Today I realized just how important it is to play your cards right. I was charged with the task of getting a few groceries at Target today by my mother, which I figured I'd be a good son and go ahead and do. The deal was go get the goods, then she'd reimburse me the total after I came back with the purchases. No problem right? Everything was fine up until I got to the cash register. I had found the bargain items, taken advantage of a few sales, left behind a few tempting but unnecessary luxury food stuffs that I know my mom wouldn't approve of on her budget, and overall I had done a good job at doing what was asked of me. I was in high spirits up until it came time to pay. Just those 8 or 9 bags worth of groceries at Target had added up to a surprising total of $91.56. I shrugged internally at my mom's fondness of Target when I knew the commissary was a better bang for your buck, but swiped my card anyway. That's when the trouble began.
The cashier looked at me apologetically and said, " Uh, sorry, it didn't go through. Do you want to try again?" I was confused, but figured it was probably her fault. I knew for sure that I had money on my card, so I swiped again. Another disappointing rejection notice appeared on the screen. At that point I was starting to become indignant and a bit embarrassed. Why wasn't the card working? I just played it off like I knew what had happened and asked if there was an ATM in the store. She pointed me in the right direction and I went to take out cash, only to find that the ATM was out of service. I ended up having to go down the shopping center to the Shoppers to withdraw the necessary $80 and go back and pay for the darn groceries.
What went wrong? A few things. First was my choice of credit cards. As a young adult I don't have the credit that older adults have, so I decided to sign up for a Navy Federal credit card that was secure. This means that the card was essentially a debit card that built credit with every use. It's a good way to keep your money in check, since there's no possibility of over-drafting or using funds that simply aren't there. The downside is that since I had transferred money over from my savings to my credit card yesterday, the transaction was still pending and the card didn't have the money I needed. Because I chose a secure, smart way to build credit, I was charged $3 dollars for using an M&T ATM. Ridiculous.
The moral of the story? When choosing your cards, keep in mind that there are pros and cons to every type of card out there. Checking, Credit, or Debit, they all have their ups and downs. Make sure that when you pick a card you find one that has either many convenient locations for ATMs and banks, or one that reimburses any withdraw fees you may acquire. Also keep in mind that if you go for a standard credit card, you need to be smart and keep in mind that just because you can spend the banks money, it doesn't mean you should. Don't go into debt like so many millions of Americans have before you. If a secure card is right up your alley, go for it! Just make sure to have cash on you too so you don't end up like me in Target today!
Sources:
https://www.navyfederal.org/products-services/cards/creditcards/creditcardsAA.php
Navy Federal Credit Union.Virginia: 2012. NCU, n.d. Web. 19 March 2012.
Bravo! This was an excellent post in that you give first a scenario, then an explanation of how the scenario really fits into your topic. I'm impressed. Keep this up!
ReplyDeleteNow I would only suggest that you consider MLA style in the formatting of that reference. You have all the right pieces of the puzzle--just think about order.