I really, really really hate the fact that electronic banking transactions can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few days to post to a bank account.
A few days ago, I withdrew a little money from my bank account, and saw that I had just a bit over \$130 left. A little low, but nothing I couldn’t get by on, and I get paid on Friday.
I just checked my account — and I’m quite thoroughly fuckered. A few transactions from early last week that I thought had gone through already just got posted, along with the direct withdrawl I’d set up to pay my taxes. Unfortunately, the bigger charges went through first (of course), so in addition to dipping under my balance, I also just got hit with a ton of overdraft fees — and my account now has a balance of negative \$363.83.
On the bright side, I get paid Friday. It should be a good paycheck, too — I’ll have my full 40 hours for both weeks, plus eleven hours of overtime, plus I just got a 21 cent raise that will kick in on this check. So, come Friday morning when the direct deposit kicks in, I should be back in the black (though it may only be by a few hundred dollars by that point).
On the down side…well, most obviously, I hate that I goofed up my finances (especially this badly) again. I also have to make it through ’til Friday morning with no cash (tight, but doable, as I’ve got a credit card that isn’t quite maxed out). The biggest bummer, though, is that I’ve been planning on getting my new camera with this paycheck — and that’s obviously not going to happen now.
Important note to Dad, Kirsten, and Phil: My ‘net bill is due this week. Obviously, I’m not going to be able to pay it before Friday morning, so at this point, there is a strong possibility that my ‘net connection may go down temporarily sometime in the next couple days. Should that happen, djwudi.com, [geek*muffin], Among Other Things and The Hanscom Family Weblog will go down. The service interruption shouldn’t be for more than a day, two at the very most, depending on how soon Speakeasy decides to give me the smackdown for running late on their bill. You have my sincere apologies — every time I think I’m getting back on top of things, something else comes along and proves me wrong.
Overall, things are getting better, and I’m not nearly as stressed about money matters as I have been in the past. Even with this, I know it’s just for a couple days, and the upcoming paycheck will resolve the situation. I’ll just have another couple weeks of tightening my belt to get through. Damn if it isn’t frustrating, though.
iTunes: “Feels Like Heaven” by Fiction Factory from the album Pop and Wave Vol. 2 (1983, 3:29).
