Ya know yer getting old and have too much responsibility when your journal entries are all about financial troubles and the woes of homeownership.

But hey, journals are cheaper than therapy...

So my refridgerator died this weekend. Saturday I woke up to a soaking wet kitchen floor. All the ice in the icebox had melted and spilled out. The power is still on, which means its prolly a motor of some kind that went out. So pay someone to come fix the motor on a $180-$200 used, old fridge, buy another used one with no option of drop off or pickup, or just go buy a brand new and have the store deliver and drop off. This is a slightly time sensitive issue, I choose option C.

Before I learned of this disaster tho, my brother called from the airport and wanted me to go pick up his car he left in expensive parking for the next week while his family went to LA because Loryn's brother passed away. Super sad btw. She's like the only one that does the whole 'tight family' thing so its hard to see that pain.

So I got from noon til 5 to get a ride to the airport and pick up a car, shop and buy a fridge and save my food. Then we are going to a Jazz game around 5pm. I liked the feeling of laying in bed til 10am that morning a lot better than what I was feeling afterward.

Poor Evan spent the whole week trying to convince me to go do his family stuff like shopping with the kids and going to lunch with the rest of his family. I really didn't want to go to any of it. And this way I didn't have to. I just had to do stressful things instead.

Evan gave me a ride to the airport, picked up the car and stopped by Neals house since it was on the way to my house. Borrowed their internet, had some time to think about my options, realized I wasn't going to get my side by side for under $1,000 and small enough to fit in my space, realized I wouldn't get my water and ice machine anymore. Reality set in and I realized I'd have to go to the stores, compare prices, and buy one on the spot and I was looking at $600-$800. Sigh.

I got my washer and dryer from RC Willey and ever since been invited back I swear every other month for free food and their free gifts, I've gotten like 3 flashlights from them, a wallet, a soccer ball, and the last time a thing of knives. So I figgured I might as well support them and shopped there first. Found the fridge I would want, a bigger black fridge, and then found the smaller white only fridges that were about the same size as my current fridge. Evan was juss getting done with family stuff and came by to help me out. He always shows up just when I'm about ready to buy, just in time.

I suppose my only requirement was that I needed more freezer space. This way I could fit actual frozen pizzas in it, yay! (I haven't had a frozen pizza in like 10 months) One or two girls living off of frozen food, boxes, and cans, I wanted the most freezer space I could find, forget the fridge part. But the smaller $530 Frigidaire fridge seemed fine for my needs, plus they took $50 off instantly cuz Frigidaire was on some type of sale. That's nicer than rebates. And the guy said they could deliver for free. He quoted us a free delivery first before we decided to buy there instead of look at other stores.

This sales guy was..interesting. The same guy I bought from last time was there and was the only one that talked to me. He disappeared in the back dent and scrape appliances part otherwise I woulda asked him my deliver question when Evan showed up, but found this guy instead. He seemed like an...open book. He was telling us his commission schemes outloud as he went. "So in order to make you rush along I can show you this screen where we only make 90 deliveries on Mondays and so far there are only 6 more spots so if you need this fridge by Monday to save yer food you don't have a lot of time to decide cuz these spots go fast on Saturdays" and "I could tell you which fridge would give me a higher commission if you can't decide between the two" and he even went into detail about how much commission he would get and that he only asks for at least one sale a week, yadda yadda. He failed at one of his schemes and said "Well I can't tell you that we only have so many in stock to get you to buy today, so I guess that won't work for me" as we all look at his screen and see he has like 80 in stock. That was his first comment and I couldn't help but blurt out a sarcastic, "Well, gee, thanks for trying..."

But it was good, good price, I can do $514 no delivery charges, fast delivery, sufficient for my needs, I had a slight nightmare last night that I didn't measure it right and it won't fit.... The only real downside I see is that I hear that Frigidaires are really loud. :( Boo. I wanted a black one, but it only came in white, which is prolly good. My cupboards are brown, my stove and microwave are white, but my dishwasher and table are black. Black and brown. Ugh. Who knows maybe my dishwasher is the next thing to die on me and then I can get a white one, then my cupboards and appliances will all match with no black on brown. Who put that kitchen together...

So I bought the fridge, to be delivered on Monday, shoved my food in Evans freezer and fridge for a day or two and headed downtown for dinner and the Jazz game. We were so close the first quarter and then they felt the pressure and juss didn't make it. I've never been to a Jazz game beore. In fact, I don't recall ever sitting down and actually watching a basketball game. And I was so into it and eating everything I had in my purse and being so passionate about this game I know nothing about. Totally craving frozen yogurt through the whole thing also. Finally got it about 11pm.

Sooo due to the unexpected surprise of a fridge dying near the holidays,on top of my Lasik surgery, buying a house this year, buying brand new carpet, and buying a brand new washer and dryer, NOBODY IS GETTING CHRISTMAS THIS YEAR!

I have to say it is somewhat ironic. I haven't had many financial 'surprises' this year until I started paying my tithing. I went to church yesterday determined that I was too stressed and uncomfortable to pay tithing with my first paycheck that is used for the mortgage. But they always say to pay tithing first. It only took one small thought of "pay it and have faith" it will work out this year for me to pay it before the mortgage. In the last month or so I had a crown fall out and the post is pritti much gone and wobbly (which means decay) so theres nothing to hold the crown up there anymore which means I need an implant which is generally $2,000 a pop depending on how much insurance will help. So I've been hoping this tooth will hang on to that small wobbly post until next year at least so I don't have to pay for it during the holidays. That didn't really help with my money stress after learning about my fridge. My savings account turned into saving for a car, teeth implants, random broken appliances in my house.... lets see, lets plan ahead, lets guess whats going to break next in the house! The water heater or the bathtub/ceiling cracking issue?

