I am not proud to admit that my taste buds have a certain daily dependency on vanilla lattes from Starbucks. I am trying to convert exclusively to regular man’s coffee but I’m not there yet. I do drink it but there is always a certain point each day where I crave my latte. There would be several advantages to switching over to regular coffee like the fact it’s cheaper, I can make it at home, and I would never have to frequent the trendy environment of Starbucks.
Here in Northern Indiana, I pay $3.91 for a latte. That means I could spend more than $1,400 a year if I maintain my one-a-day habit. I just don’t make enough money to throw away that much on coffee. But like I said, I haven’t kicked the habit yet. If four dollars wasn’t too much to spend on a single hot beverage, then $33.91 certainly is.
This past Friday I checked my bank account balance at the ATM before heading over to Starbucks for my daily fix. I had plenty in there to cover my coffee and even pay a bill or two. So, I bought my coffee and drove home to get back to work. Later that evening, I went to the grocery store to buy a gallon of milk. My debit card was declined due to “Insufficient Balance”. I was confused but paid with cash and went on about my business.
Of course, I had to figure out why I suddenly had an empty checking account. I visited the ATM again and discovered that I not only had absolutely no money in there but even had a negative balance. I never write checks so I was lost.
Yesterday morning, I promptly went to the bank to deposit some money and find out what in the world was going on. It turns out that my power and gas company had withdrawn from my account about five days early which overdrew my account. That’s an extra $30 charge. Then, I had purchased my vanilla latte from Starbucks which added a second $30 charge. Good grief! I even asked the bank teller, “Do you mean to tell me that I paid $34 for a cup of milk and two shots of expresso?” His response was, “I’m afraid so.”
Note to self: Keep a close eye on the account balance and stop buying overpriced coffee.
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My son knows the lyrics to this song VERY well. I think he may’ve even patented them. He was caught up in that vicious cycle recently and is still lamenting. But, he knows the one at fault stares back at him when he looks in the mirror. It’s so easy to miscalculate and then mourn.
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Once when I was in college it was down to the week before pay day, and I had everything planned out in my head, and I had done the math down to the absolute last penny in the account. Turned out however that I miscalculated by 2 cents. So the bounced check cost me an additional $30 and the bank charged me an additional $30, I was out $60 for a 2 cent math mistake. Daddy said to let it be a lesson to 1) double check my math religiously, 2) stay on top of my checkbook ever day or two, and 3) never write out the last $10 in the account.
I hate when that sort of stuff happens.
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Starbucks is so overpriced anyways, I don’t know how anyone can really afford to go there anymore.
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That is one of the main reasons why Jim refuses to allow businesses to automatically draft out of the account… we use the online bill pay (so we have the control when the money leaves the acct- but at the same time don’t have to write and mail a check every month)- but trust me, this happens to the best of us!
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Right after college I had a boss who frequently bounced my pay checks. Being a broke ex-college student, I always paid my bills the moment I got paid and deposited my check, so I know how those fees add up.
I think we need to drill here and drill now so our utility bills stop draining our checking accounts!
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On line banking! On line banking! It’s the only thing that’s saved me from that vicious cycle!!
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[...] you remember back to September when I spent more than $30 for a coffee? Well, since then I have grown even more leery of bank accounts, automatic withdraws, and the fact [...]