Well, the news is not good. Chris' car needs a new fuel pump, for which the Chevy dealership wants $800. We don't have $800, it might as well be a million. One of Chris' coworkers thought they could install a new fuel pump themselves, provided it wasn't behind the gas tank, which would have to be pulled out. It's behind the gas tank. Of course. The dealership, by the way, quoted a price of $400 for a new fuel pump. A local parts store quoted $220. Nice markup. But of course the dealer won't install parts they didn't buy themselves. A junkyard has a relatively new fuel pump they'll sell Chris for $70, but then he has to find someone to install it. Which also means paying to have the car towed from the dealership to wherever it's going to get fixed.Our roadside assistance coverage on our car insurance only covers the first tow from the highway to the dealership. Of course. So we'll have to pay for that tow plus the fuel pump plus find someone to install it plus pay for … [Read more...]
Can You Help Me With a Money Emergency?
cross-posted from MomReviews Image via CrunchBase *deep breath* I need $100 by Thursday. I had been counting on my monthly payout from Linkworth for the text ads I run on Table for Five, but they don't payout unless you earn $100, and I only earned $95.00. The money will get added to my payout for next month, but I leave for BlogHer on Thursday morning. The money will be spent on gas for the car I'm driving there and back (I'm taking 2 other people down and 3 people back, but once the tank of gas the car is delivered with is gone, we'll have to chip in to refill it), lunch on the way there and back, tips for the doorman and any necessary cab rides, and if I have enough, a souvenir BlogHer t-shirt which they've never had before. $100 might not even be enough but I feel bad enough asking for help as it is. I'd also like to point out that while this blog does have text link advertisers, the amounts they are willing to pay are not large, and the money I received … [Read more...]
Another scary money conversation at my house
From New York Times Business online: "Even before the opening bell, Monday looked ugly. But by the time that bell sounded again on the New York Stock Exchange, seven and a half frantic hours later, $1.2 trillion had vanished from the United States stock market." And from Money.CNN.com: NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- First, the good news: Even if warnings of economic catastrophe aren't enough to win approval of a controversial $700 billion Wall Street bailout, the economy is not at risk of falling into a depression, most experts agree. During the Great Depression, unemployment shot up to as much as 25% in 1933. That came after the gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic activity, plunged 13% the previous year. Millions of people lost their savings when banks closed without any insurance for its customers' deposits. Few economists are predicting economic pain of that magnitude. Now the bad news: Even if the plan to buy up bad mortgage debt from troubled … [Read more...]
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