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Budgeting Basics
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by Tammy Harrison

Bank This!

Our business checking account was with a trusted institution in south Texas. Through mergers and buy-outs, it is now at a major bank that is accessible in practically every state in the union. The one thing I have enjoyed is that our bank offered online banking long before it was available to smaller banks.

We happen to have our personal accounts at the same bank. Again, we didn't choose this bank, but they bought out the local bank we started with when we moved here. The ease of leaving well enough alone outweighed the pain of moving all of our accounts.

But, nothing prepared me for a telephone call I received late this summer.

"Hello, is this Tammy Harrison?" the person on the other end of the phone stated.

"Yes, it is," I responded curtly - thinking it was yet another telemarketer.

The caller identified herself as a teller at the drive-thru of our bank. "You drove through the bank on August 11th," she continued "and I gave you $500 cash instead of the $200 you wrote your check for."

"Excuse me?" I exclaimed.

She went on to tell me how she did what she truly didn't do.

Now, it's one thing to be accused of something that you did - but it's a completely different thing to be accused of something you didn't do!

I told her that I had experienced incorrect transactions at banks before, and I never left the drive-thru without checking out the receipts and money thoroughly. I knew, without a doubt, that she did NOT give me $300 more than I requested!

Without letting me finish my sentence, she hastily said, "Let me have you talk to our manager," and she put me on hold.

The manager came onto the line and did the exact same thing! Not so much as a question as to whether I ran off with their money, he immediately accused me of taking more than I wrote my check for!

Once off the telephone, I found all of my receipts and checks, and called my banker uncle. I knew that there was no way I could PROVE that they didn't give me more money than I requested - at least not from a consumer's standpoint. The only way to know for sure is to look at the receipts at the bank, from the day in question. I also knew that one way that bank tellers are able to skim money is to do exactly what they were accusing me of. For instance, the teller's drawer is short, so blame it on a customer instead of on the one who is in charge of that drawer! I was not going to stand for being treated the way I had been treated, and I was bound and determined to do something about it! My uncle suggested I document the conversations, names, dates, etc. so that I would not forget anything. Then he said the best thing to do was to wait it all out, to see what the bank decided.

About three weeks later, the teller manager called me. She said "I thought you'd like to know that the teller made an error."

That was IT! No apology, no explanation, NOTHING!

I am slowly moving our accounts to a few different local institutions. It's an arduous process, and it takes a lot of time that I really don't have to give to it. But, the flip-side of this is that I really don't have the time to be treated like a criminal, without due process.

When all is said and done, I urge you to make sure that you are treating your customers right. It is the ONLY way you will have a successful home-based business.

Budget Baby Steps

You are a two-income family, sharing and spreading the wealth amongst yourselves.

All of a sudden, baby one comes along, and you find your heart pulled in a different direction than you ever imagined. Your emotions run high, and you make a decision that will change your life and the life of your family forever -- you quit your job and your checkbook has a heart attack!

I have heard from so many people that they just aren't capable of living within a budget. Why is that? Most likely, it is because you never had to worry about budgeting or because you were never taught how to create and stick to a budget!

I like to recommend baby steps when assisting people with their budget plans. You don't just go from college graduate to the CEO of a Fortune 500 company in a day, and the same can be said for going from a two-income family to a one-income family.

The reality in budgeting effectively runs much deeper than just figuring out how to live with less, as money matters enter into your personal relationships as well. If you are stressed out about money, you will not be happy staying at home.

So, start small. For instance, instead of looking at how much money you do not have to spend each paycheck, look at how much you need. We all have the same expenses that are vital to living, such as mortgage or rent, food, utilities, savings, etc. Those bills should be paid first. Then you have the disposable income, or what's left from your pay to spend on needs or wants beyond the necessities.

Say you are planning to buy summer clothes for your children. Starting small with your budget means not over-spending when you go shopping. To do that, you must know what you are looking for before you go to the mall. First, decide what the kids need. I have four kids, so I would need a minimum of three outfits each for the kids. Let's say I have $100 to spend on all of their summer clothes. That would mean I can only spend about $8.00 apiece on their outfits. Is this realistic? Can I buy all that I plan to buy on that amount? If you cannot, then you need to find alternative ways to outfit your kids, such as shopping at thrift stores, visiting garage sales or learning to sew. I believe, that with some savvy shopping and planning, I would not have any trouble getting the kids some nice clothes within my means.

While making my list, I would go through their clothes drawers, seeing what they have that still fits and could be paired with a new pair of shorts or a new shirt. I would take all of their jeans that have holes in the knees and cut them off for shorts. I would look at their sweatshirts that may not be viable for another winter and cut the sleeves off, even turning a warm shirt into a midriff shirt! Now, my list is pared down to define exactly what they need!

Start your budget small. Know what you need when you go to the store, and do not let your emotions over something very adorable sway. Once you learn how to manage your money on such a small purchase, you will then be able to use your new-found skill on bigger items!