Pavel’s letter is open and you are short of money

Read the balance before committing to a reply

Look at the money requested, your available balance and the alternative reply. In the linked Russian-language player capture, the request costs one unit, the balance is insufficient and an alternative answer remains available. The letter is timed. That one screenshot establishes the cost of that particular request; read the figure on your own letter each time.

If you cannot afford the payment, the documented option is the available alternative reply. The player report does not establish a way to suspend the open choice, earn a few more coins and resume it. If preserving that payment matters to your run and you have a separate earlier save, check its checkpoint before replaying.

Plan the next request around a cash reserve

In 1.0.4 letters from your son wait for the tutorial warm-up page to be complete. If no family letter has appeared yet, finish that page first. Before making a discretionary purchase after the tutorial, look at your remaining balance. Keeping cash available gives you more options when a request interrupts your shift.

For an achievement run, write down the reply you actually chose. Successful players reported different payment histories for Your Own Executioner, including a run with no payments. One unaffordable letter alone is insufficient evidence that you must restart the entire story.

Cash checkpoint before letter 1

The ledger records a request for 0.25 on letter 1. Paying each listed request through this point costs 0.25 across the shift. Keep the current request available before opening the letter.

Cash checkpoint before letter 3

The ledger records a request for 1 on letter 3. Paying each listed request through this point costs 1.25 across the shift. Keep the current request available before opening the letter.

Cash checkpoint before letter 4

The ledger records a request for 3 on letter 4. Paying each listed request through this point costs 4.25 across the shift. Keep the current request available before opening the letter.

Cash checkpoint before letter 7

The ledger records a request for 8 on letter 7. Paying each listed request through this point costs 12.25 across the shift. Keep the current request available before opening the letter.

Cash checkpoint before letter 10

The ledger records a request for 100 on letter 10. Paying each listed request through this point costs 112.25 across the shift. Keep the current request available before opening the letter.

The supply window shows a letter when you need an upgrade

One player found the terminal intercepted a planned purchase until they read Pavel's letter. If the envelope is waiting and you intend to pay him, sell your prepared potatoes through the water first. The player in the linked money thread went back to an earlier save, left the envelope unopened, earned the balance and then collected it. Return to the window, answer the letter and approach the window again for your upgrade. If you are already reading the letter, the developer describes the immediate reply as intentional.

Related field notes

• Plan your next purchase without spending Pavel’s money
• Your Own Executioner: the Pavel decisions before Varenka
• Resistance letters: when to hide the contents or report them