paid me a measly $11.50--the crooks!)
6- Called up my friend who had been planning to toss a little money my way for a while, but hadn't had the chance, who put $15 gas in my car, $20 in my checking account, $10 into my pocket, and salad and cheesecake into my stomach.

All in all it seems like a pretty successful day, ending with a postive $4.98 in my checking account.

Goodnight my friends.

2 comments:

Sarah S. Foote said...

Wow! What a day! I'm glad everything worked out! Love you!

Kim said...

positive day quite literally... Sorry about that! I hate the fees of a bank! The times I have let that happen I have been so bugged! One time the bank actually showed csome care and concerna dn actually reversed a fee! Grateful for that.