It's always worth a shot

As I typed the title - which made perfect sense in my mind initially - a second, more appropriate meaning formed in my mind involving tequila and limes. But that's not the "shot" we're talking about here. Besides, the only way I take my tequila nowadays is in beer margaritas at my parents' house... not exactly the pinnacle of party-animal-ness.

A few weeks ago, I made a calculation error. It was a biggie. You see, we paid our mortgage twice in two weeks. Then I paid $600 for brakes. And $200 for teeth. And $180 for the cat to be anally probed. Why is it that I'm the one feeling as though I'd bent over and taken one for the team?

Within two days, we went from over a thousand bucks in the black to more than 900 bucks in the red.

I thought, Holy crap! How did we spend that much money in two days???

The answer became clear.

Our bank was the beneficiary of the many overdraft fees we incurred when Mike, not knowing about our deteriorating financial status, had the nerve to buy a pop and a snack or two at a gas station. Seriously! The audacity! I hope they tasted great, considering they cost us $35 each multiplied by three.

Then there were the charges that I made for crap I can't remember. Probably stuff at Target.

Oh yeah, and those really awesome presents Mike bought the girls at the store "just because" he thought they deserved a treat? Yep. Tack on another $30 to that, too.

$30 here. $30 there.

For two days. Every swipe cost us.

We paid the bank $640.

I made a polite call to the bank's customer service department.

I got half of the money back.

So, as I originally said, it's always worth a shot.