When it rains it pours...

16 years ago

I have noticed two things about money. The first - every time I have a little extra, like right after my income tax refund check arrives, an unexpected expense crops up large enough to swallow all or most of it. Two years ago, the hot water heater gave up the ghost in April.

The second is two expenses at once. Tuesday the 'check engine' light came on while I was driving to work. A half hour after I got in my wife called. The clothes dryer died. The repairman said it would be over $300 to fix, so a new one is in order. Grand total = $1330!!!!

In November we cancelled a trip to Minneapolis to attend a friend's wedding because my daughter got engaged and we thought it would be better to put that money toward HER wedding. Best laid plans....

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Comments (22)

OklaMoni
16 years ago
yeah, ordered new mattress and box springs, and we got the ice storm. Needed a chain saw.

Happens to me too.

Moni
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grinch_gut
16 years ago
That is how it alwasys seems to work...finally get a little saved and wham you get hit with stuff breaking...I try and look at it this way...I did happen to have themoney in savings and can get what I need alot of times in my life it has not been that way...so for that I am thankful! Stacy
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Thanks guys for the " cool " feedback. ( smile ) Now have a more recent discovery to relate ! Am still somewhat speechless ! About 2 hrs ago, this mornin' I went out to visually check on my plantation,..look at my current girlfriend first, that almost 3 week old, ever blossoming Goldfinger banana stalk. " Hmmm, about 3 inches longer, just overnight,...wait, something different,..what ? Could it be TRUE ??? There are now TEN ( 10 ) hands clearly developing. " This is insane,..maybe I made a mistake,..count 'em again while lookin' closer,..yikes, it's true !! That amazing stalk NOW HAS TEN " HANDS " OF BANANAS !! What have I created here ? Never saw a nine hand stalk,..now it's grown into a ten hand one. Just had to let my fellow GW'ers know. Will take another photo when it's done growin',..will probably need a wide angle lens !!!
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Thanks. My sister was diagnosed in 1989 with stage 4 inflammatory cancer when there was no real survival rate. After 3 years of chemo and radiation and prayers she did survive. Then in 2009 she was diagnosed with another form of breast cancer and had the breast removed with no chemo or radiation. Since she was born she suffers from Arrhythmia and has a pacemaker. Last November we noticed the metal of her pacemaker showing through her skin and just about falling out. This was just before she was diagnosed with cancer. The area was terribly infected and the skin was showing signs of necrosis. As soon as the tech at the pacemaker clinic saw this my sister was immediately sent out of town to London Health and Science Centre 2 hours away. The Doctors were not sure what they were going to do because the leads were also infected and the skin was in bad shape. She stayed in the hospital for a few weeks then they decided they would try to put the pacemaker on the right side of her chest which they did eventually do. They were unsure they had a vein for the lead to the heart but they did find one. They removed the old pacemaker but left the leads attached and tucked them into her chest wall. She came home from the hospital and was hooked up to 24 hour intravenous antibiotics for a few months. The leads eventually came through her skin so she was sent back to London to have them cut shorter. She has had 2 hip replacements, one of her hips needs to be replaced because it is falling apart but she can't undergo that long of a surgery so is living with the pain, same for her shoulder. My sister has never had 1 peaceful year of good health and I am amazed at the strength and fortitude she has. She wants to live so will do everything including asking for prayers from anyone offering them to her. Since being at my house her breathing has improved quite a bit and she doesn't look so sick. Today she got approval and a prescription for the oral chemo drug Tarceva. We have been waiting for the government to approve the funding of the medication. 30 pills $2525.00 . I have informed her of the side effects, read her reviews from people taking the drug and she is wanting to give it a go. When she has had chemo before she was never sick. I am worried about the face and body rash but the Dr had the pharmacy deliver 6 jars of cortisone creams. The Community Care Access manager found my sister a respite bed in a very nice retirement home. She has a 2 week government funded stay and then after the 2 weeks are up my brother and his SO said she can go to their place until the works is done, I talked to the contractor today and work can begin on a days notice so I am hoping for Wednesday. Marjorie is determined to get well or at least well enough to get up to go to her hair salon to get a wash, dye and cut. My younger brother handed the keys to the rental house to my older brother the other day after clearing out the house as much as he could. I told my brother they had a week to let their guy valuate the property and if they don't have a buyer I am selling it to the roofer. I just want it gone out of my life.
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margad
16 years ago
My sister always maintained that appliances talk to one another. When one dies two others follow suit.
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phyllis__mn
16 years ago
When my computer died three years ago, my refrigerator also gave up the ghost!
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softball_80
Original Author
16 years ago
Phyllis: that had to be a tough one: food or internet?
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okwriter
16 years ago
My sister always maintained that appliances talk to one another. When one dies two others follow suit.

LOL! That made me smile today!
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kathy_
16 years ago
That's every Christmas here.
Christmas bills those Christmas bills...
Hubby's tooth broke (crown), his car needed a door handle to pass inspection. Ordered that and the window on the other side went down and did not come back up. Want to bet it does not pass inspection because something else is wrong?
Hohoho. The truck needed new tires.
Mom told me she had a little extra money and I warned her! $335 to fix her van.
We kind of laugh about it and when something breaks we say "Merry Christmas to you!"
Needless to say we are having a cheapskate Christmas this year.
Kathy
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paula_pa
16 years ago
Yes, whenever I get a little windfall I just set it aside and wait for something expensive to happen and always does.

