Overdraft

Hi there. My name's Frank. I'd like to tell you my story. Not long ago I opened a checking account of my own. I was very careful with my checking account. I wrote down everything in my check register and kept it running balance for the first few weeks. But after a while I started forgetting to take my checkbook with me, instead, I used my debit card. I tried to keep track of how much money I had in my head, but it was just a general idea. One day, after spending an afternoon finishing some homework, I decided to get some pizza and invite one of my buddies over to watch a video. I ran down to the pizza place to buy the pizza, and realized I had forgotten my checkbook again. I knew I had spent most of the money in my account, but was fairly sure that there was about $20 left in it. I ordered a large pizza and a cheese bread and used my debit card to pay for it. I'll be honest, I never really gave it a second thought. My buddy was going to pick up the video and meet me at my house. About four days later I was looking through the mail and saw an envelope addressed to me from kazo credit union. I opened it to find an overdraft notice. The letter explained that there had only been $7 and 42 cents in my account, the pizza had cost $13 and 99 cents. It also stated that the bank had charged me a $25 overdraft fee. I guess I didn't have as much money as I thought. I'll have to take care of it with my next paycheck. By the next paycheck I had forgotten all about the overdraft charge. I had paid all my bills and had some money left over, so I went shopping for a new stereo for my car. Even at Walmart the stereos were more expensive than I expected. I decided not to go with the nicer one and settled for one that was a little less expensive. A few weeks later I found a letter on the counter from Davis financial services. I didn't know who they were, so I opened the letter to try and figure it out. I was shocked to see that my debt with queso credit union had been turned over to the collection agency, who had also charged me another $25 fee. I went through some other mail in my room, and discovered another letter that I had never opened from kazoo credit union, telling me that I had 5 days to pay the overdraft, or it would be turned over to collections, as I read the letter more carefully, it stated I would be charged $25 per week unless I contacted them. I decided I'd better go talk to my mom and see what I could do about this. The collection agency was threatening to attack even more fees on to my debt that was already up to $81 and 87 cents. My mom and I sat down and looked over my account. My mom was disappointed to see that I hadn't been keeping up my checkbook register. She explained that knowing exactly how much money was in your account was your biggest responsibility when you have your own account. She helped me balance out my account and figured out how much I owed the collection agency. She also advised me to call and make arrangements to pay it with my next paycheck. This was going to leave me with no spending money for the next few weeks, but if I didn't take care of it, the collection agency could take me to court and add on even more fees. My mom also explained that spending money you don't have is illegal and you could go to jail for it. I was amazed when I sat down and calculated how much one afternoon in pizza had cost me. After all the overdraft fees and collection fees, one large pizza and a cheese bread had cost me over $81. It was not worth it. It wasn't easy, but I worked a few extra shifts at moments for the next few weeks, and got back on my feet financially. I had learned a very valuable lesson. I was much more careful with my checking account from then on. I always routed on every transaction and keep track of how much money I have.