An Inspirational Saturday

On Saturday I went and talked to my friend that was looking for work for the past year. I had put him together with Bill, our spokesman, who knew of some jobs available at local gas stations. Bill offered to teach him how to run a cash register if he was willing to give it a try. So I saw my friend and I asked him for an update on whether or not he was going to try working at a gas station. He said he had a few leads on some work on his field that he wanted to try first. That’s great because for a long time there was nothing around in his line of work. So I’ll check back in with him next weekend to see how he is making out.

My friend then told me about insurance available to Rhode Islanders that are unemployed. I thought this was a great idea. At first people might not think it is so grand because it costs tax payers money to fund such a service. But think about all these unemployed people going to regular doctors instead of emergency rooms. I think treatment for the flu at the emergency room costs something like $300 or $400 whereas treatment at a regular doctor costs $80. A lot of people cannot pay the $300 after they have had the service, so the bill gets paid by tax payers. I think insurance for the unemployed works out pretty good for all of us.

Then I stopped in to see another friend of mine. She has been having a tough time paying her bills. It turns out that she has a checking account where every time she overdrafts the account, she gets charged $40. It doesn’t matter if the charge is $5 or $500, she gets charged $40 for the overdraft just the same. She got behind a month ago and now between automatic withdrawals and using her ATM, she just keeps slipping behind more.

I suggested that she do like my wife does and make a list of all the automatic withdrawals by day for each month. Then you know that you need to have X amount in the account for it to not overdraft. Then I suggested that she not use the ATM card as a debit card. If you are getting charged $40 per transaction, just get out what you need for the week instead of getting whacked every time you buy a candy bar at the convenience store.

She was having trouble because when she would call the bank, they would tell her she had some money left in the account. Apparently some of the checks she had written and automatic withdrawals that had transpired had not been posted yet. I told her the only way to really know exactly what was in the account is to keep a checking account register. It is especially critical when you only have $50 in the account. A single fee can put you under. She is going to look at changing bank accounts so she only gets charged $20 for overdrafts rather than $40.

It gave her a lot of things to think about and ways to improve her situation. It felt great to help someone that was really looking for a way out. It made me feel good at the time and it makes me feel good now writing about it. I hope too that it will inspire others to take action when they see someone needs a hand. We are helping people manifest real change and abundance in their lives and it feels great.

Thank you for reading and have an Amazing Day!