Fair point (I viewed "game over" as "game over", not "on to next month"). But then again, I'd opted for the 50 mile commute (saves $100/month!) netting cheaper rent (alas, didn't note how much). And as you note, that kind of cumulative badness doesn't happen often, and when it did I got thru with enough cash to carry on.

Conceding the MBA point, I can still keep the basic idea by trading the refub Mac for a dirt-cheap PC and putting that to work likewise.