I Know Smokes Are Expensive, But...!!

Now this might certainly get your attention...!

We all know that the cost of all the fun stuff like cigarettes, booze, gas, food...ALL the fun stuff, has gone up a lot as of late! This poor guy just found out what an expensive habit he has.

This must have been a shocker...but the real shocker for me would have been if my bank had even honored the purchase in the first place! This story is just an example of why I don't use brick and mortar banks...I don't trust them!

Take a look at this story from the Houston Chronicle...

Associated Press

July 15, 2009, 12:15PM

MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (AP) — A New Hampshire man says he swiped his debit card at a gas station to buy a pack of cigarettes and was charged over 23 quadrillion dollars.

Josh Muszynski checked his account online a few hours after the purchase and saw the 17-digit number — a stunning $23,148,855,308,184,500 (twenty-three quadrillion, one hundred forty-eight trillion, eight hundred fifty-five billion, three hundred eight million, one hundred eighty-four thousand, five hundred dollars).

Muszynski told WMUR-TV that he spent two hours on the phone with Bank of America trying to sort out the string of numbers — and the $15 overdraft fee.

The bank corrected the error the next day.

Bank of America said the card issuer, Visa, could answer questions. Visa, in turn, referred questions to the bank. (More on this story here — and see the bill.)

I'm not sure, but this just might be enough to make someone give up smoking! If I got a bill for this amount, I think it might drastically increase my immediate consumption of the closest alcoholic beverage, if you know what I mean!

I'm thinking, my friend, that we should get some coffee and sit on the patio for a bit...and hope that coffee doesn't go up this much!