So last month I managed to save $500 and thought I could use it for Christmas for Dustins family. The twins are going to be expensive with things they NEED this winter, and the boys are always wanting expensive toys and games and consoles. But it seems that $500 was saved up for a new fridge. Funny how it came out about the same price as what I had saved up for. Maybe I can scrouge up another $500 this month, I just like to shop for Christmas in Nov and I won't get the $500 saved up til my last check of the month.

I have to admit this was somewhat good timing. Its sad that the used fridge only lasted 9 months, but losing it during my 'time of month' seemed to be a good idea. I mean I always get stressed with surprises like this, who doesn't, nothing can change that, but my period kinda made me more...mellow about it. I tensed up with stress like normal and running around like crazy, but I wasn't totally obsessing over it that night at the Jazz game. I was able to just...let it go and enjoy the night. I think Evan was more stressing about saving my food and I seemed more focused on the cost and getting to my house. I mean, a familys fridge has more food it in than just me and my food, I wasn't too worried about that and how fast I could get a fridge installed. Its getting cold enough I'll just put all my food outside now. haha

Anyways that was my woes this weekend. Showered, didn't get breakfast, got Dallins car, stopped by Neals house and thought outloud with them, found Gunners trick or treat bag with chocolate in it, a bad weekend to show me chocolate and tell me not to eat it, ate his candy, bought a fridge, ate some not frozen food anymore for lunch, went downtown for dinner and a Jazz game and made the boy go back to SJ to get me frozen yogurt.

So that was my weekend, but today I suppose is Evans bad financial day.

He called me up at 9am this Monday morning and the first thing he said was "I just got fired." He mentioned he had some stress on Friday with his truck that kept breaking down. Both the trucks he's been switching back and forth between have been breaking down and overheating on him all summer long and he's managed to fill it up with oil or whatever and kept going. He did that on Fri and apparently the boss claims it ruined the engine. I would think the whole summer of the mechanic NOT fixing the overheating problem or whatever it was would be the cause of an engine being ruined. Evan had to do his job somehow with the lack of resources and working vehicles he had cuz the mechanic never fixed it this whole summer.

I believe it was Evan who suggested and wanted to budget for new trucks. The cost of trying to maintain these trucks verses buying new ones ran through his head a couple times the two years he's worked there. No one listened to him, the boss said they didn't have the money, and what they'd have the money after one or both the engines died? Well, at least the boy didn't give up on their lack of resources, respect and actually gettting paid like all the other managers did within a year. He stuck it out and used what they gave him even when he didn't get paid cuz the account was in the red.

That poor kid. What is it with Oct/Nov and getting fired from a seasonal type job every other year or so. He just bought a car in Aug I believe, $300 a month. Child support. He juss paid for or needs to pay this month for his cruise he'll be going on in Feb with the kids. Unemployment is half of what he usually makes, plus prolly cut that in half for child support...

I love him. I do. But I just have to say this. I just have to mention his money managing skills and his priorities and I just have to mention that it would prolly not go well in a marriage. He doesn't save any money. I would think if you were bouncing from job to job that you'd save money for the 'inbetween jobs' times while you were secure for awhile. But no, not him, he buys a car instead. His job wasn't that stable to begin with and with no savings and buying a brand new car and cruise I think he's toast, well he feels that way. He felt that way this last month or so cuz of the car and cruise, but now he ain't got no job. Take that complaining and worry and panic mode and times it by 10 and you got Evan during the holidays! *sarcastic yaaayyyy* And its so hard to live with him when he's all wound up about money in the first place and THEN loses his job. I'm glad I don't have to go through that again. During the 4 years I've been with Jim, Evan has lost two jobs and I was living with him during that first one. Never again. And he's lost one before he met me.

Maybe this is a bad time to insert the fact that the boss just gave me $100 for a bonus. I love it when clients pay in cash, esp from those that the boss never thought he'd get paid. We'll attribute this to the whole tithing/faith thing.

Anyways I really do feel for the kid tho. His career isn't exactly job security like mine. He doesn't have a lot of expenses, but everyone feels they are consumed by their expenses. He's got child support, cheap rent, a brand new car, insurances, and as a man he just needs a job to feel like he's important to society, a reason to live. His anxiety stems off of money like most of us. I freaked out about a fridge the other day, just a titch and here his whole world is crashing down. He's scared. He's panicked. He's been looking/applying for jobs the past 6 months and got nothing. How will he find something during the winter in his field? How soon could he get a job? One month might kill the kid.

He's not a desparate case like Natalie is currently. He's at least got -some- saved money to fall back on. He has the motivation and ability to get and keep a job. I know I know when yer in the moment its hard to compare to others situations and think "hey its not that bad".... when everyone else around can do that. This time, since I'm not living with him, I can try much much harder to empathize with him and be there for him instead of rolling my eyes at his refusal to pay for a $5 footlong on a date.

Yay for financial trials just before the holidays! Isn't life grand?