Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog

Menu

✕
CONNECT
Editing Design Marketing Publicity Ghostwriting Websites
BLOG
Success Stories
APPS
TOOLS
Book Promotion Sites Book Review Blogs Booktube Channel Guide Book Title Generator Character Name Generator Independent Publishers Literary Agents Literary Magazines Pen Name Generator Plot Generator Publishers Directory Short Story Ideas Writing Contests Writing Exercises Writing Scholarships
ABOUT
About Reedsy Terms Privacy

CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Your character checks their balance at an ATM and is surprised by the number they see.

Posted in Adults on Oct 31, 2022

Submissions are closed

Sorry, we are not accepting submissions for this prompt as it is not part of an active contest. Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy Prompts account.

Sign in with Google
Sign in with Facebook

Or create a new Reedsy account:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 32 stories

“Something To Write About” by Daniel R. Hayes

Submitted to Contest #159

(Content Warning: Language, Suicide, Abuse.) The world is too small for every dream to come true. A pretty odd thing to say when you think about it, but that’s what Kevin’s dad, Earl, told his son growing up. It’s not hard to ruin a child’s youth, all it takes is a little nudge in the wrong direction, and Earl knew all the right places to push. A light slap to the face, a belt snap to the back, or maybe some thick bruises above the shirt line just to make sure no one noticed. The worst kind of abuse is invisible. Back then, th...

72 comments 72
Read story

“Gluten Is What Makes This Nation Stick Together” by Scott Christenson

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #159

In Hoboken New Jersey, Felix lied to his wife Luna that he was going out only to pick up the sandwiches. Luna was very patriotic about wanting to eat sandwiches for lunch. He knew her preferences well. In the three or four years since they had been married, he couldn’t remember a time when they had ever argued about anything. Next year they even planned to make a baby.Outside, instead of going directly to the sandwich shop, Felix walked around the corner and away from Luna’s spying eyes, went into a bank branch. He took out his New York bank...

55 comments 55
Read story

“Give Generously” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #159

“I see,” said the manager, as he put the phone down and looked at the patron very carefully. Mr. Vanier was a patient man, working his way up the bank for over ten years until they finally decided he would suit them more favorably “running the whole show” – the owners’ phrase – instead of handling individual bank loans or opening and closing accounts. There was much to be said for the new job. The hours were brief and he did not have to deal with as many problems back in his private office. There had once been a bank robbery at a branch near...

2 comments 2
Read story

“Double Murder Al Fresco” by Graham Kinross

Submitted to Contest #159

TW: Swearing, sexual references and whitened teeth.Sitting across the table from her, the two boys tried to show themselves in the best light. The pale jock shifted uneasily beneath the parasol of the restaurant, trying to keep his fair skin from the sunlight.            “So let me get this straight, you both like me. One a vampire.” The broad-shouldered boy with a devilish grin and sparkling canines nodded. “And one is a werewolf?” The gangly one with blonde stripes through his bro...

14 comments 14
Read story

“Dear Almighty God” by Futurama Delivery

Submitted to Contest #159

Dear Almighty God, (day one),It was just another golden day, basking in the fruits of my grand labor. Alas, I recently checked my balance at an ATM machine, and every single cent was drained from my checking account. How can you call yourself omnipresent when you allowed hackers, or some kind of robbers, to get away with my money? Money may just be fiat currency to you, but it is everything to me—my entire fortune—and you don't even seem to care. Oh, is this some lesson to teach to me or something that an amateur preacher would declare to th...

3 comments 3
Read story

“Yahoo Yahoo” by Susan Williams

Submitted to Contest #159

It's been fifteen years since I joined the Yahoo Yahoo school. In exchange for a laptop and a place to sleep, we learned how to be online scammers, the most lucrative trade in Western Africa. The Oga, our boss, kept 75% of anything we earned. Crowded into the small rooms were endless rows of young men, some Igbo, some Yoruba, some Hausa, but all of us were Nigerians looking for a way to eat and send money to our families.As a young boy in Ekulu, my mother and I stepped aside on thedirt streets to allow the shiny Mercedes and Range Rovers roo...

3 comments 3
Read story

“Not Mathing” by Katrina Wilson

Submitted to Contest #159

“You have got to be kidding me,” Tonya said with her arm out the driver's side window as she looked at her bank account.  She blinked her eyes and prayed when she looked at her balance it was wrong. She opened her eyes again and sadly- the negative balance was there.  “Negative $77,” she mumbled to herself. “What the hell did I spend it on?” She moved her arm back into the car and started thinking to herself about her transactions while at the ATM.  “All right. Friday I had $1,800 in the account. I know $1,500 came out...

2 comments 2
Read story

“Blessing” by Raena Scythe

Submitted to Contest #159

"It's all a ploy to take people's money! Why can't you see that, Lola?" My boyfriend Eric said. "It's true that there are some church organizations who are in it for the money, but there are still churches who are genuinely investing in people," "You're blinded by the fancy words of the preacher and this book is brainwashing you!" He picks up my bible with disgust. "Careful! And the pastor I have speaks plainly, and he's transparent." I said, quickly grabbing my bible from his grasp. "Lola, you're wasting your time. The mon...

0 comments 0
Read story

“A Financial Misadventure” by Kathryn Minicozzi

Submitted to Contest #159

First, I want to establish that nothing that happened was my fault. I don’t know whose fault it was, but it wasn’t mine. I was a victim of a bizarre occurrence that I am sure has only happened once in the history of the human race. I still can’t believe it happened to me. It all started on a pleasant afternoon last May. I needed cash, so I jogged to the First Commerce Bank of New York on West 200th Street. I waited in line at the ATM behind a man who took forever to figure out how much money he wanted and from whic...

