I got up at the crack of dawn this morning to finish a small job before going to INM. I would still have another big job to finish in the afternoon, but having one off my to-do list would make the afternoon seem less daunting. I got to INM at about 8:50 and was 16th in line for when they would open at 9:00. The people ahead of me were processed and funnelled in spurts and then it was finally my turn.
As I suspected, I was there to make an appointment to have my fingerprints taken rather than actually having the fingerprints taken.
As an aside, I was asked on my Facebook why they need new fingerprints. All I can say is that when I processed security clearances for the Canadian government, prints had to be retaken on occasion to make sure they were current. There is a myth that fingerprints don’t change, but they can if there’s sufficient damage done to a finger, and I’m proof of that. I had a very bad hand accident in 2004 that completely changed the print on my right ring finger. So I don’t think INM is being inordinately fussy and a request for current photographs is also no unreasonable.
What I did not expect this morning is that I would have to wait a month for that appointment! And from that appointment, it’s about another two to four weeks to get the card. That shouldn’t be a big deal, but it is because I cannot get my more than 500CAD refund until I actually get the card, and that’s a process I’m told could take weeks as well.
Now, if you’re much older than me and well off, please PayPal me 7518MXN before telling me, “Oh, it’s just pocket change” or “You shouldn’t be here if 500CAD is a lot to you” or other things that I’ve heard recently and over the years when I get a huge shock like this. I’m more than a bit sick of it. Yes, I earn more than enough to live here. Yes, I have an emergency fund (500CAD is a huge chunk of that emergency fund so what do I do in the meantime if there’s another emergency?). Yes, I am sick and tired of people who have never lived paycheque-to-paycheque telling me how I should feel about huge chunks of money disappearing from my cash flow, especially when it’s absolutely not something I could have accounted for.
Okay, rant over. *wry grin*
Rather than return home straightaway, I took a tiny bit of a detour to Paseo de Montejo to go to the bank. Then, I slipped into the Starbucks next door for an iced coffee, a huge treat at their prices, but this store always charges me for an equivalent-sized black coffee so it’s less of a splurge than at other places that have charged me for a fancy drink. I sat on a bench for a bit and watched the world go by. At one point, a car pulled up to the curb and the girl in the passenger seat opened her door… into a small fence around a tree. The thud was unmistakable and it was almost funny to see her slap her forehead in what appears to be the universal sign for “I’m an idiot!” There was a sizeable dent in the door. Yikes. 🙁
I then got on a bus by the Hyatt and was home quickly. My power bill was waiting for me and despite my having run AC in my bedroom at about 26C most nights for this billing period, my bill was only one measly peso higher than the last bill (just under 22CAD total for the bill!). So I’ll keep doing that. The drone of the AC is really good white noise and the temperature is comfortable enough that I’ve been getting really solid nights like I didn’t think were ever going to be possible in this house.
So with my power bill being consistently around 300 pesos, that means that at the current exchange rate, my utilities here (power, water, and internet), not counting propane, are only 79CAD. I paid 2CAD more than that just for internet at Haven. So that’s how I can justify the odd 36-peso trip to Starbucks!
You will not hear such judgement from me. It may have been quite a few years ago but I DO remember living from paycheck to paycheck. And we didn’t have ANY emergency savings in those years.
It seems that a lot of people in the RVing and expat communities have either never experienced those days or those days are so far behind them that they have forgotten them.
I had really good emergency savings 10 years ago, but that got whittled down fast with RV repairs and business being slow to start so I’m only just again starting to have any sort of real cushion beyond credit. If I was still living in Canada, I’d have nothing since it’s so expensive there and my cost of living was never stable. Here, my cost of living is stable and it’s easy to cut down on expenses like food without feeling a pinch.
The emergency fund is a tricky thing to balance — how much goes there and how much do I put in retirement savings? Somehow, I get by…
Things are a bit different for us now after two inheritances but back in our working lives we certainly had to watch our money so you are not alone.
I didn’t mean to imply that we are well off, far from it. but we have our pensions coming in and have a rainy day fund to take up the slack when we go over. In the old days we had to use credit cards to take up the slack and that is a lot harder to manage!
I have always budgeted my entire life and lived paycheque to paycheque. We finally have a bit of a cushion with no idea how much we will need year to year as expenses keep increasing or if we will have enough when we are older. We have decided to not worry about what happens in our late 80’s and 90’s and live life.
Meanwhile I have told you before and I will again that should you need a loan for an unexpected expense that I am willing to be your temporary banker with no interest.
Rest easy.