It is Only Money

There are times in which adult life is far less interesting and certainly less fun than childhood. Usually these moments are centered around uncomfortable decisions and monetary issues. In my home it is the monetary issues that drive me up the wall.

It is not so much that I mind having to pay for certain things like the mortgage, it is the nickel and dime effect of the things that surround owning a home, a car and being a parent.

Today I learned that I have a screw in my tire. It is in the tread so in theory it should be easy to repair, but you never know. It could be that there is another object in the tire as well or some other reason why it cannot be repaired and I'll be forced to purchase another tire. Even if I do not have to buy a new tire this repair will be just another $25 bucks that I throw into the wind.

And I should add that this car received $500 worth of TLC last month. I'd go out and kick the tires because I am aggravated but my boot might mysteriously come into contact with a nail and then I'd be able to say that one tire got screwed by me and I nailed the other. Not a very pleasant scenario if you ask me.

Ok, Ok, that wasn't very punny but I couldn't come up with a good way to work rubber into this mess.

My house is another source of financial stress. There are probably 1,765,210 things that have to be done to it. It is fair to say that 99% of these things are minor but in the grand scheme of things if we estimate that the cost of each one of these items $3.69 the sum total is quite large and we all know that most likely these repairs/improvements will cost substantially more.

And none of this takes into account the time element. I am capable and able to do the repair and labor of most of the items on this but I really don't have the time. Time is the one thing that I never seem to have the most of.

So I sit here at the computer staring at a spreadsheet with a list of items and expenses and I compare that to the statement from the bank and I just laugh. There isn't enough cash to cover all of these things. It is all so clear, I don't have enough time or money but I do have an idea.

I am going to auction off my bills on eBay. Someone out there is very interested in taking these on and paying them off for me for no other reason than they saw the auction on eBay and they love to win. Or maybe not.

All I know is that my son has taken to singing John Denver songs. If you close your eyes and listen you can hear him sing:

"Almost heaven, west virginia
Blue ridge mountains, shenandoah river
Life is old there, older than the trees
Younger than the mountains, blowing like a breeze

Country roads, take me home
To the place, I be-long
West virginia, mountain momma
Take me home, country roads"

Maybe that is the right idea. Maybe I should find a nice country road to drive on and clear my mind. The truth is that it is only money. Life has a way of working out if you let it, but it doesn't hurt to help it along.

7 comments:

Daled Amos said...

My father-in-law often tells me that a car always knows when you have extra cash.

My response to him is: and a house doesn't care if you have the money or not.

Stacey said...

Auctioning your bills off at Ebay. LOL. Good idea!

Your son has good taste. John Denver is one of my favorites.

Unknown said...

Believe it or not, legend has it that John Denver was riding right through the area where I grew up (where the Blue Ridge and the Shenandoah meet) when he came up with those lyrics. Or whomever came up with those lyrics.

Anyway, he's one of my very favorites too. I listened to him on tape when I went on a bus tour through the Austrian alps...absolutely no other soundtrack would ever do.

Jack Steiner said...

DA,

My car seems to have an uncanny awareness of my financial state.

Stacey,

I try.

Z,

It sounds like you grew up somewhere very pretty.

Steg (dos iz nit der šteg) said...

I love that "Country Roads" song, it's my favorite traveling song and i would sing it (with improvised lyrics based on the exact travel i was doing) when traveling between the USA and Israel, or when going to visit friends who live far away, etc.

Of course, the version i know best is the pop-punk cover by Me First and the Gimme-Gimmes. When i first heard the original all i could say was "that's... way too slow!"

Jack Steiner said...

Hi Steg,

I am not sure if I ever heard the version you referred to.

MC Aryeh said...

That e-bay plan is diabolical - and it just might work!

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