Can you spare some change?

This is the first installment of 2 more "happens to me stories," that occured this week in conjunction with my short trip to Wisconsin for work.

I did a refi on the house today, since rates have dropped so much, it was a good time to make the change. So, in preparation I needed to move some money for closing fees. Decided I'd schedule that online on Saturday, my savings account is online there is no *bank* to drive up to, well unless you drive to New York, so it's something that has to be planned ahead a little. (If you need a good rate on a savings account I'd recommend it you can check an American Dream Account here, it's around 4.3% compared to the less than one you can get at "the bank." and it's totally as safe as your traditional account)

Anyway, long story short, don't schedule online transfers when you're not entirely with it. I screwed up and scheduled the transaction in the wrong direction, overdrafting my checking account on Monday....Monday when I needed to leave for Rockford.

So, sometime monday afternoon in the course of a conversaion talking about all the tolls I was going to have to pay, I realized I'd need to get some cash, and remembered that transaction was supposed to post. So, I went to the website to check it out and saw my big fat ZERO balance and freaked.

Quickly realizing what I'd done, I thought um, I have no money that's immediately availalbe...now what am I going to do.

So, I'm sitting in my office, thinking about begging Jeannie for some money but knowing she doesn't usually have cash on hand either and hated to put a strain on her, only because I'm an cotton headed ninnymuggins.

HEY! I say to myself you have that check for 15 bucks, but I bet the bank's gonna want that for the 10 dollar overdraft fee if I try to cash it...*sigh*

ok...I'm gonna have to go throw myself on the mercy of some bank person. God's chosen method to keep me humble *today*.

I walk in and Larry greets me. I begin to explain to Larry that I've mad a major financial blunder. I have a zero balance, that will be remedied tomorrow as that's as soon as I can schedule to undo what I've done but that I'm leaving in a few hours for Chicago and need cash for tolls and realizing I'm not in much of position to ask for favors, but wondered if it would be possible to cash a check, just to get me to Rockford tonight.

"I'm sorry maam, if you cash a check we'll need to take that for the ODF. I think the only option you have is to take a cash advance on your credit card." I then humbly begging for his mercy, explained to Larry I'd never done that and really hoped not to and that this was only the 3rd time in 31 years I'd ever overdrafted my account and that if it weren't the worst possible timing in the history of man it wouldn't be a big deal, but that I really wanted to keep the I'm an idiot "fees" I've incurred to myself to a minimum.

Well, after Larry spent some time contemplating the potential of my criminality level, took a copy of my DL, saw that said check was from the same bank and only for a mere 15 dollars and asked for the legal rights to my first born son, he decided he could give me 15 dollars in "good faith."

Thank goodness for good faith. I was seriously wondering if I was going to have to send my wife to collect toll money from the townspeople, or maybe see if I could get Old Man Gower or Sam Wayneright to wire me some money in order to keep the sheriff and the bank examiner from locking me up.

You know, something I've come to better understand over the last year is that God has purpose in everything, not every big thing or every major event...ever thing. It's all His (all of everything), to give and to take, whenever He choses. I think this was one of the ways He was reminding me of exactly Who He is.

Jehovah Jira.

*I'm not trying to sound all smart with that bit of Hebrew, I had to ask Jeannie to remind me which name of God from the OT meant God Provides, thanks Jeannie.