Saving up for a rainy day,BUT it won't stop raining!!!

1shotwade · #1 07/07/14, 04:29 PM

It's just me I guess but I was taught to save up for a rainy day.How can you in the middle of a monsoon?This whole year so far it's pouring on me and mine!
I still had to have a fire on May 17th and turned tha a/c on May 24th! Burnt more wood that I had cut this year!
I started 500 plants in march and some (150) are still only 3" tall after being planted for 6 weeks. The rest was put out earlier and all killed by a hail storm.I finally got replacement tomatoes in last night thanks to a friend having some. We normally eat ripe tomatoes in early July.
A hose broke on the washer while we were out of town for a week and flooded the basement. As soon as I got that fixed the kitchen sink plumbing went south and did a mess again!
The transfer case seal went out on my old truck. While it was in the shop the fuel pump went out on the car($450).While it was in the shop the atv decided to not stay running.As soon as I got that to the shop I picked up the car and put the good truck in for an intake gasket.Now the heater in the old truck won't blow on the floor anymore.I was wanting to get that fixed but just now the mower quit running!
I've had it! Every time I get a little ahead it starts "raining" problems like it's against the law of mother nature for me to actually have money in the bank!
I'm trying to look on the bright side. At least I won't have to pick fruit this year 'cause all the apples,peaches,plums,cherries and pears decided to not produce('sept for 'bout a dozen pears).
I'm thru now! How's life in your world?

Wade

bja105 · #2 07/07/14, 05:23 PM

I am having problems with vehicles, especially. I bought six car tires, and had an expensive service call on a tractor tire in the last week. I remind myself that I am rich to be able to afford all of these vehicles. I need to sell some stuff!

sisterpine · #3 07/08/14, 11:24 AM

So sorry you are struggling so. It seems, always, that many in the world are working just to survive (the truth) and in only a few countries folks get to work for what they want. Most times I am able to manage money carefully enough to get what I want after I get what I need. That being said; It may be partly because I do not want much LOL. Once the bills are paid I am hesitant to spend money incase something breaks down. Welcome to the whole world order!

TRAILRIDER · #4 07/08/14, 11:44 AM

I hear ya' Wade! Same story here. Its been one thing after another. Just Sunday I threw a rod in my old farm tractor (after spending over 1000.00 in parts and repairs over the past 6 weeks!), got stung by a bee on the bottom of my foot and found out I now have a weasel killing my chickens in the day time! I also started my plants from seed under lights, not as many as you of course, but 9 surviving plants from 50? And I too don't have to worry about picking fruit this year. I have about a dozen peaches and pears on the trees, no apricots, no plums. Yes I did get enough pie cherries for a few pies : ) So you are not alone. It has been a rough time. Last night even, I was beginning to wonder WHY? WHY do I do this? I guess its the one and only thing I am passionate about. I don't really "do" anything else but farm. And of course work to pay for the farm. And get on HT !

light rain · #5 07/08/14, 11:58 AM

Hang in there Wade. I have seen in my own life sometimes bad things happen in a string (makes you wonder...) and all we can do is put one foot in front of another and keep moving forward. And pray for things to change and strength and stubbornness to survive until they do. I'll be keeping you and yours in my prayers.

crazyfarm · #6 07/08/14, 12:23 PM

My DH killed both the dishwasher and the microwave last month. It was totally awesome, I got a new stove out of the deal!

Anyway, we've had those days. We all do. We just follow the Dave Ramsey plan and those rain storms don't bother us a bit anymore.

1shotwade · #7 07/08/14, 02:35 PM

Thanks for all the words of encouragement y'all! There is still a half dozen things I didn't even tell ya about but y'all get the point!
I noticed a couple on here talking up the dave ramsey plan. It's a good way to go. A friend showed it to me years ago and I was already doing everything in the plan before I ever heard of him. And YES, it still bothers me when these things happen. I've always had to watch every penny and I've done a lot of things that everyone said was not possible simply because I watch every penny.I am 64 years old and the highest wage I have ever made was $14.92 an hour and I've got enough money saved to know it'll not run out and I have gone from entry level to administration in about every job I have had except in law enforcement and I did it the hard way. I earned it! But when I end up dropping thousands of dollars a year that I shouldn't have to it still bothers me! Things like this fuel pump in the car. That's the 3rd one in a year! It went out last May and cost $465 and then went out in March and was out of warranty for another $450 and then again In May of this year which cost $300 and I did get reimbursed $140 for the pump.That's a grand I've got tied up in this pump and it shouldn't have happened but nobody is going to reimburse you for their towing or labor charges.You take the thing out and bench test it and it's bad. Slam it on the bench a few times and it starts working but I'm not putting it back in the vehicle for it to happen again.
My stihl weed trimmer wouldn't stay running yesterday and it wouldn't adjust so off I go to my stihl dealer who is an old farmer that does this on the side. He worked on it over an hour and got it running right and didn't charge me a thing. I brought it home and used it all of ten minutes and it wouldn't idle down so I put it up and jumped on the mower to get that part done before the rain and it went south on me for the first time leaving me all the way back at the pond far from the house. Walked back and had to tow it in with my truck and cover it .This morning I got up and the coffee pot quit working so had to fix that before having coffee the the wife said the seat belts quit working in the car and she has the grandson for the day. That's a must so got that done and it's threatening rain so I'm back at the stihl dealer who took care of me again. I dropped a $10 on him anyway 'cause it was the right thing to do but I'm still out The gas and time to drive a total of 65 miles down there and back twice. Ya, it still bothers me to have everything going south on ya' when you have a limited income and the time it consumes that keeps you from getting any "real" work done.
I've just resigned myself to the fact that this must be my station in life,but,that doesn't mean I have to like it!!

