Because they do, you know. Why just the other day I walked into my credit union to deposit a check and the teller looked up at me and said, “You’re a winner!”
What? I mean, I know I’m OK but no one’s ever told me I’m a winner and, to be honest, that teller didn’t really know me well enough to know if I was or wasn’t a winner. The day had been progressing fairly well, no major bad news, falls, spills or empty gas tanks, but me a winner?
Because they do, you know. Why just the other day I walked into my credit union to deposit a check and the teller looked up at me and said, “You’re a winner!”
What? I mean, I know I’m OK but no one’s ever told me I’m a winner and, to be honest, that teller didn’t really know me well enough to know if I was or wasn’t a winner. The day had been progressing fairly well, no major bad news, falls, spills or empty gas tanks, but me a winner?
Before I could recover from the shock, she gave me another one. ”Congratulations! You’re a Mission Fed Money Match Winner.” I guess I had a blank look on my face because she started talking again, “Have you heard of our Money Match program?”
I hadn’t, thus my blank look, not to mention my surprise at being told I was a winner of something I didn’t know existed, but this sounded like it could be good. On the other hand, I was a little disappointed when I realized she didn’t mean I was a winner in the spirit I had taken it. But what was this Money Match thing?
She told me I’d been chosen at random — which confirmed that it hadn’t been because I’m considered a winner — for their current Money Match program that gives back $1 million to their members to show their appreciation for our business or, in my case, for using my credit card.
Before you get too excited for me, it isn’t $1 million per winner. No, the million dollars is the total given back to their members during the year. So, if you’re a member, you still have a chance to be a Money Match winner. Good luck! Each winner’s share is based on a credit or debit card purchase, a loan payment or a deposit made on a randomly chosen date — the amount won is equal to the transaction made.
The friendly clerk seemed as happy as I was as I digested this unexpected news. She told me to go online and check my credit card account when I got home. She said I’d see a credit for the Money Match that was posted the day before. So I had all this money and didn’t even know it!
OK, here’s the bottom line: my purchase — the one that was matched — was $81.58 for groceries at Ralphs. The max for credit card purchases was $250, so I could’ve done better but at least I charged something that day. Think if I’d been thrifty and kept my card in my wallet. No match. No winner. So see? It pays to spend money. OK, sometimes it pays to spend money.
I don’t remember what happened the rest of that day but obviously nothing bad enough to throw me happened or I would’ve remembered that and forgotten all about the measly … oops! What am I saying? I would’ve forgotten all about my lucky win.
I didn’t forget about the magic infusion of cash to my account. I didn’t forget that among the hundreds of thousands of members of the credit union, I was one of the lucky ones. And I’ll never forget walking into the credit union and being greeted with an enthusiastic, “You’re a winner!”
So, as I’m sure you know, when things go right, you’re a winner.
