I knew I forgot something...doh!

So, I was driving from Austin to Virginia this weekend to help my daughter pack up and move back home while her husband is deployed (Navy).

About 5 hours into the drive, I decide to stop in the middle of nowhwere and grab a bite to eat. I park in the parking lot, start to get out and doh!!!! I forgot my wallet with my License, ATM Cards, Credit Cards, etc. sitting on the stairs at home.

I have 1/2 tank of gas, no money on a Friday night.

Fortunately, it happened before I got out of Texas as there are NO BofA banks east of Tyler along Hwy 20...none that I could find anyway. It was also fortunate that I grabbed my laptop and backpack as I keep my passport in my laptop bag because I travel frequently for work.

I had to backtrack about 20 miles or so to Tyler Texas to find the ONLY BofA in town that was open on Saturday. I camped out in Walmart's parking lot next to the bank and waited until the bank opened the next morning. I was able to get a new ATM card so I could get gas and food.

I scrounged up $3.00 in my truck so I could buy a couple of cheeseburgers. I did not pack a lot of food since I knew I wasn't camping along the way.

 

In 2011 we made a 1300 mile trip from Texas to Camp Lejuene, NC for our son's Homecoming from Afghanistan (serving in the Marine Corps). A week into our 2 week trip, I got a call from our bank saying that my debit card had been compromised and they had ALREADY cancelled it. It could have been really bad, as #1) I don't typically carry much cash ever; and #2) I was traveling alone with our other 3 kids for the first week of this trip. But thankfully by the time my card was cancelled, Mark had just flown out & joined us for the second week & his card was not affected by the problem. I guess stories like these should inspire us to come up with a "back up" plan for similar unforseen future events. However, being the procrastinator that I am..................I haven't done that yet.

Casandra

 

The same thing happened to us about a year ago. We've always just had one credit card and one debit card. The CC had been VISA, but our bank switched to Mastercard with the replacement card. We also got an American Express card - better cash back on gas (which is where our card number was skimmed by an illicit card reader). We also keep a backup supply of cash - just in case. Having that card cancelled while we were on the road showed us that we were lucky that it didn't cause us a big headache. It was enough of a headache coordinating with the back and our travel schedule to figure out where they should send the new cards...