At the beginning of October, I woke up to a text saying there’s a suspicious charge to my debit card. So naturally, I checked my banking app to see if there was an actual issue. Sometimes I receive texts about my own charges. But no, this was a charge to Google Play at 4 a.m. in California. That definitely wasn’t me.
After spending an entire day on the phone with the bank and my parents, trying to figure out my next few steps, I left the day with a canceled and cut debit card.
This wouldn’t be that big of an issue if I hadn’t spent the rest of my cash the day before on a tank of gas and some snacks. Now, I was without a lick of cash to my name and no debit card. Although my money was just chilling in my bank account, I had no way to access it. Now you may be thinking, “Just go draw it from the bank!” But now, since I’m away at a school that is out of state, my bank isn’t near school. Essentially, I was out of luck.
I had plans for the next two weeks, and I also had things I needed to spend cash on. Luckily, I had gone grocery shopping the day before it was shut off so I was in luck in that way.
So how did I survive? Let me tell you the life hacks I had to learn:
- My Roomates: My roommates are luckily good people. I didn’t borrow from them unless I really had to (like train fare to get to my internship in NYC) . By the end of the two weeks, my parents were nice enough to give me money to pay them back and between my three roommates, I only owed them about $45.
- Reward Apps: So I intern in NYC, and I have VERY long days. Even if I brought something to eat, it often wasn’t enough because I was there for upwards of 12 hours. I remembered that sometimes if I open restaurant apps, I would receive free food items. I used the Chick Fil A reward system for a free sandwich as well as Starbucks for a free croissant.
- Letting Everyone Know: I didn’t sit home and twiddle my thumbs for two weeks. I made sure everyone who asked me to do anything knew ahead of time I didn’t have a card. That didn’t stop a lot of people from inviting me out. If you have good friends, they won’t care that you can’t pay. They just want you there as good company.
- Budgeting: Nothing screams saving money quite like not having access to it. I spent the two weeks living off what I had and finding creative solutions for things I needed. I got really creative with cooking.
- Finding Fun Ways to Pass Time: Since I couldn’t go out to dinner, grab drinks or go shopping, I got creative. I had friends over for movie nights, I cooked, I did some photoshoots, I passed the time how I could.
It was a rough two weeks before I finally got my new card in the mail, but I did learn it might be time to invest in a credit card. Always check your accounts!