Outrageous Prices at the Gas Station

It is important to keep track of our spending so that it does not get out of hand. We should budget and write down the money we spend everyday so that we do not go over our balance and get charged a late fee. These fees can be as much as thirty dollars and since they are charged when we are over our balance, it just adds to our misery. Some people go as far as to use prepaid Visa cards so that they can keep track of money online and add funds to the card when necessary. It is an easy way to make sure that you do not go over your balance and spend money that you just do not have in the bank.

When using our debit card we must also check our balance regularly to see if our interpretation of our budget compares favorably with what the bank says we have in our account. Also, checking to see if there is any fraudulent activity with our account is imperative. Amazingly, by no fault of his own, a man in New Hampshire swiped his debit card at a gas station and was charged over $23 quadrillion for the purchase.

Obviously, this is out of the norm and he was also charged an overdraft fee as well, most likely a computer glitch of some kind. Who has that kind of money to cover a purchase like that?! The man, Josh Muszynski, noticed the charge a few hours later online and called the bank to find out what happened. Of course, the charge was fixed and the overdraft fee was removed as well. This goes to show how important it is to check your balance daily and stick to a good budget.

The trick to budgeting correctly is to be realistic about your spending. The best part of a budget is that you can see where you are spending and make adjustments. Although the example of Josh and his $23 quadrillion purchase is outrageous, it is an exaggerated example of out of hand spending and what can happen if we are not careful.