Do you subscribe to Miniature Donkey Talk magazine? You don’t think so? Well, neither did a person with whom I did a recent Chip’s Money Tips Debt Strategy Session.
As a joke, a couple years ago he got a subscription for a buddy. He had them pull the payment out of his checking account. This person never looked at his bank statements. When we sat down, we found that he had authorized them to auto-renew by pulling money out of his checking account.
That’s a joke that keeps on giving – and braying.
During another Debt Strategy Session, we came across a long-forgotten auto-withdrawal to Stamps.com. He’d authorized them to take $16/month out of his checking account – so he could print postage at home. He signed up three years ago… and never used it!
We called Stamps.com and pleaded boneheaded-ness, asking for a refund since it was never used. They gave a six month refund. You do the math. Heck, I’ll do the math! 30 months x $16 =$480. Wow! That’s $480 after tax, hard-earned dollars that were wasted. So, this is what I suggest…
The past is the past. Everyone makes mistakes. If you screwed up, fix it and move on. Please start reconciling your bank statements. You might wanna have a li’l look-see for money that is automatically yanked from your checking account.
As you have just read, auto-withdrawals can be problematic. I use a credit card as a firewall to protect my money. I charge everything on a credit card, approve the charges when I get my statement and then pay it off in full. Click on “Chip’s Favorite Credit Card Offers” at the top right side of this website for up-to-date deals, terms, and conditions on those cards Email me if you have any questions about which card might be right for your situation.
If you want to talk to me about a Debt Strategy Session, I am happy to help. It’s also worth it to check out Stamps.com, if you think you will actually use it. Stamps.com lets you print postage at home. It is convenient and can save you a lot of time and money. Otherwise, load up on books of stamps at the grocery store.