Why do financial crisises happen when I want to donate?

[Nikia]

Last quarter, my husband was about to lose his job when the fund drive came around and his boss hadn't paid him for over a month. This quarter, I deposit his check today and the teller tells me that there is a $250 negative balance. I asked for a print out and there are eight small checks that were posted with the negative balance. I don't know my banks policy and if we will have to pay charges on all eight of those checks. They were all posted earlier today. Luckily his check covered that and then some. Then when I got home, someone called from his credit card company and demanded payment over the phone or we would be charged more money. I let my husband handle the finances because he spends more than I do and visits the ATM. During our premarital counseling, we discovered that we were completely financially incompatible according to their test that we had to take. It is better if I don't think about our finanaces. We have serious unresolved problems on this but I was never used to having money to spend anyway so it is easier to say I don't care as long as we live comfortably. His boss never pays him on time either. If he had, we wouldn't have the negative balance. That happened another time too. I think that we have most of the bills paid for this month but I am hesitant to send money like I had planned after this. I know that I should just send a little cash. That won't bounce, but maybe I'll need it before I get paid on Friday.

[NicoleM]

1. That really sucks.

Do you know if your bank has overdraft protection? Some banks will let you go a certain amount under zero in your checking account without any fees.

Nobody expects you to donate if you can't afford it right now, and you don't have to do it during a fund drive. You can wait until you're in a better financial position. That's what I did. I gave as soon as I could, but it was several months after I started posting here.

[yankeedem]

2. Negotiate with the bank

Most banks when faced with an insufficient balance, put the biggest check through first and then the smaller checks, so they get 8 fees instead of one. If you get a bank rep with a brain and a sense of fairness you may be able to make 7 fees go away. Give it a shot- and donate $10 to DU (my commission-just kidding).

Also, if you're husbands boss hasn't paid him in a month, he doesn't have a job NOW. I know he's probably doing it, but look for a job NOW and call wage and hour ASAP. This is usually the precursor to bankruptcy or the boss skipping town. I know from experience. Early action made me whole, while coworkers were stuck for $1000's of dollars. Good luck.

[Nikia]

4. Last time the boss was going to file bankrupcy

A couple days later, he called my husband back and said that he really wanted to continue his business and begged my husband to stay. He finally paid him and currently has a couple projects going on with paying customers. Part of the problem is that he is rather lax on demanding that customers pay. This last check, which was received in the mail Saturday after our bank closed, covered four weeks. My husband is suppose to be paid every two weeks. I don't know why my husband feels an obligation to this guy who pays him relatively little, rarely on time, harasses us via company cell phone at any hour on any day, and a number of other issues that I won't go into right now.
Yeah, thanks for the advice about the bank. I or my husband will call them tomarrow.

[Don_G]

3. There's No Shame In Not Having Money When You Expect To

I've told a few people here to give what you can, when you can. Stuff happens and it's never scheduled either.