Overdraft fees.
They make no sense to me. Overdraft fees were something I got when I first moved to Los Angeles and I was struggling to make ends meet and Wells Fargo were complete asses that charged an arm and a leg for each one. I quickly got my act together, left Wells Fargo, joined a credit union and vowed never again.
To my alarm, as I was gathering my deductions for my taxes I noticed an alarming number at the bottom of my Statement. There at the bottom was a "Year to Date- Overdraft Fee" box. I thought hmmm, I don't remember getting too many. . . shouldn't be that bad. . . $1000. I had over $1000 in Overdraft Fees last year. Do you KNOW how much I could USE $1000 right now?!
To my chagrin this year has begun much in the same way. I vowed to stop getting overdraft fees in 2012 but my year has not started off that great. I don't know what I was thinking, but in a weird, roundabout way, I thought it was better to pay my bills on time, and just accrue the fees if I didn't have quite enough in my account to cover them. WHAT THE HELL? Most of the late fees on my bills are $15. Here I was getting things paid in a responsible manner but paying a $25 Overdraft Fee at the same time instead of just getting a $5-$15 late fee on the bill. Most of the time if I call the people I owe money to, they just make a note of it, charge the late fee and they wait for the money to show up.
Also, I hate Overdraft FEES and I think they are mean and do NOTHING to help people who are perhaps struggling to get by. I get it, from a business point of view, but I think they've gotten a little out of hand. I think they are strictly a way for Credit Union's and Banks to make money off of people for NOW GOOD REASON. Most of the time they create a greater problem. This last month, I had to pay my $300 car bill three weeks late because I didn't have the money, but over the last month I was charged about $250 in Overdraft fees! That's almost enough to pay the car bill!!! AHHHHH!! In money I will NEVER GET BACK!!!
Don't even get me started on the vicious circle of debt that they can create. Watch my video blurb to hear more.
Now that we've ranted. . . What can I do in my new found Financial honesty to stop getting late fees. STOP spending money that I don't have. Wait until I have the money to pay the bill or get a money order when I have the money and that way, it gets deducted from my account without having to wait for checks to clear or the dust to settle on all pending transactions. I mentioned in my blog yesterday that a lot of this had to do with not keeping track of the money I had spent in my checking account. BIG no, no that I will never do again. I downloaded a simple app on my iPhone called, iCash Tracker to act as an electronic cash register and tell me how much money I ACTUALLY have to spend. I hope this solves my problem because I HATE giving credit unions and banks my money for NOTHING> NOTHING> NOTHING. There are so many amazing places I could go and things I could buy if I just saved that money and never got another Overdraft Fee in my life.
I'm done getting fees. What about you? Have you sworn fees out of your life? Join me won't you, though the execs at your bank might not be too happy, the money you have left over for a massage will definitely be worth it.
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