Whoops

By | August 12, 2017

We are only human and subject to making mistakes. Over the past month, I almost made some silly mistakes that had the potential to cost me dearly. In fact, I had several whoops moments, both good and bad. The purpose of this post is to articulate the nature of those mistakes in hopes that you will not make the same mistakes, if faced with a similar situation.

Missed Payment

On several different occasions, I’ve discussed the fact that I’m in a transition period at work. I had to move from my instate location to overseas. With such a move, mistakes are bound to happen.

I treasure my credit score. In fact, I was concerned that my credit score went down because of my recent inability to pay off my credit card balance. I’ve actually maxed out one of my credit cards and that’s not good. I still hold a $3000 credit card balance. However, once I’m able to pay down the credit card, I estimate that my credit score will rise.

However, because of a number of reasons, I experienced a lot of setbacks in the past few months. On a regular basis, money was tight. I do track my spending, but I’m just lousy at sticking to a budget. Well, during a routine allocation of my income towards expenses, I made a payment to the company that supplies my internet. Actually, this was supposed to be my last payment. But, once I made the payment, I forgot about the expense.

It turns out that I did not have sufficient money in my account to make the payment. And I did not realize that. Whoops! Once I put the transaction through, I went about living my life, like I normally do. Well, one day, I was going through my spreadsheet of income and expenses. For some reason, maybe providence, I decided to check my account balance with my internet service provider. I was astonished. I had a balance of $69 (which included a $10 late fee).

What’s really significant about this is that had I not realized the mistake, my ISP was set to notify the credit card bureaus in just a few days. All my hard efforts to maintain a consistently high credit card score would have went down the drain had the ISP reported me being 30 days (or more) late.

This kind of honest error can happen to anyone. It’s so much easier to tear things down, but it’s always harder to build things up. Thankfully I realized the error before it was too late.

Miscalculation of Investment Amount

Hopefully soon, I should be receiving a 20k bonus from work. Based on my initial calculations, I should have been able to invest about half that amount. Well, I didn’t take into account all the facts and circumstances surrounding my bonus. Whoops!

Well, it turns out, for reasons I don’t care to explain, that I should now be able to invest about 15k instead of 10k. So, out of the 20k, the new plan is to pay off the above credit card, with the balance of $3000, replenish my emergency funds and pay for other miscellaneous expenses, totaling about $2000. This would leave me with about $15k to fully invest in my dividend portfolio.

So although I miscalculated, it worked out in my favor.

Conclusion

Even with the best of plans, it’s still possible to experience a whoops moment. Sometimes, they work in your favor and other times they do not. What’s important is to pick yourself once they occur and stay the course.

What do you think? Have you experienced a whoops moment? Let me know by commenting below.

19 thoughts on “Whoops

  1. Mr. ATM

    Hi DD,

    Yeah, I know how you feel about a whoops moment. I had something similar happened to me not long ago. I use auto-pay to pay my phone and internet bill; however I use a virtual credit card number (a temporary CC number to use online only) which was set to expire in six months.

    I got the email from my ISP that my credit card has expired, so I thought no big deal I will just crank out a new virtual card number and update the ISP auto bill pay before the next bill due date. Guess what? I totally forgot to update the ISP account with my new CC number and before I realized, it was over due by a few days and there was a $10 late fee added to my balance.

    Upon realizing what happened, I promptly paid the late fee and the bill. Now, I have multiple reminders set to remind me before my six month credit card expires. Lesson learned!

    Reply
    1. Dividend Portfolio Post author

      Yup, that could have been a very expensive lesson indeed. Multiple reminders is good. I regularly check my spreadsheet several times a week, but no system is fool proof. Glad it worked out for both of us.

      Reply
  2. Sarah De Diego

    Dear DD,

    Sorry to hear about your whoops but great that you have a plan in place.

    I have always worried about my credit score but now that I’m FI, I wonder why it would matter anymore. My husband and I have over $50,000 in LOCs, three high limit credit cards, significant savings and no plans to ever buy a house (in fact, we’re currently selling ours). I know that plans can change and we would never do anything to jeopardize our credit but I wonder if it’s something that I can take off my “worry” list.

    Just wondering what you plan to do that requires credit or, is it just something that you value?

    Besos Sarah.

    Reply
    1. Dividend Portfolio Post author

      Hi Sarah,

      Thanks for stopping by. Well, I plan on buying other houses and investing in real estate. So, that way my income sources will be diversified. I’m not rich enough to buy houses cash so I have to take out loans. Similarly, I don’t own a car right now, but will likely have to get a vehicle next year. If I buy a car, even if used, I may not have sufficient funds to purchase the car with cash and may need to take a loan to do so. So, it’s important for me to maintain my credit score.

