Moving friggin' backwards in life

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I'm just feeling beyond stuck. I have literally 3 dollars in my wallet, probably the same in the bank.. and about a half gallon of gas, which is actually a decent amount for mopeds, to last the next few days. My prototype scooter which carries my registration and insurance on paper had its tags come due and I had to let them lapse. There are 3 clients' other projects that I can't send home until I come up with a $100 part for one, or order a $20 part online and wait for one of the other jobs. With less than $10 on hand. Sure. I already approached my family, and they were unresponsive. The same people who complain that I never ask for help.

I've been wringing my brain to find the path of least resistance here, I know that once I can get 1 thing finished and gone I can start the chain reaction

Because if this wasn't enough, I've had 5 runners die off one by one in the past year and I'm ironically considered a guru at these. On average it'll take about $100 to put each one back on the road. Very few parts are compatible, I've considered swapping things to help toward getting any 1 bike running. Selling is not an option at this point as it would only fetch 25% of what a running machine would sell for, and primarily I avoid selling people things that have issues. The one thing I could sell is the prototype but last time I listed it at a bargain price it generated no interest. I hardly care anymore about the work I put into it, it seems I can almost trace my losing streak back to the day I purchased the scooter platform. Alongside this I keep wanting to visit my grandma who lives a couple hours away and is in her mid 80s, but these financial traps, rebellious objects, and unrelated demands on my time all conspire to prevent me from going

And then of course there's the ever-popular thing of starting to talk to someone new on the internet, thinking how maybe God isn't really putting a 'kick me' sign on my back this time. A few weeks go by and the posts gush, then flow, then trickle, then drip until it becomes obvious once-a-effing-gain that the person has much greener pastures in front on them. FMsorryexcuseofaL


Sorry to dump. I'm too jaded to even get a meltdown over it all at this point

Please explain "5 runners die off."

I think he means 5 running scooters and/or mopeds (yes, there IS a difference!).

My question for you is, how do you handle the finances on these projects? Do you take money in advance for parts or require payment only after the work is done? Also, are you doing this out of your home and under the table or do you have a physical location for your business? If this is basically something you do on the side out of your house then I would ask the client for the money for the parts before ordering them. In fact, I do this all the time to keep myself from getting financially bogged down when I fix cars for other people. This way, even if they don't pay me for my labor, at least I am not out anything from my own pocket for materials. It also puts the parts in their name instead of mine so that any warranty issues with the part do not legally fall on my shoulders. I still remove and install them, out of personal honor, but if it is something I need to back away from then at least I can.

I do feel for you, it sucks to be stuck in middlelife, my own life has also started to go backwards. I have only few (equivalent) of dollars in my purse for me and the kids and the money in the bank are for the bills.

If I had a whole lot of money I would lend you some, but I am depending on getting a loan from my family/friends myself. Therefore I can only send you some of these little virtual coins with funny faces (sorry, none with dollars on them).

Good luck

Outofplace, yes normally I require a deposit, as in the case with the one guy's Honda that needs a 6 volt battery that I found out I can't get locally. The catch-22 with the other 2 machines was because they were from another regular customer that has brought me low-issue bikes before and both of these turned out to go horribly off-script

Normally I go out to the customers' locations to do estimates and light repairs. I don't allow very many people to bring them to me, specifically to avoid other people's things piling up on me! One factor that screwed me up was when my former 'boss' stopped giving me price breaks on moped-specific parts that aren't for my stuff, that was a year ago and I still haven't recovered from that. Another thing is having taken up a spot at a local brick-and-mortar small engine shop 2-3 days a week over the last couple of months. It's pulled my full attention away from the jobs at home but it does generate small, and slow, positive cash, as well as provide a standing offer to let me take all my own stuff over to there. The kicker is I've just been offered a Yamaha DT-175 at an attractive price there. From what I've learned it would be a more wise purchase provided it meets the legal requirements and doesn't cost more than $200 to get plated. I told the shop owner though that I have to get rid of something else first before I would buy it.

Anyway I can probably get the Honda closer to completed by getting back in touch with its owner, he offered to bring me additional funds before he went on vacation last week. I suppose it's the time to take him up on it.

BTW yes, mopeds and scooters are different, as are motorcycles

Man, what next? I was feeling a shutdown coming on today; I stayed home to prime the eaves of the roof, my slug of a brother has 6 additional dogs today for his 'doggie day care business'. I was feeling resentful toward him for taking these people's money and lying to them about taking their dogs to the park.

I was spending the day trying to avoid any contact with him or our mother when he offers to get everyone lunch. 2 minutes later I hear a commotion and it turns out he had some sort of incident with the car and our Bengal cat. So the cat had to get put down and I finally had a meltdown. After I pulled myself together I sent them a text saying I do care about what happened, because I was speechless, then when they left to the vet's I started throwing things and punching doors, then myself.

When they returned my mother snarled at me not to say anything. Then after she checked her phone and saw the text she became all apologetic, the way I imagine the reaction to my Dx to be. I had to go and ruin it by describing my meltdown. She wanted to know why I insist upon reacting in an immature manner - I wanted to scream out "It's my neurology, DUH" - but she blames it on the meds

Oh, I figured you knew that, I was just posting it for the uninformed. I tend to be a bit pedantic on that sort of thing.

As to the Honda, it sounds like that issue is solved. Many times you just need to have good communication with the owner and let them know the issue. I have had to do this a number of times and while it may be uncomfortable, it does help me to move on faster than if I didn't. If I don't get things done quickly enough, I wind up shutting down and getting overwhelmed which only makes it worse.

Just remember that you are not alone in this. Many of us who do projects and repairs wind up getting in over our heads and having it all fall apart on us. I'm actually going through this right now as my bills are coming due faster than I can pay them due to my primary delivery car finally breaking down. I also let a lot of other things pile up due to a Sentra I was sorting for a friend. When sorting it, I let everything else go and only focused on it, which made a lot of other things go out of control. It's been 2 or 3 weeks since the car left my house (after 3 months of work, due mostly to his low income and inability to buy parts for a really screwed up car!) and I am just now getting my own stuff back in order and getting my yard back in shape. Most days I do not want to get out of bed so that I don't have to deal with it, but I force myself to and so the pile of projects has slowly gotten smaller. Eventually it will all get done. It always does. Just remember to balance the number of projects you start with the time it will take to finish them. I am actually passing on a Honda C70 for $250 right now because I know I don't have time or space for it. I have wanted one for 5 years now, but sometimes you just have to know when circumstances aren't right.

Oh no. I hope this isn't about me...I've explained everything in a PM and I feel terrible