I can’t afford the lesson

[Thoseflatbreadslookyummy]

Do I cancel or pay double next week

Bit embarrassing, Dd has a music lesson this week, the teacher asks for cash after each lesson. I’m self employed and waiting on a late payment through no fault of my own. It’s a bit of a risk for the weekend if I pay the lesson and my money doesn’t come in by then.
Would you cancel the lesson citing illness etc (we missed just one before due to genuine illness) or go and apologise and say I didn’t have time to get money out etc and pay double next week, that feels embarrassing and disrespectful though 😔

Why did you start your post ‘I said I would ask…’ Your post makes it look like you were updating, as you said it looked like the usual set up and it looked like the teacher was fine with it, hence the confusion.

I haven’t seen the update confirming the teacher was okay with it.

I’ve been in this situation and asked the person if I can pay them back on pay day. Fortunately for me, they agreed. Sometimes life happens. All you can do is ask and see what they say, OP.

Presumably you wouldn’t be able to be so chilled about it if you were relying on the money though!

Be honest with her

I'm a tutor
I'd much rather you contacted me and explained briefly and asked to pay next week.
That way I am not out of pocket, and I don't feel messed aroudn by you.
Cancelled lessons are a pain

If the teacher is sensible she'll rethink her terms and conditions. I require payment by bank transfer a minimum of 24 hours in advance and I have a 24 hour cancellation policy. I will be flexible in cases of illness and emergency - one of today's long term clients told me he had been admitted to hospital as an emergency, so he'll be rescheduling

In general though - no payment received and the session doesn't take place.

You are out of pocket for that week though. The OP can’t afford to eat and pay for the lessons. What if the teacher can’t afford to eat this week if she doesn’t get paid?

I started my post “I said I would ask” because in my original response to the OP, I had said: I would ask the teacher. Which is what you responded to, so I didn’t think there would be confusion about what I meant, sorry. And in the OP, she said she had missed one before and presumably paid for both sessions the following week when they attended again.

My assumption that the teacher was fine with it came from the fact that the teacher continues to accept cash, and that if she had a problem with being paid the following week she would have switched to asking for bank transfer on the day whether sessions were attended or not.

I understand this would not be ok with some people - like yourself, it seems - but it would be fine with others, so I suggested that the OP ask the teacher rather than being embarrassed.

Fair enough. Apologies, I misunderstood!

My point was that having late payment has left the OP choosing food or music lesson. And what happens if that is the dilemma for the teacher?

No problem.

I understand that this is what you think is most important. I was simply attempting to answer the Op.

I guarantee you my income is lower then yours its not about how much money you have its about how you manage it and being prepared for emergencies.

Can't you just lower your shopping bill the amount of the lesson for this week

Well, maybe you should get a credit card for situations such as this!

I always find it weird that people think not having a credit card is a sign of good financial management. If you use it correctly it's better than not having one (improves CS, can get cashback, stoozing, back up if your main bank's system go down or account gets hacked etc.)

Having a credit card doesn't mean you have to use it! It can sit in a drawer for years if you want, it's just useful to have for emergencies.