Up a Creek Without a Paddle

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I'm not sure if the title of my discussion is a common saying anywhere other than in the United States (and Canada?), but it describes what happened the other day when I was ready to pay for my groceries. I had no cash, so I was going to write a check. Then, I remembered, my dad and his wife had been out of town, and my dad had called needing a favor. His neighbor had hired a guy to redo his (the neighbor) fence, so my dad hired the same guy to put a new gate on his own fence while the guy was doing the work for his neighbor. Long story short my dad asked me (the man had said he would collect payment the following week, but changed his mind) if I could write the guy a check for the amount, and when I checked my bank account I had just enough to cover it. So, I realized at the grocery store I didn't have money in my bank account to pay for the groceries, and therefore couldn't write the check. No, problem, right? That's why I have a credit card for an emergency. Only I couldn't find it. I was wondering what I was going to do when I remembered the $100 American Express gift card I had previously won (I wrote about this is a previous post). It came last week and I had it in my wallet. I was so thankful! I just pulled that out and paid for the groceries with that. By the way, my dad paid me back when he got back into town, and he never asks me to do anything, so it was a pleasure to be of help. I should have had my credit card with me. I rarely use it so I know I would have been fine to use it then. Have you found yourself up a creek without a paddle lately?