Budget busters: when you can't find something you KNOW you own

[englishteacha]

Arg. I can't find my bike helmet. I've looked everywhere. I know I own a bike helmet. The last time I wore it I was inline skating about a year ago. I found my skate pads. Can NOT find the darn helmet. I know I own a helmet. We're going biking on vacation (this will be interesting: I haven't ridden a bike much since childhood) and I'm a klutz. I want a helmet to wear. So, I bought a new one hoping it would help me find the old one. (When did "cheap" bike helmets get to be $20? Mine was a gift so I had no idea what they cost!) Nope. No joy. Still can't find the helmet.

I can't be the only one who gets frustrated when they can't find something they KNOW they have and gets irked when a new item must be bought. Anyone else have any stories of frustration they want to share?

 

[Poohforyou]

I get frustrated with that as well. I usually end up finding the old one as soon as I open up the new one. As far as $20 for a bike helmet that is really cheap. I cycle a lot and the one I have was about $60.

 

[Taja]

That was one of the good things about downsizing from a 3,000 sq.ft. house to a 700 sq.ft. apartment, plus a small storage unit (planning to purchase a small two-bedroom house in the near future).

I can find everything! *LOL*

It took a while to get everything organized, but now that I don't have so much stuff, I actually can find what I need!

Not an option for many people, I know. But it worked for me! *LOL*

 

[englishteacha]

We JUST had a yard sale this weekend and got rid of SO much stuff. But the bike helmet was not one of those items! I rarely need a helmet, so having to buy one when I know I own one drives me crazy. Had to get a new bike lock, too because neither hubby nor I can remember the combo for the old one. This frugal camping vacation is starting to get costly!

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Look at it this way - you're supposed to buy a new one every once in a while and after every major fall you take. So, really, this is just saving you from using a possibly unsafe helmet.

 

[pigletto]

Ugh. I hear you. The worst is whenever I lose something I find the last thing I was desperately searching for

So if I lose my keys I find the coupon I needed a week ago. In your case when you can't find something else next winter you'll stumble across the bike helmet. It's Murphy's Law.

 

[AZMermaid]

Yes! We bought a $250 underwater Olympus camera for our Aruba Honeymoon. We bought it about 9 months in advance so my husband could take it when he went to Alaska to fish with his dad. We used it all year. I go to pack for Aruba and it is missing! We looked everywhere and ended up sucking it up and tracking down another one the day before we left. It wasn't easy as they had "upgraded" the model. The new model wasn't getting great reviews so we finally tracked down the older model at Sam's Club. We never did find the first camera, even when we moved. We think it may have gotten put with the Goodwill pile somehow.

 

[englishteacha]

Well, good news. Hubby found my helmet. It was in the entryway, upside down. How it got there I have no idea. (It is not as comfy as the new one is so I may end up keeping the new one after all! I guess bike helmet designs have improved over the years!) And we found an old bike lock with an old padlock on it. We cut off the lock and added a new padlock we found in the kitchen drawer. So at least I can return the one I bought because we found this old one! (still can't remember the combo to the other one, though!)

 

[Evi]

I can relate. I thought I lost an LV purse once. I tore through every closet till I found it. Keep searching you'll find it.

 

[bumbershoot]

This frugal camping vacation is starting to get costly!

We just went through our tent camping stuff...now I have a list of things we need to buy so we can go on cheap camping getaways. Including 3 expensive sleeping pads, as the air mattress really didn't work for us for a variety of reasons.

 

[hsmamato2]

LOL this happens to me too often
on the cheap camping...here's what I did last year,which was the BEST idea ever... after finishing my last camping trip of the season,I had a clear picture of what I did/didn't need....in my box of supplies. I wrote my list on what I had in the box,and on the other side,some items I needed for next trip....when I opened it last week, just read the list,and added the few things I needed,no problems! (I keep all my supplies in a rubbermaid box in the garage) those things that don't fit, I keep all my camping stuff in one corner together,coolers,chairs,tent, supply box-it's all in one spot.... now If someone would invent a weather controlling machine,I'll be all set!

 

[LaNina72]

I feel your pain. This type of stuff happens to me too frequently. I just learn to blame it on the "little people". They are a michevious bunch of folks that live in my walls and hide birthday presents as we are about to head to the party. They have also gone so far as to hide my camera before a Disney trip! But I found it!!

I'm sure I'm not the only one who lives with the "little people"?

 

[tink576]

I'm sure I'm not the only one who lives with the "little people"?

Our "little people" are named Alfred and Migenty! They do all sorts of mischief in our house.

 

[csharpwv]

I once lost my cell phone - went without one for a week - and gave up and bought a new one. What didn't I do that week - laundry - so where didn't I look - the laundry hamper! Where did I find the cell phone? In the laundry hamper - 15 days after I bought the new phone - with the return policy being 14 days.

Yeah - oh well - when we changed carriers I ended up selling both phones for $50.00 - the one I lost initially was a flip phone, and believe it or not, my friend that bought it is STILL using it! It's a brick, and horribly outdated - but she doesn't care! But I still laugh when I see her answer it - she might as well pull a box of cereal out of her purse and start talking to it - that phone is HUGE!

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

I'm sure I'm not the only one who lives with the "little people"?

Our "little people" are named Alfred and Migenty! They do all sorts of mischief in our house.

Our "little people" are NotMe and Haven'tSeenIt.

I was looking for a set of kitchen funnels this morning. I know where they used to be in our old house (we moved 9 months ago and I apparently haven't used them since we moved). Could not find them. My oldest is currently searching for his brand-new iPod.

I had a contractor once who swore there was an alternate universe that is exactly like ours, but a few minutes ahead. So you put something somewhere and in this "alternate universe" "they" use it and replace it, but you won't find it while "they" are using it. Uh-huh.

 

[StephMK]

I had a contractor once who swore there was an alternate universe that is exactly like ours, but a few minutes ahead. So you put something somewhere and in this "alternate universe" "they" use it and replace it, but you won't find it while "they" are using it. Uh-huh.

That totally reminds me of an old Twilight Zone episode. It explained time seconds as series of boxcars. There are invisible people creating each scene in the upcoming boxcars but sometimes an object might be forgotten or put in the wrong place. In a later boxcar, the mistake is sometimes corrected. That explains how things get lost, put in odd places, or found if you go back to look a second time.

I keep thinking I'm getting better organized then I can't find something & realize I am not there yet! Plus it doesn't help that my family apparently does not understand how to put things back where they belong. Drives me nuts to put away the same items more than once. I'm going to start a box for left out items until they figure out how to put things away.