A Prepared Little Camper is a Happy Little Camper

My roommate and I have this theory that things only break on the weekends.  You would be amazed at how often this holds true.

This weekend, one of the screws in his glasses broke. It didn't come out, mind you. It just broke, but it still in there. I guess this is kind of like broken-limbo.  He was concerned, naturally, because he needs the glasses to see and glasses are hellishly expensive.

His glasses are more expensive than usual because they have the transition thing.  It's an expense that is well worth it, one of the best upgrades he ever made to his glasses situation.  It does add to the price though, so the concept of having to replace glasses became even more dire.

Ever practical (and ever poor), my roommate bought a glasses-repair kit. It's a nifty little thing that hooks onto your key ring. I love things that hook to the key ring, because this mostly insures you that you won't lose them . . . unless you lose your keys.

Anyway, so once he had the repair kit as a last resort, he called the place that did his glasses and asked if they could be repaired for free.

Okay, this is an example of something I read one time on a frugal blog that I do believe to be true.  If it is a matter of expense, always give yourself permission to ask for a discount. Always ask, if this is a company you deal with often and a product they sold you that needs repairing,  if you can get it for free. Always ask if the price can be lowered.  Thay may say no, but at least you asked.  In some cases, you may actually get a great discount.

In this case, it was a no.  They said they didn't have the equipment to repair the glasses as they were. Once the screw was completely out, that might be different, but as it was, they would have to bore the screw out and work glasses voodoo or something and they didn't have a glasses witch doctor so he would have to go to Lens Crafters where they would charge him a lot of money and three goats because he didn't get his glasses there to begin with . . . or, you know, something like that. They said no.

So my roommate, who still has the spects of what is needed for his lenses, went to an online place and ordered a backup pair of glasses . . . with shipping and handling, they were less than twenty dollars.  Of course, they don't have transition stuff or anything else cool. The frames are simple and probably not that sexy.

But who cares? They are replacement glasses for less than $20. They are just there IN CASE something happens.  Glasses for him to wear while he's repairing the good ones after that screw finally falls the rest of the way out.

I loved that he did this!  Quite often, it's a very good idea to have a backup.  The backup doesn't have to be perfect. It doesn't have to be new or pretty or have all the bells and whistles of the one you use most of the time. It only has to work. It only needs to function when you need something TO function.

I used to drive a Mazda 323.  I bought it when I was like 23 or something and used it to commute to grad school. The car came with one of those little donut tires. Cute as hell but functionally useless for me if I had a flat while going to college.  I traded in the donut for a fullsized wheel. I bought all of the new wheel used.  I didn't care if it was used or looked fugly. The point was, when I had a flat, it did what it needed to do.

I'm not advocating hoarding here.  Too many people keep their lives full of useless clutter that needs to be kicked to the curb.  The key word there, however, is useless.  There are some things we need to keep around us because they are good to have when shit, as it is wont to do, fucks up.  Have the repair kits. Have the spare tires. Have the spare glasses.  If you know you have times when you can't walk (due to gout or other conditions), and a cane or a walker. If you know you have an unpredictable period, keep pads or tampons in your purse.

I've noticed most of us tend to function better when we have plans. We tend to sleep better when we have safety nets. A little time and effort before The Big Bad happens could keep make sure it only ends up being The Little Moment of Annoying.