Mo' Money, Mo' Problems... Not Really

We purchased our house just about three years ago. So it is that everything is renewable this time of year: pest and termite plan, homeowner's insurance, flood insurance, quarterly waste removal. Also, my automobile registration renewal. Since we're arriving at our home-owning anniversary, we are celebrating tomorrow with the emptying of our septic tank.

I had a septic tank at my house in Sherman; we lived there for seven years and didn't do boo to it, which brings me to a point I'd like to make: Life is cheaper in the long run for people who have enough wiggle room to do preventative maintenance. In Sherman, we got lucky, I suppose, that our tank functioned as it was supposed to for nearly a decade. Although it's only about $500 to have a septic tank emptied as a routine, once you have backing-up-into-the-house mess, it can be ten times that much.

I kind of understand the idea that when you are not "rich," life can be simpler. I never truly wanted for much when we were on a very tight budget. There were times I'd have liked to have gotten D bigger, nicer "stuff," but also had fun finding super bargains and leveraging mystery shops and other side hustles into surprises here and there.

However, it's just so much less stressful not living on the razor's edge of poverty. I got pulled over yesterday and released with only a warning (a benefit, I believe, of being an older lady) and although I was annoyed with myself for not noticing that I was doing 12 over, I was not particularly concerned about the financial impact of any ticket I might get. I remember having a near-nervous breakdown after having gotten a $200 ticket in Las Vegas when I was single. Paying it would have required making money materialize out of nowhere. I think I ended up using a credit card and was perpetually a few hundred dollars behind, which I HATED.

In addition to the house stuff, I just bought my first set of multi-focal lenses (for which our insurance paid some, but not most). D has started with a new therapist and we've had expensive intake sessions (again, yes, insurance... and it's good. It covers mental health. But not all.).

It seems like this happens every year: It feels like we're just hemorrhaging cash. And that is anxiety-inducing to me, just out of habit. Then it's a little disconcerting when we get to the end of the run... and it's fine. I don't ever want to waste money. I budget and try to spend wisely. Also, some of the stuff we're spending on is just fun: I recently paid a major part of our 2020 family vacation. We're getting ready to take a short trip where we'll have hotel and car rental expenses.

That's good; I guess it's all good, actually. It's good to keep our house up and functional (having taken a bath on the sale of the Sherman house, I have experienced first-hand the downside to ignoring maintenance).

In short, I'll just go ahead and confirm what people who are poor suspect: It's a lot nicer to have at least a little bit more money. It's nice to be able to tell my kids "yes." It's nice not to have to double up on the wash loads at the laundromat so you can have enough left over for a single soda. It's nice that I don't have to ignore those boards that have rotted through. It's nice to have the freedom to be somewhat generous. To have a routine check-up or dental cleaning as an option.  It's a lot less stressful. (And a study has shown a money/happiness correlation... to a point.)

I guess maybe the problem comes with making or having a *lot* of money, and then feeling like you have to live a certain lifestyle. I can see that being a joy suck.

I don't totally know what I'm trying to say here. I sometimes wonder if there would be a point at which I would stop really noticing out-going money from our household. If there is, we haven't reached it yet. I'll be glad when the bills die down a bit in a month or so. We'll be fine, of course, but right now, I'm really feeling it.

EDIT THE NEXT MORNING: I awoke today with the horrible thought of what if we built the pigeon loft on top of the septic clean-out?! We avoided every visible clean-out, but what if we missed "the big one"?? Stay tuned...