“Please press enter to confirm your selection.” The cursor blinked. I was trying to make sure I had done my calculations right. I hadn’t switched to the quarterly pay plan so there was another check coming in a few weeks. I had to make sure this would cover me.
It should just be simple math. Figure what your bills will be for the next month, add general spending, and work with that number. It’s never just simple math. Never have I looked at my calendar and seen Monday the 17th you blow out a tire or next Tuesday there’s going to be a strange clanking in the furnace and a little bit of smoke.
Every week I check the schedule. Never have I seen ‘Won’t Start Wednesday’, ‘$1000 Thursday’, or ‘$500 Friday’ before it actually happens.
“Are you sure this is the amount you wish to withdraw?”
Curse you cursor.
I could hear my future self yelling back at me “You son-of-a-bitch! That’s my retirement money!” and “The only reason I live on a fixed income now is because you broke it then!”
I was thanking my younger self. Years earlier I jumped into an aggressive savings plan at the old job. There had been a few runs at the lottery that surprisingly hadn’t worked out. I decided to take the funds spent on the lottery every week and put them back into the savings plan.
Instead of buying breakfast in the morning or drinks after work I took those funds and put them back into the savings plan. That plan and some lucky investments allowed me to put the down payment on my dilapidated little house.
I could hear my future self yelling at me for once again tapping into the well. I reminded him that I might not be here and even if I was I always had social security. There was a moment of silence before the laughter rippled through all three time zones.
The math was simple. Me + this withdrawal = bills being paid with no penalty and food on the table.
I hit the enter button and watched the little animation spin.
“Please allow 24 to 48 hours for the funds to appear in your bank account.”
Even though I had done my calculations right I remembered that it’s never just simple math.
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