Let's begin with a consecutive scream!
Not just any scream, but the one you make when you are sitting at the top of the hill on the scariest roller coaster about to make your plummet towards the earth.
Now think of all of the thoughts going through your head.....
I don't know what goes through your head but each and every time I wonder:
-Are the brakes going to work?
-The track won't break will it?
-Will I survive?
-Is this guy in front of me going to throw up?
-The track does go back to the start right?
So maybe this makes me a hypochondriac but you have to admit at least one of those thoughts has crossed your mind at the top of that hill.
Since purchasing our home I have realized that being a homeowner is a lot like riding that roller coaster. Each month you find yourself at the top of that hill when all of your bills are due.
I find that the paychecks you receive are like the brakes on the coaster. The help you to slow down, or dwindle down the amount you owe. When you have a steady job and you get the same paycheck every two weeks for example your breaks are working perfectly, as long as you are pulling in enough to cover what you owe.
The fear that the track may break, in my opinion is the fear of what if I miss a day of work? What will I do with that short in my pay? How will I make up for it? Is this going to be detrimental to our finances?
Chris and I have had our fair share of this in the last two weeks alone. My dumb self actually emptied the dishwasher and was going to do the dishes when my mind decided it would be fun to cut my finger open on an apple corer and have to get stitches. :(
Fortunately my idiocy did not keep me from work but it sure will put a dent in the money we had for bills soon I am sure.
Then my poor husband got sick. And when Chris gets sick he does it good. He was miserable, and felt like he could come no where near me. So I being the good wife/nurse that I am asked him to go to the doctor, and he happily obliged.
Not really, I told him that he was either going to the doctor or he was not going to play airsoft with his friends that weekend, so he agreed to go.
And boy was it a good thing he did because the doctor said if he waited any longer it would have been more than just a sinus infection and not one but TWO EAR INFECTIONS! So he put Chris on an antibiotic for a few days. Of course things get worse before they get better so Chris wound up being too sick for work that next day. And all the two of us could think was, what bill is that going to effect this month?
The fear of will I survive....this fear is oneself questioning, if I don't pay this bill this month, or on time, are we going to be reprimanded or will the company work with us? If there is one thing I have learned since becoming a monthly bill payer it is that as long a company knows they are going to get your money at some point they are happy and will help you out as best as you can. I don't want to say we have taken full advantage of that, but we have definitely used that to help us out.
This fear is one that crosses my mind EVERYDAY!!! The fear of is the guy in front of me going to throw up, is the fear of what is going to break next? What am I going to have to unexpectedly pay for?
This is another dilemma Chris and I have had our fair share of problems with. Our biggest problem appliance always seems to be the dryer. I think we have gone through 3 since we bought our condo, but then there was the time it was the heater, then Chris's car a few times, my 2 flat tires since purchasing my car (within the first year), getting slammed with an unexpected amount on our city taxes, and then all of the healthcare bills we have received. Since August of last year, when I had my MRI and all of that I seem to be falling apart.
But as we have learned we can always figure something out, we can make due until we have the money to fix it and so on.
And finally I always find myself thinking the track does go back to the start right?!? And the answer has always been yes.... At some point you will get to a point where all of the bills are paid and you may have a little left over to spend or, the smarter thing, maybe even put into savings. Eventually through hard work and some REALLY hard times you will get your head back above water.
You may have to cut back on:
-cable
-the phone bill
-the electric you use everyday
-the grocery bill
-extra trips in the car
-having fun
But in the end as long as you have your loved ones, do you really need all of that?
Do I need to sit in front of the tv all day?
NO
Do I HAVE to have a smart phone?
NO but I am slowly working myself on this one....
Do I have to have lights on during the daylight hours?
NO, our house gets plenty of natural light.
Do we have to buy groceries a month in advance?
NO, it is ok to go to the grocery a few times a week. The store clerk won't think you are a pig.
Do I have to make all of those extra trips in the car?
NO, my brother and sister know I love them, and will not hold it against me for missing an event. My family knows I love them and if I don't have the gas, I don't have the gas.
And do we have to eat out at least once a paycheck?
NO, we tend to have a better night eating dinner and watching a movie together anyways.
No comments:
Post a Comment