Murphy's Law--vent

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Murphy's Law--vent
2
Thu, 10-13-2005 - 4:29pm

I sold some things on e-bay last week and made about $50 after having to buy the boxes and bubble wrap. I'm working on paying one cc about $100 a week to get it taken care of (this was sent to the collection agency from hell, and by making weekly payments the calls finally stopped). After I decided that we're going to "suck it up" and just pay as many people as we can this week to FINALLY get caught up and at least be current, I only needed to take $50 from my child support check, which I am trying to put away for savings, to make up the difference on that one cc payment...

Picked up 15 yo DD yesterday at school, and she was in a "mood". When I asked her what was wrong, she informs me that her cellphone is gone. She said she saw it in the morning because she used it to check the time, and then we get to the good part...it's on silent because while it's okay to have the phone at school, the teachers will take it away if it rings. The school took away lockers after the whole Columbine thing, so all the kids have to carry all of their stuff. My sister's kids have two sets of books, one for home and one for school, that way they never have to carry anything (or forget a book), but not at our school--you should see the load these kids have to carry--we go through about three bookbags a school year. It should be illegal. Anyway, she DOES have a PE locker, so she puts some stuff in there between classes, but when she went to PE she didn't put her bag in it because it doesn't fit. She apparently didn't think about putting her PHONE IN THERE.

Now I have to pay $50 deductable to replace phone. Fine, at least I don't have to buy a whole new phone at full price, but they want it on a CC...mine are completely maxed out and we have been cash only for months now. I guess I'll have to use debit/ATM card, but now I have to come up with an additional $50 (above and beyond what I had for CC bills this week) for the deductable. I literally had all $ this week to bills and groceries, with not a whole lot left over...now this.

Its always one step up and two steps back!!

Thanks!!

Kathy

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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-14-2003
Thu, 10-13-2005 - 6:17pm

This might just be me, and I am not trying to tell you how to be a parent by any means. But, what if she paid for the phone herself? If approached with this idea, she may be more inclined to look for the phone a little harder. Or, at least the thought of losing $50 may make her think twice before putting her phone down.

Windy

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Thu, 10-13-2005 - 6:47pm

Hi--

Thanks for the input. I thought about that approach, but her savings is very small at this point, and we are BOTH looking forward to her turning 16 in the winter so she can get a job, especially to offset all the TXT charges on our family plan! I am thinking about having her "work" it off around the house with extra chores. I think she's figured out that she needs to have it on her person at all times...I also told her that this is the last phone I replace. Well, it is the first in two years, but STILL!!

We found out this morning that it appears that the phone may have actually been stolen from her bag, with a couple of people not willing to "give up" further information. The guy at the cell phone co said that if we locate the original phone we can activate it with my or DHs #, so it won't be a total loss.

AND--when I told DH about trying to figure out where I was going to find the extra $50, he reminded me that he had gotten a CC (that he DID NOT APPLY FOR btw!) and had put it away for an emergency...so I guess we'll use it for this. (When he got the card, he called the co and asked what it was, and they said "the computer spit it out". He said he wanted to cancel it since he didn't want it and never applied for it. They told him that there was a $75 cancellation fee!! They were bound and determined to get $$ out of him any way possible. It should be illegal to do that to someone!)I made DH promise that the card would be put away and paid in full when bill came!

Thanks again--

Kathy

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