Budget Boost Turned Budget Bust

December 4th, 2006

I was scammed - and not just once.  “Stupid, stupid, stupid.”  I kicked myself repeatedly (and my husband was kind enough to agree!).

It all started when I wanted to help out the family budget and earn a little extra cash.  I signed up for Mavishare, which seemed harmless enough.  I tried a few offers and I earned some money.  This was going to the budget boost I needed. 

A month later, charges started showing up on my account that I didn’t recognize.  It seems the offers that I had signed up for included a hidden message that also signed me up for a monthly service.  They took out some serious fees for those unknown services – my budget did not appreciate it.

There were several mistakes that I made in my enthusiasm to help out the family. 

My first BIG problem was I set up a bank account just for my on line work, but I used the debit card from that account for all the “trials.”  When the fees that I didn’t know about came out of my account, it was over drawn and resulted in fees which would over draw my account even further.  After my first mishap, the bank was more than willing to help out.  After the second one – much worse and way more over drafts – I discovered my bank would only “excuse” overdrafts the first time there is a mistake.  After that, I’m supposed to get reimbursed from the company who took the money – like that would ever happen.

So my budget boost turned into a finance fiasco.

My second mistake was trying to get something for nothing.  I know that nothing is ever truly free.  I just “assumed” that everything was legitimate and didn’t bother reading the fine print, or the terms of agreement (which are sometimes hidden on the page – READ ALL TERMS OF AGREEMENT FROM EVERY SITE!!!!).

If you are one of those who find yourself in a budget bind - especially around this time of year, don’t panic.  Start slow and look for long term results.  It’s easier to ere on the side of caution now than it is to try and fix the mistakes you might make rushing into something.

Entry Filed under: Budgets and Finance

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