Help! I’ve become a prisoner in my own home!
The troubles with money started with my car’s need to have its engine oil changed. Then I decided to have the $80 automatic transmission service, and for that I had to forego paying for my utilities. Then the student loan people had to call me on the phone and have their money, the internet people had to call me on the phone and have their money, the telephone people had to call me on the phone and have their money. That leaves me with not quite enough money to pay the rent this coming Tuesday.
Nuts!!
Today, my employer’s Work @ Home system is a little bit more workable, and I am able to stay at home today and work from here. That’s good. I really miss my stereo and its smooth jazz.
Working from home is something that just absolutely, positively has to happen! It’s not negotiable! I have to keep my car off of the road! Not that I’m that fearsome a driver. It’s just that I need every nickel I can squeeze. Every day I can work from home keeps $3.90 in the kitty, at current prices.
But what I really find distressing is that a lot of the things I used to go out and do for fun have fallen by the wayside. Driving to the dollar cinema on Tuesday is no longer kosher, as it burns roughly $3.00 of gasoline. For the third Saturday morning in a row, I’m going to stay home from Mulligan Chess Club. Going there, I would consume $2.75 worth of coffee and some $2.50 in gasoline.
Nowadays I really worry about myself. In my zeal to save money, I’ve placed myself under house arrest.
I wonder if it is going to affect my diet any. Last time out to the Dollar General yesterday, I bought 4 cans of canned soup, a 5-pound bag of sugar, and a small can of coffee. I must confess to an addiction to coffee. If my can is running out, and I have $2.50 to give for the cheap house brand Columbian stuff, I usually get it. Can’t do without that. I expect to buy mostly pasta and sauces over the coming weeks. I can get a bag of pasta for 75¢ at Dollar General, and a can of Del Monte spaghetti sauce—flavored with meat—for a dollar. Very good deal. I usually don’t like to pay more than $2.00 for any given meal.
This is a loser’s life, where I never get to have any fun. When am I going to get a better job?
