Recent efforts to close our 30+ year-old checking account with a big bank and move our daily finances over to a credit union have me thinking about money in an entirely different way. The impetus for this transfer was some mailings from the bank regarding changes in the fee structure and loss of the opportunity to earn points. Frankly, the bank had just stopped selling itself as the financial provider of choice and it was time to move on.
For those of you who have had a long term relationship with a bank, you know the transition is not easy. I’ve had to start over with direct deposits, automatic withdrawals and on-line bill pay. I keep remembering yet another entity that hit the checking account without me having to think about it. In addition, the current bank has a nifty auto-reconcile feature using Quicken, something the credit union does not offer. Math is not my forte.
What’s funny to me is that throughout this whole process I haven’t touched a single piece of currency. It’s all virtual. In fact, when I think about it, I haven’t actually been paid in cash for work in years. Neither has Dan. The money I’m dealing with seems like more of an idea than a reality.
How many of us can draw a straight line between work and money? When was the last time an employer handed you cash that you in turn took to the grocery store and used to buy food? I haven’t received cash for work since I provided in-home childcare services. The money I earned seemed to mean a lot more to me then. Its immediacy to the job I performed gave it special relevance. I bypassed using the bank because I had the cash I needed to access the goods and services the family consumed on a daily basis.
So, I have to wonder, if as a society (broad generalization here) we’ve become so disconnected from currency and it’s real value that we no longer understand what it means not to have money. It’s just numbers on a computer screen, or a point of purchase touchpad. For so many of us it’s a magic card that works like a Disney fast pass, providing instant gratification.
On Saturday, our debit card was cancelled due to suspicion of fraudulent charges generating from Bolivia. Our card was declined at the grocery store, the computer ink store and the ATM. We couldn’t pay and we couldn’t get currency. Brief panic ensued until we regrouped and tapped other options. I had momentary flashbacks to living “from check-to-check” and praying that an unforeseen ear infection didn’t derail our delicate financial balance. In that instant I was reconnected with so many people in the US that are just trying to have their voices heard. They’ve watched the financial shell game go on long enough, as banks and governments shift virtual dollars, playing chicken with real people managing the real needs of real lives.
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