And I finally bought a new car after 10 years and 178K miles and I got pregnant unexpectedly before the first payment was due. You just have to laugh sometimes.

Oh well, we never have extra but we always seem to have enough.
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kframe19
16 years ago
A few years ago I was at a friend's house when the guy showed up to evaluate their furnace and AC system. He knew it needed replacement, so he wasn't really shocked.

But, as we're standing in the utility room David started talking about the water heater and how he hoped it would hold out, but it was being problematic...

The service guy stopped David in mid sentence and made us go outside.

I'll never forget what he said "NEVER talk about an appliance in front of it, they know it and they will screw with you."

The guy was NOT kidding. 100% serious.
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ntt_hou
16 years ago
Ohhhh... so that's what "When it rains, it pours" means! Boy, does that happen alot to me!

And yes, me too, as soon as I saved up some money, things happened. Like Stacy, I'm just grateful that I have barely enough money in the bank to take care of the problems.

LOL... "Never talk in front of appliances", I got to remember that one!
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brenda_in_tx
16 years ago
One of my girlfriends JUST told me that she was baking goodies to bring in to her bosses today - the timer went off and she opened the oven door and it was stone cold inside, so they're going to buy a new oven tomorrow. Her husband said "well, Merry Christmas." I said at least it didn't wait until Christmas day to die. THAT would be bad!
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deemarie5500
16 years ago
It appears as though my teeth were talking to each other during 2007. By February, all my dental insurance was used up for the year...cost me over $8,000 out-of-pocket this year for 4 root canals and a new bridge for some back teeth.

Here's wishing everyone a stress-free 2008!
Dee
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cindyb_va
16 years ago
My sister always maintained that appliances talk to one another. When one dies two others follow suit.

Yes, and they KNOW about holidays, too.

My central air went out one year at 9pm on July 3rd (the 4th was on a Friday),during one of our 100 degree heat waves, when I was having friends stay the weekend. Paid the repair man double-time (and had to wait around for him most of Friday).

Another year, my diswasher died two days before Thanksgiving. So while everyone else was shopping for groceries for the big meal, I am sitting at home waiting for a service call that ends with, "...this machine isn't worth fixing..."

They KNOW....
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softball_80
Original Author
16 years ago
I'm glad you mentioned Thanksgiving because I thought of another one. Two years ago while the dishes were being done after the big meal - 18 or 20 people - water started flowing out from underneath the kitched sink. The braided steel cold water supply line had burst! The most amazing thing was, I has a replacement! I had redone the bathroom and bought one that was too short. Good thing I kept it; we were up & running again in 15 minutes.
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patti43
16 years ago
I think there's something to that "hearing and breaking" theory. A few years before we sold our house we were discussing it. Evidently, the house didn't like it because every summer after that we had major expenses.

Year 1: Air handler went out and had to be ordered. Without air...in Florida...for 5 days in the middle of summer.

Year 2: Hurricane winds cause roof to leak. Of course, insurance found a way around paying and a FEMA loan rate was just as high as we could get from the credit union. Replaced the roof with tin--won't be replacing that any time soon.

Year 3: Pump motor to the well died. Replaced it with a Meyers (I guess that's good) and then the well ran dry. This was when the house was up for sale.

Think I was happy when that house sold?
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bestlawn
16 years ago
Another great thread! You guys are hilarious.
Murphy's Law was ratified at the beginning of time hahahaha and is still taking prisoners!
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Zipper_TX
16 years ago
The house doesn't like it when you go on vacation either, when our first DGS was born (some of you will remember he was born in Italy) we saved and saved then flew to Italy to kiss and hug on the baby, we managed to bring some of that saved up money back home with us and guess what the housed did? The system that runs the heater and air conditioner (all electric home) died - took every penny we brought back with us and a bit extra lol.
Yeah... don't let the house know you're leaving!
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okwriter
16 years ago
FWIW, I call this the "Morton Salt Theory" because of their slogan. (When it rains, it pours!)

:-)
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kacram
16 years ago
"I'll never forget what he said "NEVER talk about an appliance in front of it, they know it and they will screw with you."
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAa

"
"Morton Salt Theory"
HAHAHAHAHA

very true!
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cbtexas
16 years ago
You mean like my laptop acting up and the screen keeps getting all garbled and flickering weird colors. I did some research online and other people with the same problems said it was the graphics chip that can't be replaced because it is part of the motherboard. The entire motherboard would have to be replaced. So I order a new laptop and now this one seems to be back to working fine for now. I use this for my business so I still don't trust it and will transfer everything to the new one. But this one is working fine for NOW.
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sue_va
16 years ago
There was that time when we finally found a house that we loved and could afford. Moved in in September and the furnace died in the middle of a very cold February night! And in no time it was the water heater!

Recently, my problem was similar to Dee's. Had extensive dental work done that took a lot of time and a lot of visits. My dentist told me not to pay for it until it was all finished. So finally it was all finished, and I'm ready to break open the Piggy Bank for that bill: $3,180.00; no dental insurance. Then yep, that is when my car died. Back to the Piggy Bank. That Piggy Bank, by the way is the one that holds my "if I have to go into a Nursing Home funds."

Just that dental bill would only cover about one month in a Nursing Home! Guess I better stay healthy, and hope for the best.

Without a doubt, Stuff Happens!

Sue
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kathy813
16 years ago
My washer died Sunday. Anyone have a rub board I can borrow?
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When it rains it pours...

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