Plastic Withdrawl

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I never realize how addicted I am to plastic.

Lord help me.

I bank with a credit union.  It serves me well.  I’ve had few problems overall.  However, on September 2 I tried to use my debit card and …. declined.  D@mn thing was expired.  So I called the CU.  The chick on the phone assured me that I had been sent a new on in June. 

“I don’t have a new one.”  “We sent it out” she said.  “Doesn’t matter, I never received it” said I.  “You didn’t activate it.”  “Well, how could I?  I never received it.”  “We sent it in a plain envelope.” “Doesn’t matter.  I never received it.” On and on like that for a few minutes it went. 

About 10 days ago I get my new card.  I called to activate it.  It wouldn’t work.  I was calling from a phone that wasn’t the one on record.  I hang up and get to the ‘phone on record.’ 

The first opportunity to use the card was at Kroger.  I swiped the card and entered the pin number.  Declined.  “Try it againg.  The system said it was declined.” I tried it again.  Declined.  Now I’m getting upset.  “Run it as a credit card to see if that will work.” I said.  Declined.  “Sh*t, now I have to write a freakin check.”

So, I have no cash.  When was the last time you tried to pay for fuel with a check?

At lunch today I ran to the CU to try the card at their machine.  “Your card has been deactivated,” blares at me on the screen.  So I go in.

Turns out that my card was shut down because I used the wrong pin number.  I used the only one I received in the mail, but it was for another card from the same CU.  I managed to get the card re-activated easily, since I was there in person.  But I realized just how addicted I’ve become to plastic.

During the three weeks I’ve been without a card I have really had to think through my week so I either had enough cash to get by or could get to the CU during business hours.  I’ve written more checks during that time than I have in probably three months.  I’m used to swiping that card at Kroger, Rite Aide, the doctor’s office, the gas station, Shoney’s, everywhere. 

I used to only write checks.  Somehow it seemed to help me be more accountable.  However, it is starting to seem to me that the debit card is almost as bad as cash.  I don’t deplete my account.  Well, I don’t try to draw out more than I have.  <blush>  But it is very easy to just ’swipe’ that card and go, without thinking whether it is a wise purchase.  Checks force me to write out the final costs, which will, occassionally, force me to rethink the purchase.

But plastic is so much easier ……..

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