Murphy? or Providence?

My dad has a story he likes to tell of his and mom’s first years of married life back in the sixties. He worked at a steel mill; she was a full-time homemaker. They had very little money, but one month he earned an extra $200 on his paycheck. They came up with all sorts of plans for what they might do with the money, but then Mom had a dental emergency, and the cost to fix her teeth was exactly $200. “We just couldn’t get ahead,” Dad says. “Could not get ahead.”

Which is how I feel sometimes. Kat and I have a little extra left over from the tax return that didn’t get spent on the sewing room project. This is the first year we haven’t had to put our tax return on debt, having paid off our credit card. We’ve been talking of putting it toward either our kitchen re-do or our emergency savings. Or, hmm, I’ve always wanted a KitchenAid stand mixer. Is now the time to start researching deals? We could consider it part of the kitchen update (I can rationalize any purchase).

But life throws curves. We had a severe wind storm blow through San Antonio last month. A few of our shingles were knocked off. The repairs cost $270. Then my primary care doc sent me to the dermatologist for a suspicious mole. Two biopsies later, I find out I am to have two skin thingies excised (one a basil cell carcinoma, the other some atypical cells that could turn into a melanoma). I’m sure we’ll pay at least up to our deductible, which is $500, then whatever the co-insurance is after that. Those two things together take care of the last of the tax return and more.

I’ve thought about Dad’s story over the years. This phenomenon of coming into money at the same time some unexpected expense pops up is certainly not unique to my parents. It happens to everyone. I can look at it as Murphy riding in to snatch that extra money out of our hands, or see it as a caring universe (or Providence or however you might name it) giving me what we need when we need it. The first viewpoint leads to frustration and a lot of “Why me’s?” The second evokes gratitude. I will admit I feel frustrated, but I am going to choose to be grateful that we happen to have this money when we need it to repair our home and take care of my health. And I don’t need a mixer anyway :-)

Awash in Cash (Sort Of)

Here we are into July, and I'm no closer to making a decision about my business.

Tomorrow Kat and I go on a 5 day vacation with my family -- parents, siblings and their spouses, and lovely nieces and nephews. It's a frugal vacation for all of us. We meet at campgrounds on the nearby San Marcos River, rent tiny duplexes (with the required AC), and haul our own groceries. Five days of visiting, napping, playing cards, reading, and tubing down the river. Bliss!

The sticker shock for us is the price of providing care for our pets while we're gone. Our two big dogs are geriatric now, both with arthritis in their back legs. I researched the best place possible to keep them and found a kennel with private suites and in-door play areas that will give them quiet rest and air-conditioned exercise. For both girls, it's $75.00 a night -- choke! That's almost the cost of our own accommodations!! It's worth it though. We also pay our neighbor's kids $120 to take care of our cats, fish, outdoor ferals, and plants.

We've thought about a house sitter for all the pets, but we have one cat who is very crafty about dashing out the door. She is a house cat and would not make it outside, and we're afraid to lose her if we had someone here letting the dogs in and out. Also, the neighbor's kids are able to make money for back to school stuff, and I know their parents more than appreciate it. So this is just the cost of our going places, which is why we do so little of it (Something I am fine with, being a homebody and not liking to travel much).

We have better cash flow this year than we've had in a long time, and much less worry as a result. All of our travel expenses, including the pet care, will be paid cash, and at the same time, we've managed to bring the balance of our credit card from over $9,000 at the beginning of the year to $2,900.

But I've taken a look at our finances, and a lot of our increased cash comes from sources other than my real estate business. Kat received a significant raise at work last August, and in January of this year, the city extended medical benefits to domestic partners. My being on Kat's health insurance saves us nearly $200 a month, and the insurance is much better than my private insurance, so we're paying less out of pocket for physicals and such.

The cash flow has felt so good, I thought I was making more than I am. If I take my gross and subtract ALL business-related expenses, taxes, and tithe, I've made nearly $5,000 in profit so far this year. The expenses are more than I realized. As you know, $5,000 is not a living wage!! It's a nice supplement, and a big part of the reason that we're not worrying over money nearly as much, but is it worth it for the aggravation and the hours I put in? Could be too early to pull the plug, but I don't feel momentum going forward, and that's my fault. If I can't be passionate about this, I don't think it will work, but God I don't want another failed thing.

So as not to end on a glum note, I have to share that I feel unreasonably happy right now. Well, maybe not unreasonably. I WILL be with family tomorrow, with the very people who would not at all see this as "another failed thing" (and neither would Kat). That's one bad thought I need to somehow bar from this decision-making process.