On being cheap

For whatever reason, I'm a pretty cheap guy. I started saving my money when I was 14, starting a bank account with $50. Once I got it up to $500, which was around 17, I opened up a mutual fund account. I paid into that account religiously, holding onto shares throughout the tech bubble burst, and buying into developing markets, until I came out this year with a 2 000 return on about 7 000. Not bad.

I've skipped meals because I'm away from home and didn't want to spend money on food.

I helped start a club in my church for people who are really cheap. We have a secret way of greeting each other. It's kinda like the stone masons, except we don't charge a lot.

Unfortuately, being cheap doesn't always pay. One time I walked a half hour in the cold to avoid spending a bus ticket on the way to the grocery store. It was snowing, and the windchill was painful. After the half hour I realized I was walking the wrong way, and jumped on the next bus. It took a while for the pain in my legs to subside. I was wearing the fashionable jeans with holes in them.

But things really peaked this past week. Last semester my dentist told me I needed to come in and have my wisdom teeth removed. He said they would "probably" start to poke though and cause me lots of pain. I'm no anti-dentite, but sometimes I think medical professionals are a lot like mechanics, telling you there's stuff wrong with you when there isn't, getting money they don't deserve (I'm sure most are great). So my dentist tells me this, and immediately I think, "sure buddy, wouldn't you like to put me out of commission for a week and get a nice cheque from health insurance. I'm no sucker." So they scheduled me an appointment, and I cancelled. I was pretty proud of myself for seeing through the scam.

Well, last week my cheek started to hurt. Yesterday it was killing. Today I can barely open my mouth wide enough to bite something. I looked in the mirror, stuck a flashlight in my mouth, and sure enough, there's a new tooth entering in on an angle that bites my cheek everytime I close my mouth. ouch.

So, this is the price I pay for being cheap. Tomorrow I'm going to have to phone and beg for an immediate emergency appointment. It doesn't help that I'm leaving for North Africa soon.

Anyways, I'm packing my bike in my luggage to cut down on transportation costs in North Africa, we'll see how that one turns out.