The Very Best Things in Life Are DEBT FREE!
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How I Very Unexpectedly Lost $60 In Less Than 3 Seconds
Ever lost $60 in less than 3 seconds unexpectedly?
I did on Saturday night, and man did it suck! Here lately, a few of the guys from work have been bringing their skateboards in, and after work, we’ll skate around in the parking lot.
I have especially enjoyed the intense cardiovascular workout I get. We do street tricks—one in particular called an “ollie”. An ollie is nothing more than using a skateboard to jump something.
From age 12-18, that’s all I did. Around the neighborhood, around town—pretty much anywhere we were allowed to skate. Back in the day, I could ollie pretty high.
Today…not so much, as I am a “few” pounds heavier than I was back then, which makes it harder. 
Still, I am not one to back down from a challenge, so I got back on the skateboard—someone else’s skateboard. So after doing this for the past couple of weeks, Saturday night ended with much different results!
It happened on my best ollie since stepping onto a skateboard again. I got my big butt pretty high off the ground, only to land with my feet in the wrong place. This caused the nose to snap, making that sound that killed the mood of my achievement IMMEDIATELY! It was a sound I was familiar with, as I have cracked a few boards of my own back in high school, also by accident.
I gave him money to replace his board. (pictured above—after he “office-spaced” the cracked remains.)
That record 3 second ollie cost me $60!
What did I learn?
Do not get on “someone else’s” skateboard unless:
- You are not living paycheck to paycheck. CHECK!
- You have an emergency fund in place. CHECK!
- You can afford to hand over $60 for the replacement. Umm…CHECK!
The financial impact of this is pretty minor compared to how it would have gone down a few years ago. “Umm…can I give you $30 next Friday and $30 more two Friday’s later?” Translation: Can you go three whole weeks without your skateboard?
I’m being facetious, but having to give anyone $60 of your money unexpectedly could ruin your day! It ruined my day and I had the 3 prerequisites above covered! 
In two days I made $275 in tips but walked away with only $215. That $60 came directly out of my Christmas Project money budgeted for November’s income. Not a big deal really, but it does mean that we will have to earn some extra bucks in November to cover the unexpected expense, if we want to stay on track. Don’t you worry, we have that covered too. Be sure to subscribe to Enemy of Debt to receive an update on how we have/and will earn extra cash this month. Update on Wednesday!
Mortgage & Modified Plan Update:
A while ago I shared with you our plan to pay our mortgage up through January. So far so good!
- Next week we will have reached our goal.
- We also paid for our car insurance through January as well.
- We cut our cell phone bill from a nauseating $165 a month, down to $110.
- We have been cutting our thermostat to the off position to save on electricity, which caused our bill to go from $150-$160, down to around $100. December’s bill may be lower than $80.
- We’ve been selling stuff and buying big bargains.
We have not added any money at all to our Emergency Fund since becoming debt free, but as I stated in the link above, we have a reason and a plan. We are in a tremendous financial position right now, at a time when money gets tight for most people. Are we stressed? Not even close. We feel great, secure, and will have a wonderful Debt Free Christmas because of it.
Is there any last minute changes you can make in your life to make this Christmas a little less stressful? I bet there is something you could change. Make a list and then check it twice to make sure you didn’t miss something. 
I just want you to have the best Christmas possible, so you can enjoy your family without regret.
Your financial plan is more important than you may realize. Use it for the helpful tool that it is, and instead of fearing the plan, embrace it, love it! Treat it with tender loving care and you will like the results.
19 Responses to “How I Very Unexpectedly Lost $60 In Less Than 3 Seconds”
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That is a great story Brad! I look back to me breaking hockey sticks over goal posts, or even just after blocking a shot and it makes me glad that i wasn’t borrowing someone else’s stick for the night. Sure enough, i still have to go and replace it, and if i had $0 cash, it would be pretty hard to still play hockey.
That sucks but thankfully you are in a position that you will still be able to put food on the table. Happens to the best of us.
David Damron
LifeExcursion
Brian – LOL Brian!
David – True. The best part for me was all the exercise I was getting. I am going to get a skateboard of my own now and implement skateboarding into my exercise routine to make it more fun.
Thanks for your comments guys! Happy Monday!
Oh man, that is no joke for sure!
