The massively boring "I need money" post that I warned you was coming

About a half a month ago I was extremely worried that I had miscalculated and was going to have to beg for money STAT lest there be no heating oil and I freeze.  Turned out I calculated just fine and all was well.

This time... this time it's not so much of a miscalcuation as a misreading (damn terms and conditions) and most of the fallout will happen next month for which I have plans* --that hopefully will not fail-- but right here right now...

It would be nice if I could somehow get $84.16 in the next day or two but I think I can survive that by moving money as if it were a savvy player in musical chairs and such.

It is absolutely vital that I have $274.58 by the end of the month.  That is much harder to come by.

Also there's an outstanding charge of over a thousand dollars where I thought it better to accept a one time only late fee than pay for it via an interest bearing loan (so far that seems the right choice) but things are approaching the point where I'm going to have to find a way to pay for it or face negative consequences.

But, for the moment, the big thing is 274 US dollars and 58 US cents by the end of the month otherwise the excrement will hit the air moving device with such force as you have not known.

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And I hate making posts asking for monetary help because I don't feel I deserve it.  There are people who should be paid for their blogging work.  Ana Mardoll deserves to be paid.  Fred Clark deserves to be be paid.  So on.

I am not one of those people.  I have a donate button (top right) not because I feel I deserve to be paid but because sometimes I need to be.  Remember the root canal thing?  Still haven't fucking paid that off, but I'd be nowhere near as close if not for the fact that some people donated and donated so much more than anything I do is worth.

And that's part of why I hate making posts like this.  I've already gotten more than I deserve and here I am asking for even more than that.

And yet, that's exactly what I'm doing.  With a note of: every little bit counts (see, just made that note) and puppy-dog eyes. *makes puppy-dog eyes*

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* It's sort of like this, you need a doohickey, but the only way to get one is to buy a set that's up for auction, which contains a doohickey but also a gadget, a widget, a doodad, a thingamabob, a thingamajig, a whatsit, a whachamacallit, a gizmo, a thingy, an indeterminate object, and another thingy that may or may not be a Pakistani knock off.

Since it's an auction the people who want two or more of the things involved are driving the price up high (screw them, you're only supposed to want one item) and everyone who wants even one of the things in the lot has to bid.

BUT since not everyone wanted the doohickey you can turn around and sell the the other things that were being auctioned with it off to recoup at least some of your costs in getting the doohicky you needed.

However, until such time as you have weighed and measured the various things you didn't want, calculated shipping, listed them for sale, and actually sold them it is the case that you've recouped none of your money and are in debt the full price of the auction.

When I was younger I used to think that lots were awesome.  Get a bunch of stuff at once.  Wahoo!  Now I'm of the mind that things should just be sold individually.  The sellers make more money, the buyers don't get stuck with stuff they don't want.

Well, maybe not.  Lots do have advantages.  I know a man --I guess I should say knew since he has left this world for realms more metaphysical but his death hasn't really sunk in yet so "know" it is-- who once wanted a summer camp to call his own.

He borrowed a lot of money from his college roommate (one of the Heinz-heirs) to buy up all of the land around a certain lake, the summer camp was included in "all the land" then he sold everything but the summer camp for the exact same amount and paid back his college roommate.

So if you are a buyer getting stuff you don't want can be an advantage, but only if you can afford to wait until the people who want the stuff you don't are ready to buy.  Waiting isn't always an option.