Getting Taken

Sometimes I just feel like the world is out to get me.  All the little things in life are just so hard to take care of.  For example:

• I have my own business checking account.  I barely have a business, but I occasionally take pictures of people for money.  My mom is a business banker and insisted that I open an account for my business expenses.  Well, I don't really have expenses, but opening a new account would score me $100.  Fine...free money is always good to me.  Unfortunately, I don't know how to pay my bill.  I have no clue how to do stuff like that.  When we got married, I informed Hubby that I wanted absolutely nothing to do with the financial part of our lives.  He agreed so all was peachy keen.  So now that I have my own account, I feel like I should be the one to take care of it. I received a letter this week saying that I have a $15 late fee.  Great.  Now what do I do?  I don't even know how to pay the bill, let alone the late fee.  I had to call my mom and ask her to pay my bill for me.  Thankfully, she didn't act like I was the complete moron that I am.

• My local grocery store has electronic coupons that you can load onto your store loyalty card.  I think that's pure loveliness.  This week, I decided to check my receipt to make sure I'm getting all the credit I deserve.  I had gone $7 over budget and had my panties in a wad because of it.  I don't like going over budget.  Turns out, three of the electronic coupons didn't come off my card!  I'm pretty sure you could see the steam coming out of my ears.  I'm doing all this work to save a buck and it's not working.  I called the 800 number on my card and tried to get all my problems sorted out.  The jerk on the phone said that e-coupons can't be combined with manufacturer coupons and that's why they didn't come off my receipt.  Not convinced, I went to the coupon policy on their website.  Turns out, he was exactly wrong.  E-coupons totally can be stacked with manufacturer coupons.  Dude was trying to take me!  I feel like the store invented these internet coupons just to get me to spend more money than I normally would so I sent them a letter telling them that.  I didn't need Pantene shampoo and only bought it because I thought it was fifty cents a bottle.  Now I'm out $3 just on shampoo.  I didn't go over budget after all.  The savings were there, they just weren't applied to my total.

• Our satellite receiver totally isn't working.  We're paying a fortune to watch good TV and we can't even do that.  I have called and complained time after time.  They keep resetting things and changing things but nothing helps.  Last time I called, the lady told me they're coming out with a new receiver this month.  I'm just biding my time waiting on it to come out.  If I'm going to get a new one, I might as well get the newest one.  Meanwhile, I have to hear a lot of grumbling from Hubby about how he can't watch the Broncos game.  (I could care less about the Broncos and am actually quite happy when they're not on at my house.  All evidence to the contrary.)

These things are just getting under my skin and I want them all taken care of.  Things like this really start to bug me.  Oh, I also have to call and schedule a new internet connection to be set up, install Magic Jack, and cancel our land line.  Things like this are what make me grouchy in life!  I hate spending my good money on things that I shouldn't be spending it on.  Well, it's Hubby's money...but you get the point.

What little things in life are taking you right now?