Ten Dollars to My Name

Well, it finally happened. After months of paying for my cat's vet bills, it's halfway through the month and I only have $10 to my name. Join me on my financial pilgrimage to try and survive until the end of the month. It's March 16th and there are thirty-one days this month, so that's fifteen days to figure out how I'm going to buy groceries, toiletries and other incidentals.

Fortunately the mortgage and health care bills are paid, and I whittled a chunk of the vet bill on my Visa card down a bit. How did I get into this situation in the first place? Two years ago I was laid off from my good-paying graphic designer job. I lived for six months on provincial unemployment insurance. I live in Canada, so we have this benefit that pays out 60% of our income for anywhere from one month to nine, depending on severance pay, income and other criteria that only the government understands.

There was no way for me to change my mortgage payments, so that meant taking a low paying job for just a portion of my original income, getting cut off from my unemployment insurance benefits and working 3/4 time weeks or 4.5 days a week. While the basics get paid for, this often means that I am unable to pay my cable, BC medical or telephone bills.

Okay, I hear yelling from the rafters. Why do I have cable when I can't afford it? Well, it's bundled with my internet, and I haven't quite figured out how I can write articles, surf the internet, and check my email without it. Also, Battlestar Galactica has the big finale next week! Seriously, I am using it to hunt for a new job, but in this economy, perhaps all I can do is take a second job.

Well, first of all, maybe it's not as bad as I thought. The bank account has a total of $10.21 in it. I do have $10 in my wallet, plus when I looked through my travel folder, I found a whole $5.10 in US dollars. So that brings me up to $25.31. Perhaps I can buy some staples at the grocery store. Yes, staples so I can staple my mouth shut and not have to eat!

Things were going great today until I broke my contact lens at work. That means I earned a whole half an hour's worth of pay, while having to fork over over $300 to cover the optometrist visit and a new set of contact lenses. Eyes = happy. Credit card = sad. The great news is that I still have money in my wallet! Maybe I can forget for one month that I have a credit card bill to pay. Maybe it will go away! Right? Bills do go away don't they?

You might be asking me now on how my cat is doing, since I spent so much money on her. She is doing great, thank you for asking! She's eating, playing, and resting. I love her and she's the only one who puts up with me on a day to day basis.

Stay tuned to see if I break down and use the credit card to buy chocolate and booze tomorrow.