Once upon a time in a small urban city somewhere on the outskirts of a major metropolis, there lived a young married couple. Tina was filled with an entrepreneurial spirit but could sometimes be a little absentminded when it came to financial planning . He, Drew, was a logical soul and was very astute about matters of money. As with most couples who were a good match, Tina and Drew were two sides of the same coin. They balanced each other out and provided one another with much needed levelheadedness.

One day, Tina decided to go shopping at the local mall, without Drew. Well, it wasn’t actually the local mall. It was the local upscale mall. It was a mall with valet parking and doormen and an Apple Store where Tine was eligible for a 10% discount on all merchandise.

She strolled around that Apple Store hoping that she could resist the urge to spend three or four thousand dollars on a new computer. In fact, she decided to only pay by check. That way she could not spend too much. There is something about having to actually write out the numbers that makes one rethink overspending. She had been planning this trip for some time and even made sure to order checks so that she would definitely have a check available for this special shopping trip. In fact, after much thought, her husband convinced her to order photo checks so that she would have her proof of identity on the check. She was prepared.

Tina made her way up to the front of the store to look at the iTouch display. She wanted one, but thought that getting an iPhone would be a better deal seeing as she was contemplating getting a BlackBerry.

“Go ahead, get the iPhone,” a voice whispered in her ear.

“NO,” she thought and made her way to another table. She had already grabbed a SIMS game, a new Battery, and Adobe Creative Suite thinking that she would be able to but something back if the total was too high. She was banking on the fact that the time that it takes to write out checks would be enough for her to snap back into reality.

But the voice did not go away. “Get the iTouch. You can afford the iTouch.”

She tried to fight it, but just when she thought that she had the victory, she darted her hand out and grabbed the merchandise slip to purchase the iTouch. She rushed to the front of the store. As she got closer she saw a sign in front of her letting her know that the fit was about to hit the shan.

NO PERSONAL CHECKS ACCEPTED

She hesitated for a moment and then walked to the register, placed all of the items on the counter, and left the store. She raced home and kissed her husband.

And they lived happily every after.