Unexpected Expenses and Thoughts of Internet Begging...

...have been subjects on my mind today. What with the washing machine breaking down and most likely needing replacement (see previous post), I got to thinking wouldn't it be nice to have a million bucks stashed away for such things.

I had been sort of hoping to stash away some money to buy a new gun sometime in the next couple of months; but now there is no chance of that with the expense of a new washing machine looming on the near horizon. I got pretty bummed out by this because I recently had some other unexpected expenses that had the same effect on my gun buying hopes. I was so frustrated that I almost decided to put a begging post up with a PayPal icon begging for donations.

I did a lot of thinking about this subject today, I even went so far as to write up a whole begging post. No not for inclusion on this blog, but actually under a whole new blog. In thinking about how I would do it, and why I would do it, I decided that if I was going to be an Internet beggar of some sort, I would do it not just so that I could buy new toys and show them off on my site even though I would like to buy some new toys; but rather I would want to also achieve some sort goal. I have always wanted to be a munificent millionaire, ever since the days of the show "The Millionaire". I guess almost everyone would kind of like to have a million bucks, I certainly would. If I was going to beg for it on the web, I would beg for it with that goal, of becoming a millionaire, as my driving force. If I actually were to gain that much money from begging, I would probably give most of it away to charity. Of course I guess I would spend some on myself and my family, pay the taxes on the million with some of it, but then I'd probably give the rest of it away.

Then I thought about how I feel when I see others begging, and I felt almost ashamed of myself for even having given it some thought, let alone actually writing up a whole blog on the subject. While begging to get money is not necessarily a bad thing, it often gets me riled up when I see someone begging, but who has a good paying job, and plenty of money, a nice house, plenty of toys like guns and cars and boats and power tools and electronics and cameras and other goodies. When people who have it to excess stoop to begging so they can have more to excess I see it as the height of boorishness. So, I decided against the begging thing, though I will say I was sorely tempted.

I was oh so tempted that I took it this far: http://TheHumbleBeggar.blogspot.com. As you will see though, the PayPal link is not on the page. When I think about it, it would be fun to say that I was able to get one buck from each of a million people so that I was able to become a millionaire. It would be very nice to have about $50,000 to spend to close out my mortgage and college loans, and to have some to stash away for my sons college expenses; with some left over for a car and a vacation; and then with plenty more left over to donate to a charity.

It probably would not have worked, but who can tell? I leave it to someone else to try. As for me I just don't have it in me to beg when I don't need to beg, even if it means actually missing out on luxuries and toys. Oh well, it was a fun fantasy project - The Humble Beggar blog site that I created this afternoon - and it will remain just that for me, a fantasy project and nothing more.

All the best,
Glenn B

When Something Breaks, Something is More Like Somethings

First my hot water heater went on the fritz. Then, right after that broke down, so too did my washing machine. Oh joy, now I wonder what will make it the magic three. Isn't that how it works when bad things happen, they come in threes? Well the hot water heater got fixed pretty quickly by my oil company man; that is it was almost fixed, then it broke down again. The oil guy came back and fixed it again, and gave the oil jets and electronics a good cleaning. Seems they were coated with lint from the dryer and animal hairs. I wonder where all those hairs came from? Were they from the now deceased cat, the three dogs, or the 50 or so mice I have down in the basement (in tanks). I guess it doesn't matter now that it is clean and working well. This was not so bad especially since the repairs were done free of charge; heck we pay enough for the oil to cover the repairs.

As for the washing machine, it does not drain. There was no warning or anything to indicate the pump was about to fail, but I guess it has. The machine was only about 10 years old - certainly not made to last as they used to be. I remember washing machines lasting well over 20 years. This one certainly will not be worth having it repaired. A few years ago, last time we had repairs done to it, it was under the extended warranty. As I recall the repairman told us that the repair he made would have cost about $225, which was more than we had paid for 5 years of extended warranty service. Back then, just having the repairman come to our house had a minimum charge of about $125.00. I think it is time to buy a new one for about $450 - $500. Of course, I'll pull this one out of its nook this weekend, and maybe I'll even try to check to see if I can find and fix the problem. If not, then out it goes, and in with a new one. Hmm, that made me realize the third thing that will be broke - me!

Oh well, I guess I'll just have to tighten the purse strings for a month or two.

All the best,
Glenn B