Unexpected

When it rains, it pours.

Lately, the only thing "raining" around here has been money out of my pocket.

We bought a new bathtub. Which also meant that we'd have to re-tile the bathroom. And of course the drain holds from the old tub to the new tub don't line up, so we have to get more pipe for the drain. And we had to buy a new drain. And new faucet. And, since we are tiling, that means we need to put some cement board down on the floor to put the tile on. And, since the new tub doesn't line up exactly where the old one went, we'll have to do something to the walls. This tub is shorter than the old tub. When they built the house, the textured the walls after they had installed the tub, so we have to do something about that extremely noticeable difference in texture. This new tub will never crack though. The new tub is a much better tub, as it is fiberglass instead of plastic.

While I'm glad we'll have a better tub, putting the bathroom back together is proving to be more expensive than I like.

And then I did our taxes.

And discovered that Andy has turned 17, and I lose some tax breaks. I didn't anticipate that change. Why do you lose those credits when your kid turns 17? The Senior year is the most expensive year of their life! These credits shouldn't disappear until they are 18! Sheesh. And then I discovered that our new mortgage company only paid half of our property taxes rather than the entire amount. Which means I lost over $2000 in deductions. Which also means I have to pay the IRS. Which really pisses me off. Not because I expect a large refund. Nope, we don't work our finances that way. We plan and have just enough taken out that we might get a refund, but we prefer not having to pay any additional funds in. But, because I didn't pick up on the fact that we'd lose one deduction, and because of the stupidity of the mortgage company, it's going to cost me. That wasn't in the budget any more than the bathroom "remodel" was.

So, this year, 2009 looks like it's going to be the year of big bills for us. It's March. So far we've had unexpected expenses of: 1. Car repair from the hit and run. 2. Bathroom "remodel" due to the leaking tub. and 3. My friend, the IRS.

Unexpected expenses...I'm so tired of unexpected expenses. Let's all hope that they end...NOW.