Hello all. I have been saving for a new flute for about a year now. Money is very tight here as I currently am not working due to medical problems. Anyway, I ordered a brand new Haynes Amadeus and the dealer had to call the factory to get it because of all the options I requested. They had only one at the factory and I purchased it. So, since it's special order there are no returns. And, I do not want to return it. BUT...

About 3 weeks ago (one day after I placed the order) I was driving to a doctor's appointment and an inflated tire with the rim still inside flew off of a tractor trailer and slammed the front of my car. I was going 55 MPH as was the tire. It destroyed my car because after it hit me it got pinned under my bumper and I ran over it. Amazingly I walked away with very minor injuries.

Even though this accident was in no way my fault, I have incurred so many expenses because of it. I just spent $700 on a rental car, and I have yet to receive the towing bill and pay my deductible.

I just sold my back up flute on usedflutes dot com and I have my Armstrong 80E up for sale right now. But both of these will not even begin to cover the price of the Haynes.

So, any other creative ways you can think of to raise money to pay for this flute??

Typically you can finance an instrument if you don't have the money for it upfront. Sometimes you can do this through the company itself, other times you can go through a bank (a local credit union usually has the best interest rates).

Other than that, I don't know, exactly, how to help. I'm sorry...

And I'm glad to hear that you are OK in regards to the accident. it's always good to hear fantastic news, and in this case: fantastic news.

Thank you. I am very fortunate to be physically well. This same driver had a tire hit a man's windshield in November and it took his life. If I had been driving a fraction of a second faster it would have slammed me in the face.

The problem with the flute regarding financing is that I already paid for the flute with a credit card because of the cash back incentive with my credit card company. I was just going to pay it off right away with the money I'd saved. Little by little that money has been drained through this accident. The monthly credit card payment is only $25 so I can handle that, but if that's all I pay per month I'll have this payment the rest of my life. LOL

Unfortunately I live in a very small town between Penn State University and Harrisburg. Most serious students head to those towns and take lessons at the university. And then there are the younger kids, and they take lessons from two local teachers who have been around forever.

I did find out something interesting today though about teaching music. I wanted to be a band director growing up but when I went to college I missed my boyfriend so much that I quit to be closer to him (duh). I follwed him to his school and they had no music program. I majored in elm. education. I just found out that if you have any type of teaching certificate here in PA all you have to do to teach another subject is pass the state exam. So, I'll be looking into that.

P.S. Not all is lost since I did marry that boyfriend and we're still together!

I'd suggest picking up a job (such as the subbing. schools nowadays are begging for subs. I know this because I have family who work for school districts) or perhaps when you have some extra money, put that towards your credit card payment

Mowing peoples lawn? Garage sale?

hang in there, I have had many financial ups and downs in my life and, yet, somehow, when it came to getting a flute, things seemed to work out somehow...

Hold a flute recital?

Dog walking .. pet sitting ... picking up the mail, newspaper, watching the house for a vacationing neighbor ....

If you can't finance it, then I would recommend charging it to a credit card, then pay off the balance over several months (as few as possible).

I wold probably look into substituting in public schools (Or even private ones).I"d probably stay away from credit cards. I have a tendency to only use them for purchases where I don't want to carry the money in my pocket or distance purchases when I already have the money in the bank becasuse I don't like paying the interest.

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I was also going to suggest doing things for neighborhood people like house/dog sitting or whatever you have some skill at.

Thanks everyone for all of your suggestions. I have found a few items to sell on ebay that I have laying around the house. I also have several student instruments that I bought last summer thinking I would learn to play over the winter since I am not working. I have a Vito Clarinet, Holton Trumpet, Yamaha French Horn and an Alto Sax. Does anyone know when the best time is to sell a student instrument? It seems to me that I remember seeing sale prices skyrocket a few weeks after school started? Is that accurate?

I would think now is a good time as the kiddies are getting ready to return to school. Many parents have been learning that a used instrument in good condition is better than a cheap new instrument from China...

I'd sue the crap out of the driver of the trackter trailer or the company he works for. That would not only pay for the flute but a lot of other things too.

when I need cash, I also go through my music library and see if I have good, clean music that can be sold on Ebay...or books for that matter