Wade

BlackFeather · #8 07/08/14, 09:36 PM

Be glad it's not your health. Lets see starting in January of 2013 my intestines sprung a leak, (did that years ago but healed up but reopened again) that later caused sepsis (a blood infection), that knocked the stuffings out of my kidneys, only to find out one of my kidneys was only working at 20% if probably was bad from birth. They also were concerned about my resting heart beat around 35 beats a minute. My blood was thin from taking ibuprofen, The surgeon thought she might have to operate so she tried to thicken my blood but went too far. I got blood clots down one leg, and in my heart. Went to another hospital to have the leg clots removed, when they did they put stents in. My leg swelled after surgery, so they slit the skin open and let the muscle hang out took over a week before I could walk and about 2 1/2 months for the skin to close. In the mean time they have been trying to heal the whole in my colon. Then at the end of November the hole opened up to the diameter of a mini-marshmallow. In the hospital again. My surgeon had me dead on the operating table from either heart failure or kidneys shutting down, scared my daughter. She sent me to a different hospital because she didn't trust the doctors at our local hospital and she didn't want to kill me. The other doctors at the better hospital put me through tests and said I was ok for surgery. Had major abdominal surgery cut out the offending part, gave me a colostomy and said he didn't see anymore Crohn's disease in my intestine. He said he could reverse the colostomy in a year but there is not point as I'd be back to visiting the rest room over 20 times a day. Now were up to this year, as a result of the surgery I got shingles, I got the flu which sent my recovering kidneys in to a tail spin again. That caused gout, think thats solved now. Got a persistent hiccup problem due to one of the medicines, stopped the medicine in about 3 weeks the problem stopped. I seem to be doing well now that I'm off of all medicines. Now, I was building a swing set for my daughters and my wife and as I lifted one of the 12 foot 4x4s I noticed a discomfort in my lower abdomen, I'm not sure when I had the blow out but my hernia surgery is scheduled or late November. I don't want to sound like I'm complaining, it just the way it is things come in bunches. I personally believe hard times make you a better person.

1shotwade · #9 07/08/14, 10:53 PM

Yah! I guess we all got a laundry list and although I have my own personal health problems as does my wife and actually about everyone I know in this age group, I really do try not to complain. It could always be worse but when it's just non stop every day with one thing building on another sometimes you just have to vent.
Believe me,I am very thankful for what health I do have and have a lot of compassion for those around me I see suffering even if I don't verbalize it.In a way we are all in our own little world so busy dealing with our own problems we can't comprehend what the next person is going through.
Thanks for sharing your own experience.

wade

Dixie Bee Acres · #10 07/09/14, 05:33 AM

It always does seem like problems or unexpected issues come in waves, and it is easy to see those.
But, how many times do we not notice all the good things that also come in waves?
Hang in there man, it's always darkest just before the dawn.

1shotwade · #11 07/11/14, 02:35 PM

Well Y'all,it's still rain'n! I've been off line for the last two days 'cause the TV went south and it is also my monitor! Hope to see a rainbow after the monsoon is over!

Wade

light rain · #12 07/11/14, 03:12 PM

What Dixie Bee Acres said!

Still praying.

1shotwade · #13 07/11/14, 05:54 PM

Thanks y'all! Still look'n for the rainbow to know it's over!

Wade

Gurnis45 · #14 07/13/14, 02:58 AM

Well! I was feeling pretty bummed about my mother-in-law coming to stay a month. But after reading all these posts, I'm feeling a lot better, Thanks!

Rustaholic · #15 07/13/14, 07:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gurnis45

Well! I was feeling pretty bummed about my mother-in-law coming to stay a month. But after reading all these posts, I'm feeling a lot better, Thanks!

Early in our 38 year marriage my sweet wife told me that any time I wanted my mother could come live with us but that her mother never would be welcome.