What are you most ashamed of?
That one is easy for me:
stupid mistakes.
Stupid mistakes like parking in a handicapped spot in a
crowded city by accident & getting an astronomical penalty.
You guessed it! That’s what I did this afternoon. I am
infuriated with myself. The astronomical fee? $301.
Instead of rattling off the ways I could have better used
$301, I’m going to look at this situation constructively. It sucks that I will
be wasting three-hundred-and-one dollars, especially because the time my car
spent in that spot was exactly 16 minutes ( I had paid for more than that on
the meter), especially because I made this trip to the city for those 16
minutes, during which I ran into Reading Terminal Market, ran to the Cookbook
Stall, bought an expensive cookbook because I had half-heartedly asked after it
one day & the owner made it a point to get in some copies & call me to
tell me there was one waiting for me. I justified this special trip &
expensive purchase by the fact that I was supporting a very small business
(about 20 ft x 10 ft, realistically). But now not only did I spend a lot of gas
money, a lot of time sitting in traffic, a lot of extra funds that I didn’t
really have on a book that I could have bought on Amazon used for $5, but I
also have now spent a whopping sum on a penalty.
Of course I didn’t see the 6”x6” sign hanging on a pole
above the sign & if I were appearing in court I would make a case for
myself by saying that I live out in the country, where we rely on painting on
the ground to tell us if a spot it handicapped. (There was no painting on the
ground. I would NEVER had made this mistake if there had been painting.) And
while I could go to a hearing in Philadelphia to contest the ticket, I
think I’ve added up the implications & stress of such an event (not to
mention: taking off of work for a day) and decided that I couldn’t bank on my
no-blue-paint-on-the-pavement argument to get me out of there free.
Ok, so first I was angry. Now let’s move on to the
constructive side of this. There are going to be things I will do to not let
this $301 get in the way of my financial goals (which are already a bit
ambitious for a gal with a low-paying job). I will enumerate, more for my own
benefit than for yours.
- Scrimp more: on the way home I opted to get off in Lansdale rather than Quakertown because the toll charges were half. I usually don’t use toll roads but I was pressed for time today & I’m glad I did. That leads me to my next resolution.
- Get EZ-Pass: Pennsylvania drivers just saw a toll increase for cash payments, but EZ-Pass fees didn’t go up. It’s high time I get myself one!
- Debt Collect: If you already owe me money, I may ask you to get me a check more urgently!
- Start an Etsy shop: This is something that requires a bit more time than I have right now, since I don’t really have time to be crafting beyond the gifts that I have in the works for people. But now I will hurry up & finish them so I can build up an inventory of things!
- Prepare lunch at home: With this new job, I often don’t have a lunch break or if I do it’s in my car driving from one client to the next. Obviously fast food would be the easiest option. While I try to avoid this, the long hours are getting to me & I often don’t feel that I have enough energy to think ahead & prepare meals to take along in my tiffin. It’s changing tonight as I resolve to not spend any money on convenience snacks or food.
- No buying gifts: Until I have made up this $301, that is. I usually make about 75% of the gifts I give, but I can’t afford to go to any expense with this new bill.
- No shopping: As of last week, I bought enough scrubs to bolster my wardrobe. There is no reason for me to be buying anything for myself since I have too much already.
- Get on those letters of complaint I talked of so long ago: I keep meaning to write them but just never seem to have the time. The reality is that I am too lazy to do so, as they could each take 5 minutes to write.
- Spend less on postage: this is going to be the hardest resolution for me to keep. I have several packages to send in the next month, but I will be seeing what I can do!
Many of these things are doable with a bit more energy than
I currently possess. Which means that I’m going to have to work even harder to
stay within my narrow means. It requires pre-planning & dedication to
saving. In order to garner more respect for myself, I am going to keep track of
the savings & earnings that can be dedicated to leveling off this huge
bill.
What tips do you have for me? I will welcome any ideas,
however ingenious they may be!
