On my birthday I went to a club with two of my good friends. It was wack as hell but I still had fun despite having to leave a little early to get SOME type of rest before going to work in the morning. I got home around 1am and had to drive around the block 3 times to find a parking spot…AS USUAL. I couldn’t find anything (even all the illegal ‘fire zone’ spots were taken) so I parked in this empty lot right beside my building. I’ve seen other residents of my building park there every night and this night was no different. I knew I wasn’t supposed to park there but I was not willing to park 3 blocks from my apartment at 1am. I got up at 7am to move my car and that mofo was GONE and so were the other cars. I already knew the deal so I called the tow number and they told me it would be $240 CASH if I picked up my car that day, plus an extra $40 for each day that I didn’t pick it up. I wanted to get mad but the sign clearly stated all of the above but I parked there anyway. Guess I was a little too confident that I wouldn’t get towed.
It was the middle of the month and my employer only pays once a month. So it’s not like I could put up the money and be like "oh well I get paid next week." There were still 2.5 weeks left before my next payday and I was really just getting used to budgeting my money for the whole month. I REALLY didn’t want to dig into my emergency fund because it was JUST starting to get some weight on it but I had to do what I had to do. I just thank God that I was of the mind to start putting money aside in the first place. But honestly, I was getting to the point where I was kind of ’blah’ about it. I started relaxing on those deposits and spending more money on dumb stuff. Lesson learned!
I was talking to a friend a couple of months ago about debt vs. saving. His stance was that if he had $1000 in savings while carrying a $1000 credit card debt, he’d just clean out his savings and pay off the debt. No-brainer. I asked what he would do if an emergency popped up and he had no funds? His response was that he’d just use credit cards. My thought was that he’d then be out of his emergency fund AND have newly accumulated debt (w/ interest) that he’d just paid off. Not only that but sometimes you just need cold, hard cash. I wouldn’t be caught dead taking out a cash advance on a credit card…they start charging interest THE MINUTE you make a withdrawal…fugg a grace period. So yeah, save your money people!
Great post! I’ve been doing a better job of saving money over the past few months too
and it is a great security blanket. Helps me rest easier at night.
Comment by Sugar — May 21, 2007 @ 4:13 pm
girl! Having your card towed is NOT a joke…been there, cussed up a storm too. Glad you at least had some money to use!
Comment by Heartdrops — May 21, 2007 @ 8:51 pm
Ohhhh..I woulda been SICK!!!
Comment by Carmen — May 22, 2007 @ 12:08 am
damn..sorry to hear..Philly’s towing rates are ridiculously high..I had an expected car expense last week myself..Thankfully I was able to pay it..I agree with you about emergency funds..money management is a work in progress for me..it sucks that I raised thinking about money the way some of my friends do..nevertheless..Im on top of my game now…www.truecredit.com is your friend, especially if you’re trying to whip your credit into shape..since I’m down to part time work I have to be even more cognizant of where I spend my money..I got a nice cell phone deal-I get a work/personal cell phone and only have to pay $52 per quarter-basically $210 bucks a YEAR for UNLIMITED cell phone service! that’s going to save me over $700 per year alone…
Dang, that’s a STEAL. From what I can tell, Philly tow rates aren’t as bad…I got towed in ‘the county.’
Comment by V — May 22, 2007 @ 3:37 am
Having a cushion is the best thing somebody can do for themselves to keep from going into more debt over an unexpected expense or emergency. I hope your friend heard you out on that!
Sorry you were towed…
Comment by Sistah Ant — June 15, 2007 @ 12:19 pm