If your checking account gets low...
By SomeCowgirl
@SomeCowgirl (32191)
United States
August 26, 2010 12:12pm CST
If your checking account ever gets below $50.00 or at $50.00 do you start to worry. What if it just gets to $150?. I really don't like to see our account get lower then $150 though I realize it usually only ever gets that low after we've paid all our bills and made some purchases. I remember, and I've probably driven this into the ground here by now, when my husband and I were both working and how we could keep $4000 in the bank, even though we didn't have that many bills at the time.
Now he's the only one working and after we got done paying our bills for this month and purchasing a few things our account has gotten down lower then it's been in awhile. Albeit it's good in a way because we paid off one of our bills completely so we don't have to worry about it, but I just rather see atleast $250 to $575 in our account at a time.
Anyone feel the same way? I do especially if the money is money we don't plan to use and so it just grows in there, ya know what I mean?
3 people like this
13 responses
@Lakota12 (42600)
• United States
27 Aug 10
hell I am luck to have maybe $25 left in my account every month after paying bills and then the bank blew it last month by taking money out before I got paid! I had to find away to put money in so every thing wouldnt bouns this was something I knew about but didnt think they would take out before my check arrived in there grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
2 people like this
@SomeCowgirl (32191)
• United States
27 Aug 10
It is funny how things like that happen. Luckily and I knock on wood at this, the bank my husband and I bank at have excellent customer service, and an excellent online banking profile, it tells us our available balance which accounts for all things that we've swiped with our card, of course we have to account for the checks before they are received and processed, but we can do that.
Even so, I like to try to earn as much as I can online and save it in paypal for when we need to get money in there, and of course we have our savings account we can transfer money to. I think the first fee for an overdraft is $25.00?
1 person likes this
@SomeCowgirl (32191)
• United States
27 Aug 10
One of the banks I Used to bank at I had an overdraft protection plan on my savings, never got one for my checking. We don't have over draft protection but of course we can just take it from our savings...
1 person likes this
@SomeCowgirl (32191)
• United States
26 Aug 10
ahh well see we don't have all that many bills right now so getting down as low as $150 isn't that much of a bother but I can see where getting beelow $1000 is bothersome.
2 people like this
@SomeCowgirl (32191)
• United States
26 Aug 10
wow yeah $275.00 a week can drain ya, and using the credit card isn't always better but sometimes you just have to.
1 person likes this
@veejay19 (3589)
• India
27 Aug 10
Its funny but this very morning i updated my bank acoount and found just 66 dollars( of course in Indian rupees) amt in it. Since i am a retired person and have huge expenses it is a terrible situation.I have just foreclosed a mutual fund and that will increase the amount but only temporarily as i plan to diversify that amount into other channels which will hopefully give me some income.Things have become extremely expensive and overheads have galloped so seeing a small sum in the bank account fills me with fear and worry.
2 people like this
@SomeCowgirl (32191)
• United States
27 Aug 10
I am sorry to hear your filled with fear and worry, I can understand that feeling and know it's not a very comfortable one. I hope you can find ways to get more money in there before your bills need to be paid again.
Good Luck!
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (167071)
• Boise, Idaho
27 Aug 10
It gets tough. When I had to quit work back in 2006 I was sweatin' it alittle because there was a layover from the time I quit until my social security disability kicked in. Luckily they were quick. I was also lucky in that I get a small payment from the company I retired from for live.(and I only worked for them for five years) I do get nervous if my checking gets down to around $50. I have little pittly bills that drive me nuts and I try to pay off bit by bit. I would like to pay one off a month but things are so close I would be low on funds if I did. In October things should be better and I hope to have about 300 left after all bills are paid. And I keep some in paypal for emergencies so that is nice but it takes a couple days for it to transfer.
@SomeCowgirl (32191)
• United States
27 Aug 10
A pension check for only working five years at a company is pretty good. I am glad that disability worked fast and got your first check out to you as soon as they possibly could, I know people on disability and sometimes it seems that the people down at these offices don't care or are just over worked.
I know paypal takes four days to go out, and so if we ever need money from paypal we're sure to try to calculate it before we're going to need to use it. It takes four days for us to get our paypal to our bank, not sure about for you. Now I know someone online who has a paypal debit card and they say it's instant to get it transferred from paypal to the debit card, but that would only be good for grocery shopping and stuff like that.
Here's hoping you can start paying off those bills, my husband and I have paid off some bills in the past, one not too long ago, and so we know how it feels.
2 people like this
@celticeagle (167071)
• Boise, Idaho
28 Aug 10
Ya, I was lucky all around. I got a early retirement and the pension. The early retirement entitled me to $8,000 dollars and a gift. I got a Trek mountain bike. The pension was a very nice surprise. I think SS is definitely over worked.