If it makes you feel better, I broke an old board of mine in half too – only my “trick” made me look like an idiot (and was pretty un-safe). I held onto a van and tried skating next to it…it worked for a bit, but I didn’t think too far ahead and when it turned right the board and I did not! I jumped away safely, but the van rolled right over my board and crushed it. At least your trick was completed
That picture gave me a big smile. I used to be a skater back in my younger days, too, but I gave it up around 7th grade when we moved out in the boondocks (hard to ride a skateboard on gravel roads).
You’re right about being prepared. Losing $60 still sucks, but it’s not that big of a deal when your finances are in order.
It’s funny how we all have our skating memories. J. Money – glad to hear the car didn’t run you over! I just used to watch the boys skate in the neighborhood at the abandoned house with a pool. That was always fun. Where I tried my first cigarette and totally gagged. LOL.
Can’t wait to hear your update.
This morning I was tell my DH how I saw only one good Black Friday deal I would consider – a TomTom for my mother – normally $199 – only $69 on Friday. DH automatically said, “get it”. I said, “no”. I told myself that I was not going to spend lots of money this Christmas and I am not going into debt over the holiday this year. By the way, my mother would get much more enjoyment over homebaked gingersnaps and a spa pedicure certificate (and its much better on our pocketbook). Brad, I am armed to have a debt free Christmas and I hope everyone else tries their darnest, too! All the CCs are out of my wallet and I am paying cash for Christmas.
HaHa that’s awesome. I love it. I thought I was the only one who did stuff like that. I hope that wasn’t your co-worker’s delivery ride.
It is great that a $60 hit just isn’t that big of deal for you anymore. Just don’t let it happen again. It would have been much worse if you ended up getting hurt and had to make the run to the hospital.
Skate or Die Dude,
Jeff
ps I hear you can get Tony Hawk for your 360, just a thought
That’s a shame, but $60 is a very small amount for what could be quite worse, and it’s a lesson learned too: the importance of having some money for stuff in life that happens. It might end up being the best $60 you ever spent
Luckly it is just the Skate Board you broke. It could of been worse. Like a Leg or arm. Out of work for 3 months … Plus other things
For me I’ll stick with swimming…..
Sorry to be harsh but I think skateboarding is not for me and it just damage everything…. Play Basketball next time….
LOL!!! Very funny story. I absolutely HATE to borrow just for that reason. A lesson learned from my younger days of borrowing, breaking and unable to replace. Thanks for the reminder!!!
Damn dude sorry about the broke board. It looked well used though!
What was the max height u were able to Ollie? The most i got was six decks, with a little melancholy grab. I was a skateboarding FIEND, but could never really master the 360 kick flip.
The beeset were the launch ramps!!
Thanks everyone for your comments. I tried to respond individually and was actually done but hit the back button by mistake. POOF! It was gone.
Skateboarding was a very fun thing to do when I was growing up. I was still very hesitant to try any tricks where I could seriously injure myself. Simply falling off of a skateboard is not all that pleasant, but it’s really no big deal.
Trust me when I say you will never see me on a magazine cover 20 feet in the air, unless it is unseen footage of my reaction to becoming debt free. (there is no such footage, I am just saying)
Cynthia, I see what you are saying but if I stopped doing stuff because I *might* get hurt, then I would miss out on some pretty amazing adventures. I love skiing for instance but you won’t catch me at the top anytime soon. I could break my leg after tripping down the stairs to go get my mail, but I still check my mail. I LOVE basketball too btw! Thanks for the idea!
We shouldn’t NOT do something because of fear, but instead challenge ourselves to “safely” overcome the fear my learning new skills—like managing our money.
I am alive, I am gonna skate again—w/ a helmet though, per the wife’s orders—but if I break any boards it will be my own. hahaha However if I do become hospitalized, I promise to blog about it so you can say “I told you so.”
Good thing you didn’t hurt yourself either. I live right across the street from a middle school and have a lot of skaters, it’s amazing how good kids are now.
BTW, nice redesign of the site.
Hey Ken, how are ya friend? Good to hear from you. Skaters today are interesting to watch for sure. One thing that always gets me pumped up is Rodney Mullen videos on youtube. That dude is crazy with a skateboard.
Looks like you landed right on the sweet spot, just beside the truck! I skateboarded for 10 years, some decks would only last one week!
Definitely! Boards can be broken by anyone if they land in just the right spot. I just wish it would have been one that I owned. LOL