Oops, that was embarrassing

I've been really diligent about keeping a spreadsheet up-to-date with my current balance and any expected expenditures and deposits for the coming months.  Sort of like a balanced check book for the computer age, I check my balances online, make sure payments are set up or went through on time, and it all gets tracked in one place.  This has been really crucial since I've started tackling my debt since I need to know how much I can pay off each bill while making sure there's enough left over for all the other bills.  There have been a couple times in the past months that my account has dipped too close to $0 for comfort but I've stayed out of the danger zone by carefully planning when I send bills off so I don't bounce my account.... except for today.

I knew I was "in the red" coming up soon based on a review of my spreadsheet last week and I had planned on transferring some cash from my newly padded savings account.  For some reason I thought I had more time because I opened up my spreadsheet this morning when I got to work and realized that today was the day I would bounce my account unless I deposited some money.  Too late to do a transfer from my savings (which I have safely out of easy reach at my credit union) to my big bank checking account, I counted up the cash in my pocket and realized I was still $7 short of covering the bill.  Fortunately, I keep a little wallet of quarters in my car for parking meters so I ran out and breathed a huge sigh of relief that I had $9 in quarters.

I hustled into the bank with my coin purse and $13 in cash with a fear they wouldn't take my coins since they weren't rolled up.  Thankfully the bank was practically empty when I dumped my coin purse on the counter with a look of desperation.  I know I shouldn't feel so embarrassed but I work in one of the wealthiest towns in the area and I could just imagine the thoughts of the rich people around me.  The teller agreed to take the change since it was quarters and not 900 pennies but I could tell he was feeling sorry for me.  So even though it was an embarrassing encounter, now I won't bounce my account and I've learned that I really need to leave some wiggle room in my budget.