5 comments 5
Read story

“Life's Rich Pageant” by Jeff David

Submitted to Contest #159

It was very sunny today and the doctor had told Marie to start wearing sunscreen. They had to take off a new skin tag recently, but at her older age she didn’t care. What was a few wrinkles to making her face all shiny and ruining her makeup. The lipstick had some spf or whatever they called it. On her way to the supermart she recalled that she had no cash. All she wanted was their milk and they had a ten dollar minimum to use credit card. It was a small store-too small to really qualify as a supermarket-a holdover from the old day...

2 comments 2
Read story

“Next Paycheck” by Isa C

Submitted to Contest #159

{content warning: sexual themes, language, mild gore}The lounge is warm, air thick with liquor and sweat. Dim light illuminates the lingering customers, laughing and conversing pleasantly. It is around 5am and we are about to close in a couple of hours. With no other clients booked for the rest of the night, I begin gathering my things. Dried blood stains my white button down shirt and perfectly matches my maroon tie. It happened much earlier in the night, but management suggests we don’t change unless our next guests ask us to. I untuck my ...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Zeroes” by Brendan Prince

Submitted to Contest #159

Zeroest//w: swearing, death.I woke up in my dim, bleak apartment again and the sense of dread returned. How am I going to manage to live after I pay my rent? It’s amazing how expensive it is just to exist. Credit card debt is suffocating, Student loans are demoralizing, and on top of all that there's rent and groceries just to stay alive. I have a hard time finding reasons to keep going, but my family helps me out a lot. My mom is my best friend, and I visit my parents as much as I can. My dad thinks its a codependency between my mom an...

3 comments 3
Read story

“A Chance at Lady Luck” by KS Logan

Submitted to Contest #159

A Chance at Lady Luck The blinding morning sun scorched his dry, scratchy eyes as he forced them open. Mason rubbed at a kink in his neck as he tried to create some saliva. “Just another lovely evening at the Hotel Honda,” he groaned to himself. His tongue was like a dead fish lying in the desert that was his mouth. He scanned the backseat for a bottle of water but found only empties. Mason checked his pockets for his car keys and, after a moment of panic, noticed them dangling from the ignition. “Thank you, God,” he said. “First thin...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Shifts at CeeCee’s” by Dani Sheehan

Submitted to Contest #159

The afternoon swung steadily from noon to night like the way a hammock sways in a warm breeze. I was finishing a transaction with an older gentleman who stood not much taller than my register. I rang up his last item, a gallon of milk, and told him the total. As I was bagging his groceries he demanded the price of the tomatoes. Stating they were much less than what the screen displayed. I reiterated the price and he proceeded to inquire about the cost of each of his items. He was certain the whole wheat bread was on sale and flipped through ...

2 comments 2
Read story

“Game Changer ” by M. M.

Submitted to Contest #159

Snow began to descent through a darkening sky. MacKenzie opened her fridge door checking to see what she could eat, not too much. Leftover frozen pizza, a half bottle of Coke Zero and that was all. 'Better get to the bank machine soon before that storm kicks in', she thought grumpily. She would be lucky if she had even enough to go to the store for food. Her studio apartment was a shamble's, a pile of dirty laundry rested at the foot of her sofa bed. Her next pay check wasn't until mid-week. MacKenzie was used to living like this for awhile ...

0 comments 0
Read story

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with a character accepting a bribe.

Adults – 48 stories

Set your story in a world where the currency isn’t money — or at least not money as we understand it.

Fantasy – 62 stories

Write about somebody down on their luck who unexpectedly comes into a large amount of money.

Teens – 49 stories

Write about a character who’s never encountered a problem they couldn’t buy their way out of — until they do.

Angst – 25 stories

Contest #159

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: Money, Money, Money

$250

Prize money

216

Contest entries

88

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Aug 19, 2022 EST

Won by Daniel Allen 🏆

Title: Blood and Cookies

View details

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

We'll send you 5 prompts each week. Respond with your short story and you could win $250!

NEW VIDEO COURSE 🎉

How to Write a Novel

Join Tom Bromley for a writing master class and finish your first draft in 3 months. Learn more →

Explore more writing prompt ideas:

Adults Writing Prompts ⭢

Adventure Writing Prompts ⭢

Angst Writing Prompts ⭢

Character Writing Prompts ⭢

Christmas Writing Prompts ⭢

Dark Writing Prompts ⭢

Dialogue Writing Prompts ⭢

Dramatic Writing Prompts ⭢

Dystopian Writing Prompts ⭢

Fall Writing Prompts ⭢

Fantasy Writing Prompts ⭢

Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Fluff Writing Prompts ⭢

Funny Writing Prompts ⭢

Halloween Writing Prompts ⭢

High School Writing Prompts ⭢

Historical Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Holiday Writing Prompts ⭢

Horror Writing Prompts ⭢

Kids Writing Prompts ⭢

Middle School Writing Prompts ⭢

Mystery Writing Prompts ⭢

Narrative Writing Prompts ⭢

Nonfiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Novel Writing Prompts ⭢

Poetry Writing Prompts ⭢

Romance Writing Prompts ⭢

Sad Writing Prompts ⭢

Science Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Short Story Writing Prompts ⭢

Spring Writing Prompts ⭢

Summer Writing Prompts ⭢

Teens Writing Prompts ⭢

Thanksgiving Writing Prompts ⭢

Thriller and Suspense Writing Prompts ⭢

Valentine's Day Writing Prompts ⭢

Vampire Writing Prompts ⭢

Winter Writing Prompts ⭢