Cha-Ching!

Openly image: KMR Photography.

When DW and I first moved into our house, more than 23 years ago, I used to refer to our weekends as "500-dollar weekends." Because we were furnishing a home for the first time, we needed more things than our previous apartment held.

We needed a kitchen table and chairs. We needed a second sofa for our living room. We needed a lawn mower. And a dish washer. And a washer and dryer. Our refrigerator, which had been given to us by an aunt conked out shortly after we plugged it in, so we needed to replace it.

Every weekend, for the first few months, had us going to Ikea, or Sears, or some other store. We seldom walked out of that store with less than $500 spent, hence my nickname for those Saturdays and Sundays.

Spending eventually got back under control as soon as our house was more livable, and we were actually able to start saving money. Both DW and I had good-paying jobs, so we were feeling good.

Of course, when kids came along, we had more expenses again but they were manageable. And, because of the joy that our kids gave us, it was money well-spent.

When both kids were in competitive dance, our costs went through the roof. One year, with all of the costumes, the travel, and competition expenses, we saw a $17,000 dance season.

Again, our kids were loving it and we were supportive, so it was money well-spent.

There have been major expenses over the years to keep our house going and to ensure that we were comfortable, but never has it seemed to be more expensive than it has this year. It seems that so many things have hit us in such a short period.

In the early part of 2023, in winter, our furnace died. We had it replaced to the tune of five grand. It wasn't so bad and we always keep a contingency account for such events. DW keeps our budgets for household issues, vacations, and entertainment well in line with our income, so we're in good shape.

But in the spring, when the hot weather came on hard and we were forced to turn on our air-conditioning unit early, we discovered that it, too, had packed it in after 23 seasons. We compared the cost of a replacement unit versus a heat pump, and even though the heat pump was more than twice the price of a conventional AC unit, the savings to the environment and the reduction in monthly consumption costs made us go for that.

Another $11,000 gone. Though the federal government will be giving us a rebate, we had to pay everything up-front and we're still waiting for that cheque to arrive. It may not come until the end of the year.

A couple of weeks ago, we received a call from Kid 1, who was driving home from work when the battery light came on the dash of our CR-V, and shortly after, all lights started flickering, and the vehicle lost power. She managed to get the SUV safely to the side of the road but she was stranded.

I drove out to Kanata to rescue her and called a tow truck that would take our vehicle to my mechanic. The cost was only $200 for the tow but a new alternator for the CR-V was nearly $800.

A small sting, but still.

Last week, a large crack appeared down the centre of the windscreen of our Niro. Inspecting the glass, it seems that a rock or some other object hit the glass at the very top, where it meets the roof of the car. It placed a chip along the edge of the windshield. It was so small that I figured, had it hit in the middle of the glass, it wouldn't have been so bad. But because it was on the edge of the window, it sent the crack running.

My mechanic recommended a mobile glass-replacement company and they did the work for less than anyone else that I called. For just under $600, we had a new windshield.

I haven't mentioned the cost of helping Kid 2 move, in Toronto, or other expenses that are just par for being an adult. DW and I have also been a bit stressed after she lost her job, in July, knowing that if she doesn't pick something up, it's going to affect our retirement plans.

Yes, 2023 is turning out to be an expensive year for us, but I'm confident we'll manage. I'm just glad that we had cancelled our trip to Italy, which was supposed to start at the end of this month, before all of these costs started adding up. I wouldn't have enjoyed it.

Fingers crossed that nothing else gets thrown our way.

Happy Monday!