God Uses PayPal

Because Paul and I retire this year we have been preparing in many ways, one of which has been figuring out our finances, which involved meeting with a financial manager and drafting a budget. We have also been looking at our current spending with a critical eye, looking for ways to economize as in retirement we will have a more modest income.

One of my weaknesses is buying gifts and as we looked at our future budget, I agreed with Paul that I really have to be more careful in that area. So as I was planning an appreciation event for a committee I work with, I held back from buying the small "thank you" gifts until I could truly afford them. I knew that God knew my heart to give but also to be more careful with our money.

I considered my subscription to Feedblitz, the company through which readers can get my blog posts by email. I have used them for many years; originally the free service. Then I switched to the ad free version for what was a small fee, so that readers wouldn't have the distraction of advertisements. I found the monthly cost was higher than originally planned, but I found a way to rationalize it, knowing that it is convenient for readers to have posts come by email, especially since one of them is Paul's dear mum and I know how much she enjoys getting them. 

Last month I noticed an increase in the cost and knowing our future budget, it was the impetus to contact Feedblitz, and ask about a lower cost alternative. I received an email back right away from a Feedblitz customer service agent, explaining  that there had been a mix up in the billing and that I would be refunded the difference between what I had been paying and the very manageable amount that it should have been.

I had no idea what this would mean in terms of a refund. I hoped that at least it would allow me to purchase the thank you gifts I wanted to buy without compromising my budget.

A few days after my original query to Feedblitz I received an email from Phil Hollows, the founder and CEO of the company, saying that they thought I would like to know that Feedblitz was sending me $751.92 and that he was so sorry their billing was incorrect. 

There was a button saying "Claim your money now," which took me to PayPal, where the $751.92, turned out to be $928.22 when transferred from U.S. to Canadian funds! A big thank you to Phil Hollows and Feedblitz for acting quickly to correct an error once it was discovered!

This all taught me that it pays to look more closely at the money you're spending--if I hadn't, the error might have gone unnoticed.

And I also learned that God uses PayPal!