I unexpectedly got the above email yesterday (by the way, the balance was WAY under $1,000), and (not unexpectedly) I proceeded to freak out.
How do I have no more money? I just had plenty!! I don't get paid until Friday, and I have to pay a contractor tomorrow. I'm going to go into overdraft and then I'll have even more debt and then I won't be able to pay my mortgage and then my credit rating will drop and then everything will tailspin and I'll end up stuck in my parents' house forever! And why is the Capital One website never working when I really need it???!!!!! Load already! Why aren't you loading?!? Curse you, website updates!!!! Just let me on so I can see the devastation firsthand!!!!!
Of course, there weren't actually any website updates being implemented at that point. The website address had just changed, and as a result, my browser bookmark wasn't working anymore. A quick Google search revealed as much, and I edited the bookmark so that it would perform properly again.
Which gave me time to take a deep breath.
It's been a while since my account has dipped into the low hundreds, and even longer since it's happened without me expecting it. Ever since college (when I overdrafted on the regular, much to my parents' chagrin and my own), I've been fairly vigilant about making sure that I always have a cushion in my bank account. When I finally got tired of paying the bank for my own overdraft mistakes, I also set up several alert notifications on my account, including one for if my account balance ever dropped below a thousand bucks.
Apparently, that alert works.
In addition to changing my notification settings, I became an insane person (as I usually do) about budgeting and tracking expenses. I set up a detailed excel spreadsheet, and every month I would transfer all the expenses and income I had written down in my checkbook that month (aka everything) into the document. Needless to say, this was the behavior of someone with severe control issues. (Rumor has it, normal people don't do this.) Then one day, I was introduced to Mint.com and a therapist, and I've shown quite of bit of progress in the letting go of insane things department.
Unfortunately, letting go is not as financially advantageous as penny pinching. Back in the day, I had loads of money in my savings, which allowed me to travel to various places throughout the year, including an annual or biannual trans-Atlantic trip. It was awesome. Of course, I was miserable during the rest of the year. But sacrifices, right?
Well, years later, with this laissez-faire attitude towards my finances (which is actually not that laissez-faire considering the amount of effort and money I've put into buying a house and saving for retirement), I find myself at something of a financial disadvantage as compared to my earlier adult years. Sure, I had less friends back then and spent most of my money on dvd rentals and book purchases (cheaper than alcohol and restaurants, I'll tell you that much, but lonelier, too). Still, I had more travel opportunities and more cash in the bank. And I keep thinking, wouldn't it be nice to have a little bit of both?
Since the pendulum has made its full swing from OCD to Oh-Shit, it seems like it's about time to swing back the other way. Hopefully with a little less force.
And so, I sat down today--on my day off of adult things like work--to do other adult things like make a budget and get a better rate on my home insurance. The latter has meant more phone calls than I've made in two months. The former has required me to spend a lot of time on my online banking and credit card sites, analyzing where my money is going and anticipating where I can trim costs (dammit Amazon, stop taking my money!) and where I actually need to spend more (because $40 a month in donations is pretty pathetic).
The result of all that work was a little confusing. Here I was, with a dangerously low balance, and my budget analysis results show that I should have plenty of money left over each month to put into savings. And yet, I drew money yesterday from my savings to avoid overdraft.
So, confusion aside, I've set a plan into motion to get my money back. Well, not back. That money's gone. I've set a plan into motion to keep as much of my future money as I can. The plan is fairly simple. It's effectiveness is still to be determined.
Every day when I come home, I'll check receipts and online banking to record any money I've spent that day--cash or credit. This will keep me on top of all of my expenses (aka guilt me away from overspending), and it will also help prevent cyber criminals from stealing my money without me noticing (I'm looking at you, guy who bought $1,000 in auto parts online with my credit card two months ago).
Any money I get from AirBNB will immediately go into my savings, so that one day in the hopefully near future I can finally pay off the renovation loan that I have to-date only paid 10% of. Eventually, assuming the city doesn't shut AirBNB down, I'll reinvest the money into the house, so that my backyard doesn't look like crap and my fence isn't more horizontal than vertical.
Today, I spent about a half-hour creating monthly donation accounts with several local and international charities (ones that I had been giving to before my credit card numbers changed...oops). Now, on the 15th of each month, money will go out to these various charities, and I will feel less like a Scrooge.
When I go out to eat, I will choose the least expensive thing on the menu that appeals to me. When I drink, I will choose the least expense option that appeals to me. (Because let's be real. I'm not a foodie, and I like drinks better when I can't taste the alcohol, anyway. The value of a more expensive beer/meal is wasted on me.)
When I go to Walgreens, I will have a list, and I will stick to it. When I go to Amazon, I will wait at least two days before confirming a purchase. That way if I still need it by the time it would've arrived, I know it's worth it.
I will call various insurance agencies for a quote so that I'm not spending $4600 a year in home insurance because that's CRAZY TALK.
I will go to the grocery store today and cook each night so that I'll stop eating pretzels and peanut butter (like I'm doing right now) and actually get some real food. Before I go, I will make a list that meets my precise servings needs, including snacks so that I don't go out and buy things on my way home from school.
I will still go to therapy because God knows I'm really gonna need it now that I'm headed back to the crazy train.
No comments:
Post a Comment