You owe....$0.01

Banks are amazing entities, but they don't have much in the way of brains.

We had to borrow some money from our home equity loan which is there in case of emergency....

I paid the entire thing off on September 25. Done. Finished. Completed.

Much to my surprise, I got a bill from the bank in October announcing that I now owed $2.63 -- evidently the "interest" on the remaining amount that had accrued from Sept 1 to Sept 30. I called the bank, chatted with someone and told him that Chase Bank (JP Morgan) was basically cheap. When you have finished paying off the loan on the due date, that should be the end of it. You don't suddenly tack on another miniscule amount of interest that was not evident in the amount needed to be paid by the due date.

Mr. Helpful Banker told me in no uncertain terms that Chase Bank was NOT cheap.

"Yes it is." and I hung up.

So. I paid the $2.63, but not until October 25. Due date.

Looked at the online account the first part of November, and it stated that I owed -- you guessed it -- 1 penny. I tried to pay it online, but the online payment system doesn't accept payments under $1.00. I didn't owe $1.00. I owed 1 penny. Of course, if I don't pay it, then my credit rating is at risk.

So, I decided to wait and see if I got a paper bill, and when it came, I would go to the bank, and with great ceremony present them with a check for $0.01. Bob wanted me to make sure I presented it to the manager and get a picture....

But drat.

I had to go to the bank to sign some papers to change our business savings account, and while I was there, Rich (my new personal banker -- who also attends College Church) was looking at our accounts and suggested we change our home equity limit to get a better interest rate should we ever need it. Bob and I went in on Saturday to sign the papers, and Emily told us that Rich had "taken care of the one cent on our account."

Of course, in Saturday's mail came the bill for one penny.

But Rich took care of it for me.

No ceremony. No picture with the manager.

Drat. But I may frame it anyway. It certainly cost the bank a whole lot more to send that bill out....

I wonder if I hadn't paid it, how long it would take for that penny to earn another penny in interest?

Gosh -- that is higher mathematics and makes my head hurt.

Thank you Rich.