May 7, 2008
Holy cheezits. I’ve got Bag Lady Syndrome today, and I’ve got it bad. I’m thinking to myself: 15k is good for an emergency (aka: I quit!) fund. But what about all those other things that could happen, like car problems ? That’s almost as certain as death and taxes, especially in the Ducky household. Or something goes terribly wrong with the house? Or if our rent suddenly increases astronomically? How would I cope with money-draining chaos if I’m reducing every expense I can think of and maximizing my income now, and still having a rough go of it?
PaDucky’s out of a job again because the company he was working for went out of business. He’s having a really hard time finding another one because of age discrimination. Prospective employers are telling him that they’re looking for younger people, which is foolish and rude. I wasn’t expecting to rely on his income any time soon, but he’ll certainly have to have one if I’m to implement my plan to move out.
Instead of panicking or becoming anxious, or resigning myself to living here forevermore, I kicked into super-analytical mode:
I should keep the 15k as a cash cushion for job loss.
Then start another emergency fund for catastrophes such as the above.
And bulk up the car maintenance fund by, say, another couple thousand.
And have a supplemental fund for rent, just in case the rent goes up insanely. [This is a possibility, our rent hasn’t been increased in years.]
And … and … and … whooooaaa!!!
That right there? I just tried to mentally justify building up 100k worth of what-if money because I’m paranoid. Where I’d get that extra 85k, Lord only knows, but the point is, I’m falling into that mentality where no amount is ever enough because I’m fueled entirely by emotion. Namely, fear.
It’s subsiding now that I’ve written it down and can see how ridiculous it looks on “paper”, but now I understand how easy it is to become Chicken Little and run from imagined terrors. I always wondered how people I consider comparatively or absolutely wealthy could look at what they have and still be afraid that they’ll be broke, but I realize that the problem is the mentality of what they don’t have, not what they do have.
It’s not that any of the above couldn’t happen, but a million other things that I couldn’t ever foresee could happen, too. I can’t live my life under a rock making lists of the things that could go wrong and how much money I’d need for it to be ok again. Silly ducky.
March 9, 2008
Thank you all for your encouragement and support these past couple of days. I know I’ve been on an uncharacteristically lengthy binge of unhappy and depressing news. While one weekend of attempted rejuvenation won’t undo all the emotional and physical distress, I’m going to view this as a sign that I need to make some changes to better cope with the sandstorms of life. This is the beginning of a journey towards a healthier, more-together me.
I took care of a lot of business on Friday and then gave myself permission to relax the rest of the weekend. Then actually went out and did it. Check it out ….
First, the bank charges? Will have to eat them. I called, and Wamu’s new policy is that they’ll only waive one set of fees per year. Thanks to the fiasco I might not have blogged about in January, wherein my mom cashed checks against my account, her employer screwed up and stop paymented those checks when they meant to stop payment other checks they’d mistakenly duplicated, which meant Returned Item fees, I’m out of luck. Sadly, had I consulted the crystal ball, I would have paid that $20 charge and gotten the refund on this much more substantial $60 set. *sigh* No more bank errors allowed!
Second, I made the first of a few e-fund to expense fund transfers last week, but on second and third look, my math does not actually work. The plan was to transfer the total amount of money I’d need that week, and continue on a weekly basis. Except, the bill total and transferred total do not match. I have no idea what I was thinking, but I need to recalculate the amounts in my checking account and the past week’s transaction history to unravel my mistake. Hmmm….. otherwise I’m just going to transfer exact amounts from here on out, and not worry if I’ve accidentally left a cushion in the checking account. Losing interest on a couple hundred dollars is nothing compared to overdraft charges that I didn’t see coming.
Third, we buried my dog. He passed away at home, so I didn’t have to take him to the vet after all. My last dog seems to realize she’s an only child now, and is a little more willing to be in the house with people than she ever was before.
Fourth, I fixed the flat and got an oil change for under $75 dollars. In fact, once I submit the $10 rebate for the oil change, taking the $30 charge to $20, the total will be a whopping $52 for both services, and they qualify as valid charges for Driver’s Edge Options Redemptions. I can finally redeem some of those credits! I only have $80 worth, but it’s still great to have something paid for by rebates.
Fifth, I’ve been making rookie mistakes in choosing the right credit card to pay with lately, and that’s unusual. To help my discombobulated brain, I’m sticking a green star on the card I should be using for all regular purchases. Looks silly, but if it works, I don’t care.
Sixth, the sedan’s out of the shop. Now I just need to get my car’s repairs taken care of, and the truck is no longer necessary to substitute for the regular cars.
Seventh, the bills for the week are paid. Nothing but the rent to worry about this week.
Things Left to Do:
Grocery shopping (tomorrow)
Call Verizon and change the credit card they automatically bill
Call the insurance and make arrangements for my car to be fixed
Decide if I want to go see BoyDucky this or next weekend (I’d use an award ticket)
Continue to wonder why I still haven’t seen a bill for my Early Termination Fee from T-Mobile, but do nothing about it (that includes getting stressed about it)
Call the city and find out why they’re billing me for more than one trash bin when we only use one