No cash!

rgk · Post by **rgk** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 4:36 pm

I woke up today to find a bleeding gash in my cat's leg. It being Sunday morning, I had to call emergency care. It cost $170 for them to clean him, bandage him, and staple him shut. Having no cash, I had to charge the transaction.

However, a thread I posted a couple of days ago in the ticket section panned out: someone wants me to build their website in exchange for a ticket.

The world has a funny way of balancing out.

Once I have the ticket, I will still have to gather supplies, find a rideshare or two, get enough gas money, and get some spending cash money "just in case..." in addition to having the cards.

I am paying off all my bills for the month before leaving aside money for Burning Man.

rgk · Post by **rgk** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 9:49 am

You're absolutely right about the cash advances. I took out one cash advance in my life, 250.00 in January of 2009. The balance on that cash advance, as of right now, is 280.

It was only recently that credit card companies were forced to change their practices - one rule that went into effect, for instance, is that they have to apply any money I pay them over the minimum amount goes toward the highest interest rate - this will always be the cash advance APR.

My minimum payments at their peak, on one card, were about 60 bucks. Even though I paid a one-time fee of 450 and they dropped the minimum down to 15 bucks per month, that cash advance still remained like a festering sore. The lower your minimum payment, the worse off you are, because you feel like you're not paying anything at all, when in reality (if you have a balance) you certainly are paying. The problem for those of us who are unemployed or underemployed is that those low monthly rates allow us to maintain a good credit history and enjoy more money for daily expenses.

It's a vicious cycle, but not one that can't be escaped. It comes with the change of everyday habits. Alcohol, for me, is one - it's too easy enjoy that one or two or six beers a day, which (maybe you know it, maybe you don't) does a number on your body - even in small quantities. It lowers our ability to reason, and we begin to crave it in larger quantities.

I think one good change for me right now would be to not obsess so much about Burning Man, and not worry that my girlfriend is going without me. Instead, I can start planning for next year. That way next year I will know I am absolutely set and won't have to worry about what I will do when I get home, or in case of emergency, and won't have to endure the humiliation of being drain on anyone. Obviously, it's better to go confident than to go as a bum. Still, if the circumstances allow it and the opportunities present themselves, it will be hard to resist.

I asked my credit card company if they could do anything to lower my extremely high interest rate (I missed a couple of payments last summer), and they gave me a special 6 month APR of 1-2%. I can't help but think they know I want to go to Burning Man.

Fire_Moose · Post by **Fire_Moose** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 10:07 am

Worry not, I'll take care of yer girlfriend for ya.

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 10:17 am

Fire_Moose wrote:Worry not, I'll take care of yer girlfriend for ya.

Fire_Moose wrote:Ew. Sex.
_________________
2K8 Burning Man Virgin.
2K9 Camp Envy
--------------------------------
"There is no limit to what a man can do so long as he does not care a straw who gets the credit for it.â€

Fire_Moose · Post by **Fire_Moose** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 11:04 am

Ya...and?

Look people get dosed and stuff out there, I was simply offering to keep an extra eye on this fine young man's lady friend...is that so bad?

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 12:26 pm

Fire_Moose wrote:Ya...and?

Look people get dosed and stuff out there, I was simply offering to keep an extra eye on this fine young man's lady friend...is that so bad?

Fire_Moose · Post by **Fire_Moose** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 12:49 pm

FINE YOU GOT ME, i FIGURED IF THE LADIES OF EPLAYA THOUGHT I WASN'T AFTER SEX I COULD GET LAID EASIER...Ohhh fucking caps, I'm so not rewritting that.....they would see me as safe and stuff you know?

rgk · Post by **rgk** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 3:43 pm

You're MOOP.

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 4:27 pm

who's moop?

accordionMan · Post by **accordionMan** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 4:36 pm

By the way.... if you plan on sleeping in the back of your station wagon, please be advised that you are going to totally trash your interior with playa dust.

I know, I did it with a rental car and got hit for a $150 cleaning charge. Since then, I line my rental car interiors with drop cloths and the dash and windows with aluminum foil.

If you do sleep in your car, take it from me and line it with heavy drop cloths held with (what else?) duct tape before you pack it.

bm_cricket · Post by **bm_cricket** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 5:21 pm

accordionMan wrote:By the way.... if you plan on sleeping in the back of your station wagon, please be advised that you are going to totally trash your interior with playa dust.

I know, I did it with a rental car and got hit for a $150 cleaning charge. Since then, I line my rental car interiors with drop cloths and the dash and windows with aluminum foil.

If you do sleep in your car, take it from me and line it with heavy drop cloths held with (what else?) duct tape before you pack it.

I agree with everything but the duct tape. That stuff leaves some nasty glue residue and will probably produce an even worse cleaning/detailing charge. Blue painters tape works great if you get it down in a low-traffic space on a clean surface before the dust gets to it. Or Gaff tape/Gaffers tape.. that black stage stuff that stage hands/grips always use. It's about as strong as duck tape but leaves little or no residue!

capjbadger · Post by **capjbadger** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 5:28 pm

rgk wrote:You're MOOP.

Moose Out Of Place? =D

-Badger

rgk · Post by **rgk** » Tue Jul 27, 2010 10:53 am

I received a $150 gift card for participating in a study, but need cash to pay my bills. First I tried selling the card on Craigslist, but some people were suspicious of a scam, and others weren't willing to give me more that $100! The way I see it, I can lower the price by 10% for your trouble, but I'm not going to blow fifty bucks on you, I'm not that desperate! (Not to mention this, according to Wal-Mart, is technically illegal)

Then I called Wal-Mart's Money Center to see if one can pay bills at their store. Yes, they said, you can pay your electric bill, phone bill, etc., but no, sorry, you can't use your gift card. Argh!

I figured worst-case scenario, I'll use the gift card to fill up my gas tank. There are Wal-Marts with gas stations all over, and I found many on my route to Burning Man. However, I need to pay those bills soon - sooner than Burning Man.

Soooo.... THEN I went to the Wal-Mart online store, where I found $100 American Express gift cards for sale, which CAN be purchased with a Wal-Mart gift card. Bingo. The fee for purchasing a $100 AmEx gift card is only $5 and change. I purchased the card, will pay my phone bill with it, and use the rest of the money on the card for gas and cat food.

Booyah!