Not that version of it. The original, which is what I blew .69 cents on, didn't have any good video.
And I do like this version of it....
I confess, I spent .69 cents on a song.
But I have a good rationalization for it....
I need a rationalization, cuz I'm poor and I shouldn't be blowing money on stuff that's not vital to my existence. But, if you don't get something fun every once in a while, what's the point?
And the FaceBook quiz said this was my 60's song, and I didn't have a good copy of it. Admittedly I only have 3 CDs by Simon and Garfunkel. Well, I have 2 by Simon and Garfunkel, and 1 by Simon, but out of the 3 you'd think there would be a good version of the song.
I don't like the Central Park version. It just doesn't sound right.
After listening to the original on YouTube and determining that it was, indeed, a song for me, I looked it up on Amazon.
And there I caved to selfish desire and spent .69 cents.
I admit that out of my recent little windfall I've spent a bit on stuff I don't absolutely need. I have fed vices. I spent money on stuff to make a good dinner, instead of eating Ramon noodles, which I already had.. I bought another pair of thermal underwear Not something vitally necessary. But it's only a minor luxury, the 2 pair I have now are wearing out. Believe me, out here the thermal underwear are a vital thing. Now I have 3 pairs. I could have done without, but for $7 bucks, I lived a little.
I also took care of some major things. I got The Cash Store off my ass. That was a major, major thing.
Back in December I needed $500. I already had a payday loan at my bank, which is a normal thing for me. They charge a reasonable rate and I get part of the fees back when I pay the loan off. But, I can only do 1 payday loan at a time. So I had to fall back and punt. I needed $500 quick and I'm poor, I don't have a lot of choices. I went to The Cash Store.
And I should have made them buy me dinner first....
Freaking 430% interest rate on the damn thing. I paid it off early and still ended up paying $260 more than I borrowed. All because they have money and I don't. Flipping $4.80 a day just to use a little bit of their money for a short time.
Usury is truly a sin.
And people wonder how anybody falls into this spiral. I'll tell you how people fall into this spiral, they don't have any flipping choice.
Consider how my spiral started....
Cuz, I am in a spiral, I almost always have a payday loan I'm paying on. As I mentioned up above, I get mine at my credit union. The rate is somewhere around 10% and I get the fees back when I pay the loan off, so it's not too damaging. I got the first one to do work on the car, which I need for my job. The next was to pay bills and get the plates for the car. The last went for propane and other bills. Then I needed $500 more.
We've all been there. Yer tapped out, and then something major goes to hell in a hand basket. If you make enough for savings this is not so bad. If you have the money to have liquid assets, then yer really not loosing anything. If you have money, you can get a low interest rate and yer good to go. If yer poor, yer screwed. You face going out into the world of truly predatory lending where yer either swimming with the sharks or the bottom feeders. I just went swimming with the bottom feeders.
Payback terms, which made me nauseous at the time I took the loan out, were $99.87 dollars every 2 weeks, with a 430% interest rate. That's 199.74 out of the $800.00 I make every month. That's my payment for a phone, which I don't have right now, cuz I was giving that money to The Cash Store, and insurance, which I was late on paying. That's food money and gas money. Last month my income took a turn upward to about $1300 a month, and that's still a painful chunk out of monthly living expenses.
And the car needs a lot more work.
And we just had to get propane again.
And the electric bill is past due.
And it's coming up on time to pay insurance again.
And so it goes forever and forever, amen....
And I feel bad about blowing .69 cents on a song.
But The Cash Store doesn't even flinch at gouging a huge lump out of my pitiful income. Doesn't even acknowledge that I work 15.5 hours every month to pay them for the privilege of doing business with them. The people at the top have to realize that once you start paying extra money just to get by every month it means that you'll keep paying extra money just to get by every month. That's where their profits come from.
They count on their clients returning month after month. When I payed off that loan I was told that I had to wait to get my contract in the mail before I could get another loan. They'd be happy to see me!!
And, of course, they expected to see me again. Cuz they see so many of their clients month after month. It's a self perpetuating spiral.
The payday loan is a fact of the low income world. Many need that little boost in desperate circumstances and the payday loan world does all it can to extend those desperate circumstances. Cuz when yer paying $200 a month extra there's little left to save for the next rainy day.
And when yer poor it don't rain, it pours. When you have barely enough to cover monthly living and working expenses, every accident, every unforeseen occurrence is a trial.
When I said 'never again' the girl taking my money was surprised. She told me that I could get $100 if I referred a friend. Looked at me like I'd sprouted a second head when I said that 430% was highway robbery.
I like my friends and hope they don't have to go to the bottom feeders....
So, I'll tell you now, if the time comes and you desperately need money, check with your bank first. Many have payday loans and the rates, even at 20% or 50%, are better than The Cash Store.
Bank at a credit union and get an even better deal.
Well, I've got more to say, but I'm taking time away from other stuff so....
That's all for now folks!
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