I'll share mine, here, and you can share yours in the comments.
Mine:
I finally made it to WinCo this morning. I had a long, long list, all of my shopping bags (so I would't have to pay for bags), and $180 in cash. WinCo is a cash or debit card only. I don't have a debit card. So I brought cash. I don't normally bring that much with me, as I don't normally spend that much in one shopping trip. In fact, my last big stock-up at WinCo was about $140, a month ago.
I got everything on my list, as well as a couple of treats for my husband. My shopping cart was very full. I laid it all out on the conveyor belt and the checkout began. I was combination bagging my own groceries (it's a bag your own place) and keeping an eye on the cash register subtotal.
When I saw the subtotal was nearing $170 and there was still a lot of stuff to be checked out, I began to sweat. I had to tell the check-out clerk that I had just $180 cash and I would need to put some things back. She was very nice, but the people in line behind me were a bit annoyed, as I (fast as I could) decided what to put back. A stock person came and picked up a couple of the large price items to put back. Then I checked my purse again and found another $20. Okay, so now I was up to $200 in cash. So I was able to put the whole chicken back into my bag. The two other items that were put back were now gone.
At the end of the checkout (with me apologizing profusely to the clerk and other people in line), I actually still had $20 leftover. I took my groceries out to the car, loaded up the trunk, then went back into the store to see how I could buy the last 2 items on my list. As it turned out, I didn't have enough money to buy the largest sizes of both items. But by downsizing one item to the medium size, I could buy the largest of the other. I did skip the clerk-operated checkout and went to self-checkout. I didn't want to see the clerk again.
Anyway, having to put back some items at the check out is one of the more embarrassing things that can happen at the grocery store. There's that feeling that everyone is thinking you're poor as dirt.
Next time I go to WinCo, I'll bring way, way, way more than I think I will need.
Your turn -- what embarrassing money mistake have you made recently or ever?
I'm sure you felt embarrassed, but I'm not sure everyone was thinking you were dirt poor. I see a lot of people paying with cash, and sometimes there is a miscalculation, and they have to put things back or dig in their purse for more money. I don't think anything about it. Every bank account I've ever had has given me a debit card. I don't use it normally. But once or twice it has come in handy when I didn't have the card or money I intended to pay with in my wallet.
ReplyDeleteMy embarrassment these days doesn't usually come from money. It comes from me trying to keep in my exercies classes. :)
Hi Live and Learn,
DeleteWe've had the same bank account for over 30 years. If they offered us a debit card at that time, I don't recall. But I probably would've turned it down, because if I'm taking $$ out of our checking account, I like to track it in the ledger myself. I don't think I'd do that using a debit card. Anyway, I'll not make this mistake again any time soon.
I should have said in my post that I don't fault the store for not taking credit cards. This is a no-frills grocery store and they're trying to keep their costs down for the customer. It's bag-your-own place, bring your own bags, etc. Credit purchases cost the store, which they'd have to pass on to the customer. Besides, there is something that seems "wrong" to my sensibilities about buying food on credit. Like if I don't have the cash in my pocket, maybe I shouldn't be. buying it.
I'm glad this sort of thing doesn't happen to you and you have your debit card always handy.
Oh, dang, that sounds incredibly stressful!
ReplyDeleteIt's been several years now, but when my kids were younger (and we were struggling financially), I went to buy several great deals on school supplies at Walgreen's using my debit card, which declined unexpectedly. The person behind me insisted on paying for them once they saw what was happening, which was super kind but also somewhat embarrassing. I have never forgotten that and have paid it forward, but it's stuck in my mind forever.
Randomly can't sign into google this morning, but this is Cat.
Hi Cat,
DeleteOh, that must've been stressful. I've had my credit card declined for reasons on the end of the bank and not mine, and I've felt myself sweat at the cash register. That was very kind of the person behind you. It's a humbling experience when a stranger does something generous like that.
I bought a large Pork Butt for around $20 to smoke for pulled pork. I think I had maybe 5 other items and they all came in the house and got put away. The pork butt did not. I hate it when I am running around with too much to do and forget something important like this.
ReplyDeleteAmy, that IS a bummer about the pork butt. I'm sorry that you missed out on your pulled pork! I can relate. We had a busy day a week or so ago, and forgot a couple of bags of groceries in the car all day. We shopped on the way home from an early appointment, and I didn't look for the groceries until dinner time, so didn't realize. Thankfully, we hadn't bought meat; but I was pretty worried about the $16 of cheese and several organic produce items. It was a warm day, but the car was in the shade, and I'd read that cheddar cheese could sit out "overnight" without growing too many germs. The more adventurous members of the family tested the cheese before me, and it seems to have come out okay. And the produce perked up some when I soak-washed it; so we didn't lose the money, thankfully... but we all were kicking ourselves over the potential waste. I hate to waste things. Sara
DeleteHi Amy,
DeleteAck! Yep, too much on your plate that day. This has happened to many of us, I think. Maybe my story will help ease the pain of losing that pork butt. Years ago, my kids earned baseball game tickets through the library's reading program. We decided to make an evening of it. We had to do the grocery shopping first. When we came home from the store, we had a large cut of beef to put away among other things. The cut opf beef got set on top of the fridge while moving things around in the freezer making space and putting other items in there. We quickly left for the game. After the game was over, we stopped at Dairy Queen for cones. When we came back home, it was late. We bypassed the kitchen and got the kids to bed. The next morning I came out to the kitchen to make breakfast before church, and, there, sitting on top of the warm fridge was the beef. Oh, that hurt All this to say -- I can definitely relate! Sorry about the pork butt.
Hi Sara,
DeleteI'm so glad the cheese and produce survived! But what a worry when you first discovered it had been left in the car all day. That's a good thing to know about cheddar cheese and survivability in the warmth for several hours. Sometimes I think we just have too much going on and our brains can't keep all of the information at the ready for us. I'm so glad it all worked out for you, though.
My DH dug a pork butt out of the freezer. It was from a fresh pig we bought in MArch. Very little fat to improve taste but I still got my special meal.
DeleteWith the cost of food these days no one should judge.
ReplyDeleteWith the cost of things now I bet this has happened to others
ReplyDeleteThank you, Cheryl. That's a comfort to think about.
DeleteA few years ago during a case lot sale I purchased several 10# bags of sugar. Not paying much attention - I put them in the back of my car. One of them had a hole in it but it must have been where I didn't notice - until I got home and opened my car - only to find sugar all over.
ReplyDeleteOh no, Ruthie! That must have made a mess and so much sugar was lost. I can relate to this. I've bought bags of flour with holes in the corner and that have leaked all over. I hope in your case not a tremendous amount of sugar leaked out.
DeleteNot sure if this counts, but definitely an embarrassing moment at the checkout. I inserted my drivers license instead of my debit card, not once but several times. The machine kept beeping and the clerk finally saw what I was doing and gently mentioned that I might want to try another card. I’m sure the people in line behind me wondered what I was doing out on my own. Annie
ReplyDelete