Splurge (Dec.13 – Resonate11)

(Yes, I’m missing the December 12 prompt. I was just SO EXCITED for December 13! Also, I lose at numbers.)

December 13

Splurge: Did you splurge on something this year? Did the troubled economy prompt you to hold back, or did you just give it all for something?

Now THIS is a question I can really get into. Mostly because this year was the first year in a long time that we were able to splurge on a few things. Last year (and the first part of this year) was spent in saving mode so we could finish those few, minor touches to the remodel in our old house that we just never got around to (such as dry wall) to put it on the market and buy a bigger house.

And when I say saving, I don’t mean cutting out those little unnecessary expenditures like a morning latte or forgoing a vacation (what is that, anyway?). No. We went extreme, cutting out most everything that wouldn’t get us sent to collections, ticketed, or generally result in death (although moderate to severe malnutrition from a diet consisting primarily of ramen noodles was totally acceptable).

But we did it. We sold our house (for slightly less than I think it was worth and to a nitpicky, first-time home buyer who prettymuch expected us to do everything but build an addition for her – but whatever, we had already found “The House” priced so ridiculously low that I’m still looking for dead bodies in the crawl space. We were frantically trying to get our offer in before someone else did.)

The profit from selling the old house combined with living like hermits for some time eased us into our new house and allowed us money for things like paint (the previous owners left us a blank canvas), ceiling fans in a couple rooms, new stainless steel appliances (we’re still working on this), and some new furniture to fill the extra 1400 square feet).

We now have some discretionary income*, too, which lets us do things like eat real people food and even get a few cool gadgets – such as a new lens for my camera and a Macbook for him (although, in fairness, I should also mention we usually don’t get each other Christmas or birthday presents, so this kind of makes up for it).

The biggest splurge, however, was our house. Before people jump to conclusions that we bought some expensive mansion that we can’t afford on an ARM with zero down, we didn’t. We just happened to get into the housing game early (with our first house) and made smart decisions. We moved to an area where home prices are very reasonable and our money could go further, had a down payment, and took advantage of low (fixed) rates. We wanted something that we could grow in without having to worry about the market dipping and, down the road, needing to sell and buy something larger. Although that seems bitterly ironic at the moment, having the space even just with the two of us is pretty nice. And, who knows, Artificial Reproductive Technology (ART) procedures do increase the chance of multiples. Maybe we’re more prepared than we think?

Does the troubled economy scare us? I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t troubling. We do factor this into our spending, though, and work through possible scenarios if something should happen. Both Hubby and I are government contractors and, if you haven’t heard, there are a number of people in office and running for office right now that are foaming at the mouth to cut government spending. That puts our jobs on the line, which I think is kind of ridiculous. Stepping up on my soap box for a moment, would you rather have us working, being able to afford to buy things to help stimulate the economy and paying taxes OR would you rather put us on unemployment? And it’s not like our jobs are “unnecessary.” There’s this idea that people working for or with the government are lazy and, as is with any field, there are lazy employees out there. They do not last long. Government jobs are in no way the “cushy” positions people make them out to be (and maybe they used to be?). We constantly watch congress and politicians duke it out over what they think we’re worth (without any expertise or knowledge in our field or respect to demand) and hope for the best. With budget cuts that have already taken place, most of us are doing the job of two or more people. It may be easy to see that as “saving money” or think that two people to do the job was unnecessary before, but we can only do so much. Adding additional tasks to job descriptions is resulting in overworked employees, diminished quality of work, errors, and reduction in services.

Stepping off soap box.

Going to get a cookie.

* I should note here that I don’t handle the finances in our family, so I trust Hubby that our spending is sensible, that we’re not living beyond our means or I’m not the future Mrs. Bernie Madoff. I’m OK with this, especially since I’m about as good at numbers as Kim Kardashian is at marriage. Example: A few days ago – in front of a group of coworkers no less – I said something like “Three plus six…*head tilt*…oh yeah, isn’t that 12?” I can’t remember the exact numbers I threw out there, but it was more of a disconnect between my brain and my mouth and what I meant to say was “Nine plus three…*head tilt*…oh, yeah, isn’t that 12?” Still, I’m pretty sure they’re not going to give me any important counting projects anytime soon.)