MoneyMatch 2025-09-19T18:22:10Z
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Sweat soaked through my shirt as I clawed at my swelling throat in a Peruvian mountain village. That ceviche from lunch wasn't just disagreeable - it was trying to kill me. My EpiPen sat useless in my Lima hotel safe, eight winding hours away. Between wheezes, I watched the village healer shake her head while gesturing toward the valley below. "Clínica," she insisted. "Dinero ahora." The clinic required cash upfront, and my wallet held nothing but useless euros in a place where soles ruled.
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The scent of burning cedar wood from the medina's braziers turned acrid in my throat as Ahmed's call came through. "No payment, no tiles – your shipment stays locked." Sweat snaked down my spine despite the evening chill. My entire renovation project in London hinged on those hand-painted zellige, and my bank's "3-5 business days" transfer window might as well have been geological time. That's when I remembered the neon green icon buried in my finance folder.