      Reply
  3. Stockles

    Hey Dividend Portfolio. From reading this, I become a bit concerned to be honest. Seems like your margin of safety on your money management is a bit to little. I would suggest that you focus on creating a buffer / safety net (with a few months salary) before putting more money into the stock market. I must say that in time, I feel that your urge to invest while you don´t have 100 % controll might fool you do doing stupid mistakes. I know that you will get your bonus and such, and that work life hasn´t been the same as before. However, money management and investing is not always about finding good stocks or putting more money into the marked. It´s also about making sure that you have enough money to handle life. I really hope that you start focusing on a buffer/safety net. All the best, Stockles
    Stockles recently posted…This Is How My Portfolio Looks LikeMy Profile

    Reply
    1. Dividend Portfolio Post author

      Point well taken stockles. I’ve been thinking about increasing my safety gap or increasing my emergency fund. In fact, one of the other things I’ve decided was to establish a separate fund for the house. So, any costs related to the house first comes from that fund. So, definitely hear ya on that.

      Reply
  4. My Dividend Dynasty

    Never had a whoops moment with a credit card as I have never owned one. Lol. But I have had a whoops moments with money before. Back when I worked in fast food I paid for health insurance via my employer’s insurance plan which was automatically charged to my bank account each month. It was around $66 per month.

    But when I got a new job, I forgot to cancel that health insurance. I assumed it would have canceled upon my termination of employment. Whoops! It did not and I ended up getting charged for two months’ worth of health insurance that I didn’t need. Luckily when I called to cancel they at least refunded me back one month’s payment… Whoops.

    Now I know better. But I’m glad that last whoops worked out well for you DP. 🙂
    My Dividend Dynasty recently posted…One Month AnniversaryMy Profile

    Reply
    1. Dividend Portfolio Post author

      Thanks Dynasty. I’m glad it worked out for you as well. Yea, these mistakes happen. I’m just glad it’s on the small scale and not a bigger one.

      Reply
  5. Charlie

    First, congrats on the windfall. I’d be a little cautious though. The times I got a lump sum resulted in some oops moments as well. Starting with tax the withholding being too little, then getting bumped into a higher tax bracket, then being assessed penalties for under withholding. Oh, did I mention the AMT? Most of which was avoidable if I’d sent in an estimated payment when I got the payment.

    Reply
    1. Dividend Portfolio Post author

      Ouch. Yea, I will definitely keep taxes in mind. Last thing I want is a huge tax bill come tax time. I don’t mind not getting a refund, I just don’t want to pay any taxes then.

      Reply
  6. timeinthemarket

    Gotta make sure to pay off that CC debt as soon as you get that bonus! I’m glad you caught the mistakes and glad to hear the bonus will allow you to invest more as well!

    It really is a drag how easy to it is to drop your credit and how hard it is to bring it back up!
    timeinthemarket recently posted…My portfolio – August updateMy Profile

    Reply
    1. Dividend Portfolio Post author

      Yea. It’s really amazing how having credit card debt affects your ability to build wealth. I really can’t wait to get rid of it.

      Reply
  7. singledadmoney

    DivPort, I too have soooooo much trouble following my budget, even though I have monthly and annual budgets going. The part of my budget I have the most trouble with is groceries and eating out. They fluctuate too much every month and I still haven’t found a reliable system to keep me in check.

    Reply
    1. Dividend Portfolio Post author

      Sticking to a budget is very hard. It’s easy for people to reccommend that you do so but it’s hard to actually put into practice. Being single is worse because you don’t have a partner to help you stick to the plan. We just have to keep on trying.

      Reply
  8. Dividend Daze

    Think it happens to everyone. Glad it worked out in your favor with the bonus though. I have accidentally bought stock and didn’t realize I didn’t have enough money in the account that I was pulling from. I was only off by a few dollars actually which isn’t bad. But I got charged a $35 overdraft fee because of it. I basically just through it into my cost basis for the stock and wrote it off since I couldn’t do anything about it after the fact. But I will never make that mistake again. Double and triple check when I move money around my accounts.
    Dividend Daze recently posted…8 Mistakes to Avoid When Buying a Used CarMy Profile

    Reply
    1. Dividend Portfolio Post author

      Yea. I’m actually glad it happened on a smaller scale. It will help prevent an even bigger mistake in the future.

      Reply
  9. Pingback: How I Invested $15,000 - Dividend Portfolio

    1. Dividend Portfolio Post author

      Yup, it’s amazing how quickly the debt can rack up and I was so pissed at myself for building up the debt on stupid things like a weekend vacation to New Orleans. But, we live and learn.

      Reply

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