Cranky Banking

So... I've waited until the last possible moment to cope with the fact that my Ne.tBa.nk account has gone the way of the dodo and some wonky outfit called ING is taking it over. Fortunately I read early that I don't have to do anything but re-establish my payees. So I've written down all my payee addresses and whatnot. I've saved electronic files that might be pertinent. I've hated every minute of it.

In looking through all the printed information I got from ing, they said nothing about a checking account, only a savings account. But the online stuff I just read implies that there might possibly be a checking option. I'm going to need the pay the mortgage soon, so I hope this gets straightened out without much ado. (For once, having all my bills due between the 18th and 27th is working in my favor.) I do have an alternate checking account with WF, but my direct deposit only sends enough money there for me to get cash out of the wall once in a while and it can take up to 2 paychecks to re-direct the direct deposit. Apparently I can link the ing to the WF for cheap transfers, but it still means I have to pay attention to these details on someone else's (rather tight) schedule which makes me a little cranky.

I think I would actually come out ahead if I hired an accountant to deal with my finances. It's not like I'm incapable. It's just that I tend to do things in fits and starts, feast or famine, rabbit racing style, but corporations want to get paid regularly on the slow and steady wins the race tortise plan. Yeah, I set up online bill pay to keep my credit rating reasonable. I don't have any notion about credit money being free money - I only spend what I can reasonably expect to repay. But not every account requires the same amount of money every time, and I have developed an unreasonable mental block about dealing with it. Which makes me feel idiotic and whiny because stupid people with much less money manage to pay the bills on time, why can't/ won't/ don't I? It's not rocket science. Although there's reason to believe I'd be better at rocket science than accountancy.

After hanging out with my parents again, I can understand better where some of these tendencies come from. Doesn't excuse it but makes it easier not to hate myself for. Push comes to shove, I sit down and pay the bills. But it would be a lot cheaper, fee and interest wise, if someone more responsible than me handled it. And my living room would be a lot less messy.


Yes, it still looks like this 2 weeks later, just worse. My organizer grrl is coming over tomorrow. I meant to have it all done when she got here so we could focus on cleaning and decorating for christmas. But insanity like this is also why I hire an assistant. So someone responsible makes me do my homework. But I still have to pay the bills. I would seriously like a vacation from this chore, but that feels like something to be careful about wishing for, so I only wish it with velleity (for now).

P.S. Suiting my mood, the dictionary .com word for the day is surly :)

P.P.S. My original happy blog idea was to write about the free Roc.kSta.r beverage I got today. That may have to wait until the banking ire runs its course.