Theresa’s mortgage: Auto-pay active. Utility bills: Auto-pay active. Daniel’s credit card: Auto-pay active. Monthly allowance transfer to his mother: Auto-pay active.
One by one, I canceled every single recurring payment.
Then I called my corporate accountant. “Robert, starting tomorrow morning, I want to eliminate every personal payment tied to Daniel’s family.”
“All of them, Mariana?”
I stared at the confirmation screen. “Every single one.”
Two days later, at 8:17 AM, Theresa called me screaming.
“Mariana! The bank says the house payment bounced! Transfer the thirty-two hundred dollars right now!”
I took a slow sip of my morning coffee and repeated her exact words right back to her:
“I’m sorry, Theresa. My budget for you ran out.”
