The $40 cup of coffee....
Jul. 7th, 2011 02:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
poltr1Let's face it. Being broke sucks. Banks and other institutions charge additional fees for those who don't have a certain balance in their accounts, for transactions. It's like they're punishing people for being poor. Where's the logic in that? Or is it strictly a heartless thing to do?
This past Saturday, I was supposed to help my friends Jon and Cassie shear some sheep. I never got a hold of them. So I ended up at Brother Bear's Coffee in Yellow Springs. I thought I had enough in my checking account to cover the $2 cost of a cup of coffee. The transaction went through. The next day, I checked my account. I was in the red, and I thought, "Oh, shit!" The next business day, I was charged a $37 NSF fee, just as I would be charged for an overdrafted check
So I just paid $40 for a cup of coffee.
Yes, I did opt in for overdraft protection. I can go in the red somewhat if I need to. But if I make a series of transactions, I get dinged for each of those transactions. Money-grubbing bastards.
This past Saturday, I was supposed to help my friends Jon and Cassie shear some sheep. I never got a hold of them. So I ended up at Brother Bear's Coffee in Yellow Springs. I thought I had enough in my checking account to cover the $2 cost of a cup of coffee. The transaction went through. The next day, I checked my account. I was in the red, and I thought, "Oh, shit!" The next business day, I was charged a $37 NSF fee, just as I would be charged for an overdrafted check
So I just paid $40 for a cup of coffee.
Yes, I did opt in for overdraft protection. I can go in the red somewhat if I need to. But if I make a series of transactions, I get dinged for each of those transactions. Money-grubbing bastards.
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no subject
Date: 2011-07-07 06:37 pm (UTC)Reward them by putting your money somewhere else, once you have some again.
no subject
Date: 2011-07-07 06:57 pm (UTC)http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-things-nobody-tells-you-about-being-poor/
no subject
Date: 2011-07-07 09:42 pm (UTC)Jim, my suggestion is to be pissed at the bank but funnel that into meticulous record keeping so that at any time, you know exactly how much is in your account. There shouldn't be any "I thought I had...." You should *know*. There's lots of apps that will help with record keeping, but a simple memo pad and pencil is all you need. You should be thinking: "Here's something *I* can do to keep those 'money-grubbing bastards' from getting any more of my money.
no subject
Date: 2011-07-07 06:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-07 07:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-08 06:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-07 10:02 pm (UTC)I ignored them. Because overdraft protection is primarily valuable to the bank, not so much to the consumer.
As you've discovered...
I'm sorry.
no subject
Date: 2011-07-08 01:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-08 11:12 pm (UTC)I have two checking accounts and I've occasionally used the card for one when I meant to use the other, only to realize the one didn't have enough money. Oops. Being able to cover the mistake w/out the $$ overdraft fee is a very nice feature.
no subject
Date: 2011-07-09 04:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-08 11:13 pm (UTC)