Over this last weekend, we took a small trip 600 miles to my wife's parents'. Her father funded our trip down there for her mother's birthday. It was a pretty good trip, sans the financial failings that went along with it...
First, we missed our junction without realising it. During this little detour of 143 miles, we were pulled over by a state patrolman. I received a speeding ticket for 15 over the posted speed limit. I won't go into details, but I am contesting it - I don't want to get too heated on here. 
So... 143 miles, a $144 ticket, and this trip has already turned out to be about $160 over budget.
We get in around 10 and are up late with the family. 
The next day, we head out to see more family. On the way to one of our destinations, we are rear-ended by a college girl. I had myself, wife, mother in-law and sister in-law, and 19 month-old in her car seat.
We waited about 45 minutes for the slow-poke police officer to show up. He gets the other driver's account of the events and then asks me, Does that sound about right?. I would think he would ask both of us separately... Then he checks her license and insurance. Her insurance is expired. She says she doesn't know why because daddy handles all that... He runs her record and comes back with, Well, I don't see any reason for that to be expired. She's got a clean driving record and all. Who gives a flying...?! Yeah... Then he says he doesn't have to file a report for anything estimated under $1,500 worth of damages... Well, sweet, that probably means we are going to get screwed from insurance.
When we go to strap our little one into the car seat, we realise that the latch has broken. We were going to get a new one anyways, but still. So the wifey went over to Target and picked up a car seat we had been eyeballing for $166 (was marked $189.99). My wife, in her flustered state from the accident, failed to use our Target card, meaning we did not get the 5% off. Oh well. No biggie.
We stuck the old one in the trunk in hopes that that will be enough for insurance to get the other driver to pay for our it. It was $90 when we got it, but we do not have a receipt. >.<
So, needless to say, we aren't the happiest of campers, what with having to destroy our Emergency Fund... As for disputing the violation, that will be $250 for the attorney, instead of the $144 for the ticket. I figure, however, that the $106 difference will end up being less over the three years that that violation would jack up our insurance rates.
We get home, and today I am greeted with even more horrible news. For the months of November and December, no one is allowed overtime at work. Well, crap. So, there's two months I could have spent reimbursing our Emergency Fund, down the drain. >.<
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In more positive news...
This week, I will be painting our new apartment's accent walls on my spare time. Next week, we are MOVING!
Tripping
October 31st, 2012 at 04:09 am
October 31st, 2012 at 04:35 am 1351658113
October 31st, 2012 at 04:36 am 1351658184
October 31st, 2012 at 04:40 am 1351658407
October 31st, 2012 at 04:42 am 1351658570
Not that I am aware of. In WA, one may take a deferral, in which case the defendant pays a $150 court fee and is given 4 to 18 months (decision of the court) to go without getting a ticket, at which point the violation will be thrown out.
BuckyBadger -
Now that is a good idea... Hey, it's eight bucks!
October 31st, 2012 at 10:16 am 1351678605
October 31st, 2012 at 12:30 pm 1351686642
October 31st, 2012 at 04:34 pm 1351701249
I think you can go to Target with only the receipt and they will make the adjustment. No need to take the car seat.
Have you considered paying the ticket and taking online traffic school to remove the points? My husband recently did that... his ticket for speeding on the connector was ~$90 and traffic school another $90 or so, but the points did get removed. Check with the agency that issued the ticket for details because options may differ from state to state.
November 1st, 2012 at 03:42 am 1351741357
November 1st, 2012 at 12:06 pm 1351771586
November 1st, 2012 at 02:20 pm 1351779625