Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Finances According to Luck

The bank has done all that they will do.

They feel they are being more than generous when, clearly, I screwed up. Because I have no proof that they mishandled my deposit, they are refunding only a small portion of the overdraft fees charged to my account.

I spent part of Monday evening looking at other banks in the area. The one bank that seemed to have a perfect fit for me has no branches within a 30 minute drive of me. They are more a Chicago bank and not a suburban bank.

I called a couple banks who were next on the list but it would take at least a week to get new accounts up and running because, you know, they have to put a hold on your money to make sure any checks clear. I can see if it's from "John Doe", but when it's from "XYZ Financial Institution", that 5 day clear thing is male bovine excrement. I can't wait 5 days to have access to my money. I have to pay bills now. I can only pay a very small portion of them, too. It's just how it is. Some places are understanding. Others are not and tell me whatever account I'm calling about is "on hold" until I make it right. Fine.

I keep waiting for the proverbial "other shoe to drop".

I have a wee bit of cash on which I can live for the rest of the month. I got cat food yesterday, a new brand that they are eating. It's too far for me to go to Meijer and get the brand Val had for them. I'm not a fan of those gigantic stores anyway. If they continue to eat this as well as they currently are, I'll see if I can get a bigger bag, which is more cost effective.

And, I'm feeding my Lucky Cat.
This is a traditional Japanese good luck charm. You'll see ceramic or porcelain statues at the entrance to all shops in Japan. This is a small bank. We got it in the Japanese section of World Showcase at Epcot Center at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida many years ago.

The tradition is that the white cat brings in wealth. There are other colors representing other places where luck is wished, such as health, family and love. The "rule" is you feed the Lucky Cat your spare change once a week, not counting how much you put in the bank. The cat then multiplies the coinage over the next week. When the bank is full, you empty 75% of it, always leaving some as "seed" money.

The only problem with this bank is that the bottom hole from which you remove the coins, is too small to accommodate quarters. So, I have a separate bank that Carole and I made when times were tough. The quarters go into that along with the 75% of the bank when it's full. You are never to count the coins because that supposedly chased the luck away. I don't count them until the separate bank is almost too heavy to carry. I've turned in $150 and $110 in change and bills in the over 15 years we've had the lucky cat. Yes, I had change and I fed it last night.

I know it seems ridiculously silly to put any faith in a superstition. I would like my luck to change. Instead of me always having to throw money at something to fix it, why can't the money come to me so I don't feel like the next sound I hear is a major appliance breaking down? That's where the stress is, the feeling totally and completely helpless to change anything about my situation. I wrote my letters to the Better Business Bureau and to the Illinois Attorney General. I know nothing will come of these. The only thing I'm doing is filing a notice that I feel deceived.

I'm out of bread so I have to run to the store tomorrow. I also need garbage stickers. There will be chances for change to feed the cat. Life is what it is. I can only go forward from this point and hope that my luck changes.

Beverage: Scottish Blend Tea

Deb

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