Aaaahhhhhhh!
That is me, wailing in sorrow and anger. Sorrow
over the recent death of Lolo, who was a really cool dude and all round
decent guy. Anger over the wreckage that has become our current cash
flow / debt balance, yet again, for four years
running!
We just sent Lola back to the Philippines, to deal
with the funeral for Lolo, her husband. We also paid for a ticket for Sweetie's sister to fly from Manila back to Mindanao, and for various
other expenses associated with this tragic event.
My guess is the final cost to us will be close to $3,000.
The reason this is hitting us so hard is that we
have long ago tapped out our emergency fund. In fact, we were already carrying
about a $3,000 balance on our credit card. We are due to receive the
annual bonus that Grump's employer gives out around
this time of year, and we were hoping to wipe out that stupid credit
card debt. Ha!
Now the credit balance is soaring up to $6,000.00, with no end to the bleeding in sight.
I know the problem is that we SHOULD have had a
substantial chunk of loot set aside to cover emergencies like this. At
one time we did, but year after year problems have cropped up "back
home", (the Philippines), that have financially
hammered us.
It all started those four years ago, when we were
still living in South Carolina, with some expensive, recurring medical
problems my wife's sister had. Then someone else would get sick, then the sister would get sick again, then
someone else, and on and on and on and on.
Three years ago we moved from Columbia, SC to
Macon, GA. The move was expensive, and stretched our finances to the
breaking point. No sooner had we begun to settle in than we received
the news: Sweetie's sister was in need of medical
help yet again!
A year later, after paying off all the preceding
nonsense, we stretched our finances once more to purchase a house.
Guess what happened? Did Sweetie's sister require urgent medical care again? No ….. well, yeah she did, but a few
other family members contributed to the "sick rolls" this time. Oh
man!
To pay off that craziness we had to sell off some
of Grump's retirement investments. We pounded down the debt, then set
some money aside for emergencies like this.
So all was well for a few months, until the antics of The King.
If you don't know, The King is/was Sweetie's
sister's lazy ass husband. In her village, he seemingly was the ONLY
man who did nothing all day but sit in his father-in-law's chair and
watch TV. Even Sweetie's uncle with one arm did more
work than this clown. His whole contribution to the family was to
siphon off funds from the money we would send home so he could buy
himself expensive snacks and drinks the rest of the family couldn't
afford.
Lolo didn't like this sluggard, and on more than
one occasion tried to run him off, until The King suddenly claimed to be
interested in going to Taiwan to "get a job". This was an expensive
proposition, as The King had no funds to get
there. This was the one and only time Lolo asked us for money, to send
The King to Taiwan. We stretched our finances once again, and
scratched up the money to send him on his way.
If you're curious about how The King's "trip to Taiwan" fared, you can read about it here: http://buyingnirvana.com/words/hari-sa-mga-tapulan-the-king-of-all-laziness/ . Suffice it to say that
he left nothing behind but broken promises and debt. How much debt? Would you believe over $3,000,
much of it borrowed from friends of Sweetie's family! Now The King is
gone, and of course Sweetie's sister has absolutely no way to pay back
that amount of money. GRRR!!!!
I can't wait for Lola to get back home! Once she does, maybe then our battered finances can start to recover!
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