An expensive week. I knew I had the 60,000-mile tune-up coming on my car at the cost of $1,300, but just before that, my battery died, and that was another $250. Concurrently with the dead battery came an airbag sensor lighting up which was determined to be faulty in the passenger’s seat. That was estimated at $1,500 – but that last one didn’t sit well with me. The battery dies and it blows a sensor? That’s not cool. I was past my warranty but had no interest in dropping that much cash, especially for something so seemingly trivial – and in a seat I don’t even sit in to boot. Well, I sent an email to Subaru, and they quickly offered a $1,000 credit to the dealer, which was nice, but I’m still out $500 for something that is just bogus. All in for the car at just over two grand.

At this time, I was also expecting to begin some crawlspace work to help control moisture and humidity, something that was causing my plaster to crack. After getting several estimates covering every possible option, I settled with one company to close my vents, install a dehumidifier, reroute the sump pump, and install an exhaust for a ground-level gases that you don’t want to get trapped and seeping up through the floorboards. This is going to come to about $3,500 – which is a lot, but far short of the high estimate of a total encapsulation at $13K.

Not over yet. I also developed a leak in my ceiling, initially deemed to be the boot on the exhaust vent for the kitchen sink. While that had indeed wore out, there were also smaller leaks that were allowing water in as well – these were the result of an overzealous roofer from about three years ago. I’m currently trying to figure out if part of that fix will be covered by the roof warranty (good for 5 years), but for the other work, I’m guessing it’ll be close to $1,000. So, assuming I get lucky with the warranty, this week is going to cost me around $6,500, money I’d hoped to allocate elsewhere. What’s the saying? “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” Ain’t that the truth…

Everybody wants my money. (Image retrieved from here and comes courtesy of Kaboompics.)

Thankfully, as of right now anyway, I have a good job and can afford all of this, but it still stings. There are also a number of other home improvement projects I’ve chosen not to think about but that could stand getting done: I need to repaint the interior, as the paint is chipping badly in some places; I need to replace the tile in the kitchen and mudroom, as it’s coming apart in places; I need to rebuild my front stoop, as mold/mildew and moss have started to eat through the mortar – and this is something I’ve already thrown a little money at, but I went the cheap route and it shows. Let that be a lesson to me… Finally, I need to replace my fence. It’s dilapidated, looks terrible, and probably ticks off the neighbors, but at least it’s functional. I actually don’t really care about any of this stuff, but my parents nag me about it, as they’re the type of people who have to have a really pristine home. They take such good care of everything (for the most part) that they don’t really derive the benefit from it – those who follow them will. This mostly applies to their cars, but it’ll be largely true of their house when they finally move out. Though, having said that, as they’ve aged, their attention to detail is nowhere near what it used to be, and there is plenty I could nag them about. I don’t, but I could.

I’m also eyeing a new car, or really, a second one. You see, even though mine is only 2.5 years old, I went and invested a bunch of money in it to get it “off-road” ready for my forays out into the backcountry. This has, unfortunately, affected my gas mileage fairly significantly, so I’d like to get something that can be a daily driver and longhauler and keep my current car for summer playtime in the forests. I’d initially been thinking about a hybrid Subaru Outback when they come out in 2027, but I really hate the over-digitization of everything in cars, so now I’m thinking I might try to seek out a single owner, low milage wagon from the 80s or 90s back when everything was still analog. The former would probably be close to $40K, the latter maybe $5-6K, and that being the more attractive option for multiple reasons. They don’t make things like they used to, sadly…

I’m also hoping to buy a small cabin out west. I believe I’ve mentioned that in this column at some point, but obviously that ain’t gonna be cheap either (maybe to the tune of $500K?). That’s right, I’m looking at carrying two mortgages – sounds downright foolish. To do so – if it truly is possible – I’m going to have to cut a lot out of my life for a while. I’m hoping summer of 2027 (we’ll see), and I don’t pay off my first mortgage until 2030, so three years of bareknuckling it on expenses. We’ll see how the economy and my job situation is as that date gets closer. This might just be an exercise in futility and wishful thinking…

Life is expensive. And it doesn’t get any cheaper when you start adding all the “wants” into it. Things would be a lot easier if I were a minimalist or a monk – well, cheaper, anyway. But I don’t see that happening. I would like to cut expenses in my life, but a lot of that is not really an option, and some of it is what drives me. It’s a curious spot to find myself. I guess I’ll stay stuck in the doom loop of consumerism for the foreseeable future…

Marco Esquandoles
Empty Pockets