Paypal always goes pretty quickly for me. Never has taken over three days. I usually get it the following Monday if I put in for on Friday. Very quick. Very happy with them.
I would love to get those bills payed off. I hate having them.
Take care Sweetie!
1 person likes this
@Memnon (2170)
•
26 Aug 10
I am afraid that, right now, our account runs right to the wire most months. We don't like it that way, but that't the way it is right now.
It really does not matter what we do, the banks will try to mess things around so that you somehow go into overdraft if they possibly can.
@barrazawito (6)
• Mexico
26 Aug 10
I think it depends. If you are a student and you still dependet from your parents it is good to have some money even if it is below 50. But if you are the head of your house of course worry about it. Having a limited amount of money and you need to feed your children you must do something. When bills are above your income it is necessary to give up some things.
@SomeCowgirl (32191)
• United States
26 Aug 10
I am not sure if you mean the "general you" or the "me you" but my husband and I aren't the heads of household, and generally just pay our bills and do our own thing with our money now.
1 person likes this
@KrauseHome (36448)
• United States
1 Mar 11
Personally it would be nice to be able to see $$ still in our account after paying bills, etc to where we know we have some set aside for a rainy day, or Emergency but lately we are lucky if there is much left at all. It really does not seem fair most of the time to go to work get paid and have nothing left, but that is the way of life. We know in time hopefully something will happen and we can get a little ahead again.
@gabs8513 (48686)
• United Kingdom
29 Aug 10
Hi Cowgirl
Never in my Life have I been able to keep that much in my account even now once the Bills are paid shopping done there is not a lot left
I admire the fact that you are able to have that much stay in your account once your Bills and that have been paid
@SomeCowgirl (32191)
• United States
29 Aug 10
I have seen people have little money to their name, and well I know it's inevitable sometimes, I like to try to get as much as possible in my account. The cost of everything has gone up drastically and usually with it the quality of whatever it is goes down...
Food for example...
@animegirl334 (3263)
• United States
7 Sep 10
I feel the same way you do. Even though there might not be unpaid bills or credit card debt, I still feels better if I have some money in the bank. Something unexpected might happen. Like if a family member gets into an accident then I would like to have some money available to help them. It would be good if nothing bad happens but it doesn't hurt to be prepared.
@saundyl (9783)
• Canada
29 Aug 10
i PREFER to have 200 or more in my account however there are times i know its just not possible. I had 2 months of unemployment this summer (long story short i opened my own business) and found that with bills and such and no income it was hard to keep the amount in the bank i would prefer.
I'm working again finally - and had my first paychequefrom the job. I'm looking forward to having that buffer in my account again.
1 person likes this
@saundyl (9783)
• Canada
30 Aug 10
i was lucky...the layoff and opening of the business were both planned in conjunction. I had told my boss i was going to be leaving at the end of august to open my own business and he said ok...in that case here will be closing so if you want to open earlier (which i managed to open 2 weeks earlier than planned!) that will work out well for you. I spent most the month and a half...two months planning and ordering and arranging which i wouldnt have had time to do i know now...if i had continued to work where i was.
@saundyl (9783)
• Canada
30 Aug 10
i was lucky...the layoff and opening of the business were both planned in conjunction. I had told my boss i was going to be leaving at the end of august to open my own business and he said ok...in that case here will be closing so if you want to open earlier (which i managed to open 2 weeks earlier than planned!) that will work out well for you. I spent most the month and a half...two months planning and ordering and arranging which i wouldnt have had time to do i know now...if i had continued to work where i was.
@SomeCowgirl (32191)
• United States
29 Aug 10
I am glad you were able to open your own business and get back on your feet within such a short amount of time. I know what you mean about feeling uneasy over the balance in the account, I just like to see more in there so we know it's there in case we or anyone else we know needs it.
1 person likes this
@bounce58 (17387)
• Canada
30 Aug 10
I've got a few automatic debits to my account, so I also get worried when it gets really low. Specially days just before payday! I always wonder if I would ever make it to payday without moving money around. I've been burned a few times, and being charged for having 'insufficient' balance really hurts! Financially, I mean.
@kingparker (9673)
• United States
20 Feb 11
That will be a big worry for me to have such low balance in my account. I might not be able to sleep at all. Well, somehow, you have to manage to cut down the costs, or something you can avoid to not have, it is okay right? I would try my best, and come up anyway to avoid those fees all at once.
@ReViewMeMedia (3785)
• United States
7 Nov 10
I worry if mine gets below a hundred, but I haven't had to worry about that, since I haven't really been spending a lot of money lately. That might change today, since I'm going to Wal-Mart later this afternoon.
