Thursday, 1 October 2026

 

Okay. In light of the impending recession-to-depression, doom-and-gloom predictions of economists, I have taken the only step that I can at this point: I've done balance transfers to pay off one of my cards. As extra protection, I've also frozen that account. God willing, I won't need to touch it unless a major emergency arises.

This now leaves me with the two credit union cards and the one attached to the "big" bank. All three are five-digit balances with between $1,500-$3,000 of available credit (read: less than a few hundred dollars is available credit when the bills hit), which means that there's no room to consolidate further if I decide the "big" bank card balance should go onto the credit union accounts. The only thing to do at this point is see whether or not the "big" bank has further problems (there are reports that, even though they're in the top three of Banks Not To Have Accounts with, they've shown improvement over the past few months), so if things go as they've always gone, the debt can stay there.

My disability payment came in and I've already thrown money at the credit union's cards, which pretty much counts as an instantly-processed transaction because it's in-house. The "big" bank card's payment can take a few days to go through. That payment due date is near the end of the month, with the earliest payment only allowed after the bill is sent on the third of every month, and is usually around $400. It's the only account without transaction fees tacked onto it.

Someone got rid of a vintage couch cushion at the transfer station on Wednesday, which I washed and listed for sale. It looks like an old RV cushion for bench seating. Whatever. It's free. It even fits into a decent-sized box. The only downer is that the USPS is raising package prices for certain packages on October 1st (allegedly, it's temporary, only until January 17, 2027). I include mailing costs in with the auction prices, just because I never know what size box or bag I'll need for any random items, so I don't really have to worry about it... but it still sucks, knowing that I'll have to pay more for shipping.

The struggle with the garage-tent continues. I had to go out and hammer down one of the extra stakes again--the one on this side, holding the rope that goes across the center. Yesterday, I grabbed a few zip ties and cut up a couple of bubble-wrap mailing bags to make ersatz rope cushions, as the ropes were rubbing on the tarp and causing minor damage; gray duct tape might have to be put underneath as extra protection. Again, it's not even winter yet and it doesn't look like this tent is going to last to the first snowfall, but I'm sure as heck determined to try and make it work. I simply cannot wade through snow, dig it out from around my vehicle, yank off and store a car cover, then dig my way out of the driveway anymore. Actually, having some snow stacked around it should help cut down on the amount of wind that it's subject to.

I'm playing around with ratchet straps. At first, I had them attached inside, one on each side, and hooked under the vehicle so they'd support the tent in case the wind lifted it up, then I moved them, but I might go back to that initial idea. Some people have had success installing "rafters" to maintain the shape of the carport, but that would mean more money and more effort going into an already-flawed product. Finding materials at the transfer station seems to be the best option. Someone got rid of a 10' wood curtain rod that's holding down the inside blue tarp on the other side (it's there in case the zippers pull open). Two plastic lattice pieces are on the back and center areas to control the flapping. The front area has that Suncast outdoor storage box inside (visible in the photo) which helps. And now there are strips of paracord over the entire opposite side and in an "x" pattern on the back of this side. The tarp still moves but it's not going to whip out as far as it would otherwise.