We think the bank is supposed to count our money for us. Guess what people we haven't come far enough in technology for computers to be 100% accurate. The most technology can do is give a really good guess about what you did with your money since you're the only one putting the money into your account from either your direct deposit or cash and the only one with you every time your buy something only you could possibly determine with 100% certainty what you did ant didn't buy. That means YOU need to keep track of how much money you put into your account and how much you spent because regardless of what the computer said your balance is YOU will be responsible for spending money you don't have. Those goes for when the bank accidentally gives you too much money. If you spend excess money in your bank account you will be penalized
Now if you think this could never happen to you then you need to understand that while a debit card represents all of the money you keep in your bank account it is not as simple as cash changing hands. When you swipe your card at the store you're purchasing from does not get the money right away. What they get from swiping your card is permission to take the money from your bank account. So if they end up not taking the money right away and you spend it it's on you. It could even look like they already took the money because when they swipe your card and your purchase is approved it shows up as pending on your account. Put pending doesn't mean they've taken the money yet but usually the charge post to your account meaning the store or merchant has the money.
What can be confusing is when the merchant doesn't take there money in a timely fashion. This happened to me and cost me hundreds of dollars. When I was 17 and got my first job at a fast food chain I got half off on food. So I'd buy things like a burger or a cookie and it'd be like 0.50 to 1.00 and swipe my card from a starter account my dad had set up for me. Eventually I opened my own checking account and starting depositing all of my money there and totally stopped using or deposit money into that savings account. My first mistake was not making an effort to save money while I still lived rent free with my parents and had ample opportunity.
My second mistake was failing realize that about 15 if the small purchases from my employer hadn't been deducted from my account balance. These charges initially showed up on my account then disappeared after the merchant's authorization expired. Since my account balance showed I had that money I spent it. Only it wasn't mine to spend. Since I walked away with the food or merchandise I had an obligation to pay for it. So the fast food joint took the money they were entitled about three months later when there was no longer money in that account and those charges totaling about 15 bucks in increments of 0.50 to a 1.00 ended up costing me about 400.00 in overdraft fees and the bank was only willing to remove half.
I was heated but the fact was that I spent money that I no longer had. While I viewed my account daily for purchases I didn't realize some of those purchases had been deducted from my balance. Still I thought the bank should have notified me but how could they know I'd actually accepted the food or merchandise when these charges where authorized. For all they knew I could have cancelled these charges and that's why the charge was only pending and went away. It's each person's own responsibility to count their own money. So what you have to do is know how much money you deposit and subtract each purchase you make. Then do the math to determine what your balance should be. If the bank shows something different you need to look at you account to figure out why. If a merchant hasn't taken their money you need to call them to see why. And most importantly keep that money in there until they take it no matter how long they take. Otherwise if you spend it you're spending money that you don't have and you can be penalized with a fee of 30.00 or more.
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