We got the idea from a Cosby show. Theo wanted to spread his wings and live on his own, so Bill and Claire turned their home into an apartment for rent. They removed the furniture and he had to buy pieces to get by with and he had to pay for his food. He got a rude awakening when it came to dealing with greedy landlords and cheeky cafe owners.
We didn't have the energy to pull it off the way the Huxtables did, but we did spend many Family Home Evenings role-playing financial Independence for Son #1.
Apparently, we failed.
The man-boy has had a rough year. The break up was enough to knock him flat for awhile, but then he began having financial difficulties. He was just having a hard time understanding how the world works and would call regularly to ask "How come...?" "Why does...?"
It's hard to give advice from so many miles away, especially when someone really doesn't want to hear what you have to say.
He has been struggling with his electric company for months.
He would go online to see what he owed and then would do a "one time payment". The next month, he would go out there again and he discovered that his payment hadn't appeared so he paid again.
Finally I had him check his bank, to make sure everything was debited correctly on that side. He rang me later and explained that he once did a transfer into his savings and discovered that he had actually clicked on something so that it was happening monthly. He was sure he had probably been trying to pay his electricity with a checking account that didn't have enough funds.
Today I got a phone call and on the other end was hysterical laughter.
Hysterical laughter isn't always good, my stomach sank.
The man-child, feeling a little euphoric to be having four days off during the NM's biggest snow in a decade, decided to take control of things and marched into the electric company to ascertain what was happening with his account. He carried cash to rectify whatever was going wrong.
The very nice lady behind the counter...bless her... managed to keep a straight face as she explained to him that his account has been carrying a CREDIT and he keeps paying them. He has OVERPAID his electric by $600.00.
Back in the training period we stressed how to be respectful of credit cards, how NOT to spend more than one makes, always pay more than the minimum balance and never, ever be late. I never thought to teach the kid how to read a statement.
Well, there's still four others I can teach...
Once in high school, I worked in the office of a construction company and my boss asked me to double check his math in "the books" one month. We kept coming up with different numbers and the difference wa in the thousands. It took my boss about 30 minutes to figure out what the problem was and then he very gently (so as to not make me feel like an idiot) explained that I was supposed to subtract the numbers that were red. Sometimes we just need a little hand holding as we learn.
ReplyDeleteHe's being responsible...more often than not, the kids call when they're $600 BEHIND in the electric bill...in the cold and dark.
ReplyDeleteI am impressed anyway! I would kill for a $600 credit at the electric company!
ReplyDeleteIt is so nice to get an invoice that is in credit and does not need paying.
ReplyDeleteBwahahaha! That's great! A good lesson learned. :)
ReplyDeleteYou just can't stay away from blogging, can you? Heh.
HA HA HA HA HA! Golly, this made me laugh. Thanks! :)
ReplyDeleteSounds like he's doing ok though. better to have a credit than owe.
ReplyDelete*huge laugh*
ReplyDeleteIt feels as if he became $600.00 richer instantly!!!
They don't allow cash back, do they?
over here, they'll just keep it till it dried out...
*laugh*
A nice kind of mistake if you ask me. Too bad they won't actually send him a check. How come it never works that way?
ReplyDeleteI would love to have that problem with my utility company. Hysterical laughter CAN sometimes be a good thing.
ReplyDelete