Good morning Loves. Have you ever had a really bad money day? I have had a few – most notably when I realized I was over $50k in debt and wouldn’t be able to pay it back. But that’s a story for another time. So has it ever happened to you – one of those earth shattering bad money days ? I mean a really bad day when everything related to your money just goes wrong from overspending to being ripped off.
Well I just had one and it took me two days to get over the devastation. I woke up Friday morning and everything from that moment until the time I went to bed was a total money disaster. I went through a range of emotions from sadness to anger and then finally defeat.
Personal Confession: The ultimate low of my night was when I had a mental breakdown in front of the pizza delivery man at 9 pm. After a slew of bad money luck from credit card fraud to over paying for a bad haircut I burst into tears because the pizza delivery man didn’t have my correct change.
When I was younger, and mismanaged my money, a bad money day would be the difference between buying groceries or paying rent. Now bad money days aren’t as financially devastating as they are just inconvenient and a total pain in the butt.
2 tips to help you deal with a bad money day:
Prevent yourself against future credit card fraud. My credit card had over $300 in fraudulent charges. Five years ago when my credit cards were always maxed out this would have put me over the limit and caused additional fees while the company investigated the fraudulent transactions.
Now that I am debt free I don’t appreciate having fake charges on my credit card because it’s inconvenient to spend an hour on the phone explaining the situation to a customer service representative. However at this point in my life it’s not a life or death financial situation.
I immediately cancelled my credit card and changed the number. It’s nice to know that I can live a few days (even longer) without having a credit card in my wallet – this wasn’t the case five years ago because I lived in a cycle of bad credit.
Just breath because it will (eventually) fix itself. Panic is the first thought that crosses my mind when I overpay for a purchase or when my credit card has fraudulent transactions. If this happened five years ago I would have been an emotional wreck. I would have flipped out on the customer service representative and yelled at the cashier who over charged me, but that never helps because it’s not their fault.
Now a bad money day is more inconvenient than anything else. In my previous money life fake credit card transactions or overpaying above and beyond my budget would have had a long lasting financial impact. Now they still suck but at least I can recover from the damage.
Photo from flickr
I was totally broker before and now I can’t even say that I’m financially independent. I’m still slowly saving and trying to build and emergency fund. That’s why I’m not a fan of credit card, I prefer to use cash instead.
Having an emergency savings fund has helped me a lot lately. I never had one until I was 31 but now I’m glad I do. I have a credit card and I treat it like a game of golf – I always want to improve my score. It’s a personal mission for me.
I don’t usually get speeding tickets but I remember when a photo radar came in the mail. I was upset about having to fork over money for 13km/h over the speed limit. That same day I was driving home after having picked up the mail (my mother gets my mail). I wasn’t paying attention and seen a bright flash. Now I’ll have a similar ticket coming in the mail from the exact location I got the first one. That was a bad money day…
Photo radar is brutal. You think you’ve had a great trip and then three weeks later you get a ticket in the mail – YIKES. I hate tickets. I’m like don’t cops have anything better to do – like catch real criminals who are hurting people?!
What I normally do to overcome those days is to to share it with someone..it helps getting the load off your shoulders and get some pretty good advice at the same time. Those bad money days can indeed still kick us real hard. Glad to know that you’re over it and yes I do agree that taking a deep breath can help you stay focus again. As for the credit card fraud, well you really have to be careful these days.
You are right, it does help to share. But I still wish it never happened. I am not a big fan of surprises, especially when it comes to money. I’m more of a planning kind of girl.
I was completely agent before and now I cannot even say that I’m economically separate. I’m still gradually preserving and trying to develop and urgent finance. That is why I’m not a fan of bank cards, I want to use money instead. Thanks for sharing the post.
Hey John – you don’t have a bank card? You always carry cash? WOW I wish I could do that.