When It Rains. . .

Well, my issues seem petty next to yours. My only grip was that I spent yesterday, my 36th birthday, alone again. I blew out a candle I lit myself and stuck in a chocolate orange. I have not had a cake or candles since I was a teen (my husband is not good at those kinds of things), and then my son got the stomach flu so I spent all night washing and rewashing bedding and cleaning up throw up.

But, I have a warm home and good food to eat, my son is on the mend, and my husband will be home on friday. We have a good life over all and my husband makes a good living that allows me to stay home, so even though I was up all night I just might be able to squeeze in a nap later :)

Sigh. I hear you. I have maintained my good cheer but my liquor bill did go up a touch. We've had a complicated few weeks (read painfully expensive). Ongoing plumbing issues which ended with replacing over 20 feet of sewer line after four visits from three different plumbing companies (cha ching, cha ching, cha ching...). Because of all the trenching and work my backyard looks like a reenactment of World War I minus the razor wire. Very cheery to see every morning and not boding well for our spring landscaping to do list. Then there was the day I came home to over an inch of standing water in my hallway because said sewer line had backed up. Apparently when the pool cleaner tried to clean the pool, all of the backwashed pool water and filter media came out the toilets and the tubs, soiling all bedroom carpets, the hallway wood floors and the bathroom tiles. Double sigh. The master bedroom carpet is now molding because its such thick pile and has proven difficult to dry. All of this I might add resulted from the pool renovation guy pouring liquid plaster down the sewer line because he didn't want to dispose of it properly. Sadly liquid plaster becomes solid plaster and the stage was set for what we are going through now. We are dealing with our insurance but we are learning the names of 'rock' and 'hard place'. Lovely. I remember I couldn't wait to be all grown up but with times like these I wonder what I was in such a blasted hurry to do.

The bright note was I had to take my toddler to an urgent care clinic that was out of network but it turned out favorably. Checking network status was not high on my priorities with blood poring down my son's face from a head injury so I wasn't entirely shocked when the bill rolled in. Our insurance covered $30 worth of the several hundred dollar total bill. The urgent care clinic waived over 50% of the bill because they agreed it was all a bit silly. Bless those fine people and however they made that happen.

I agree with your pluses too. We are all health, able bodied, employed with a roof over our heads and food on our table with happiness abounding. This too shall pass. Good luck and many well wishes to you and yours.

Ugh...all of that in one day! Pour yourself a glass of wine!

My day was complicated yesterday when I got a $1200 cell phone bill. There are over $900 in charges on my oldest son's phone for things like roaming, data and texts from China. He has not been to China, knows no one from China, and until 12/2, his phone number didn't even have a phone on it because he drowned his old phone in the ocean last June. The charges are for the prior billing cycle (so the cycle ending on 12/2 so obviously the charges aren't valid because he didn't have a device) but I am waiting for the fraud division from Sprint to call me back later this week.

In the meantime, I am worried that because we sold his old, dead phone to a company that refurbishes damaged phones that somehow, we'll be responsible for the charges somehow. Sprint knew that the phone was unusable because we considered using the warranty to replace it and went into a Sprint store to do that, but we didn't discontinue service on that phone because otherwise we would have had an early termination fee.

Really hoping that we don't have a long fight over this. But really...nothing compared to your woes today. Just take it one at a time, and have some wine!

I made the responsible decision to pay off both of our cars before we had a new baby, so we could comfortably afford the new baby daycare. Last week, at 16 weeks pregnant, I got rear-ended on the way home from work. 20 year old car = too expensive for insurance to fix. So now we have a car payment on a newer, yet still used, car. Kind of freaking out about affording daycare and a car payment and medical bills from having a baby.

Thankfully, though, the kid who hit me's insurance paid for a trip to the ER to make sure the baby was very active on the ultrasound and his/her heartbeat was very good.

But my new/used car is in the shop overnight, after only owning it since Thursday, because the line between the windshield wiper fluid and the windshield is broken. On the upside, it's being fixed for free under warranty, but on the downside, I have to drive another loaner car to work.

Plus I forgot to get my flu shot this year and every freaking person I work with has come down with something (including one coworker who was diagnosed with influenza a by his doctor and STILL came to work to expose all of us) and came to work so I'm trying really hard not to get sick.

But, it could be worse, it always could be, is what I keep telling myself. At least the baby and I are ok. My 6 year old is healthy. In a little over a week we get to see our whole family, which we haven't seen since Easter.

Yeah, I feel for you. A couple years ago we took an expensive trip (at least that's a fun way to lose money). While working to pay that off off our boiler went out. $800 to fix it! Then our car broke down...another big bill. Then our dog needed two surgeries (She is fine now). Then all our family members who all live in different states all decided to come to our house for Christmas last year. It was WONDERFUL to see everyone but wow...the food bills were insane. It has taken us this entire year to get out of debt. We had to cut back with everything this last year...it was no fun. Now I'm all nervous about money.

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Yeah, I feel for you. A couple years ago we took an expensive trip (at least that's a fun way to lose money). While working to pay that off off our boiler went out. $800 to fix it! Then our car broke down...another big bill. Then our dog needed two surgeries (She is fine now). Then all our family members who all live in different states all decided to come to our house for Christmas last year. It was WONDERFUL to see everyone but wow...the food bills were insane. It has taken us this entire year to get out of debt. We had to cut back with everything this last year...it was no fun. Now I'm all nervous about money.

You have a healthy attitude towards stressful events. It all sucks, but as you're probably fully aware, you'll get through it and, more importantly, you know what REALLY matters.

That being said, yeah, you're dealing with a handful (or a sink full as the case may be). Hope it all works out. Karma will turn around soon.

In the same boat. I'm jinxed. Horrendous year, with one bad thing after another.

On top of our son's ADHD, ODD, OCD and other issues, he developed an eating disorder. Had to fight insurance on getting treatment. A long, painful process getting him through the ED and we're still trying to broaden what he'll eat.

I got pink eye on my birthday and my family pretty much abandoned me in my room. It was the worst birthday of my life.

We were just making headway and were about to save money when our air conditioner went out during a 100 degree+ streak. It took four days to get fixed. This was an air conditioner we'd replaced last year. The parts that broke? The only remaining ones they didn't change last year. Out 3k.

I developed plantar fasciitis. Put an end to much of the exercise I'd been doing to maintain my sanity and health.

The company I worked for for the past 16 years decided out of the blue to ship most of my writing work to a content mill (sweatshop). Lost the majority of my work right before Thanksgiving. This had been a company committed to quality and ethics, so I can't, to this day, wrap my head around the decision. Stabbed in the heart. I loved my work.

I feel like we're good people who just keep getting kicked in the stomach. I am very ready to say good-bye to 2014.

Hang in there. You're not alone in the bad news.

That stinks. I feel you. I've had a rough several weeks.

1. The 21 year old boy who I have taken care of daily since he was infant (i love him like one of my children) was placed in a nursing home by his parents 2 weeks ago. He has multiple special needs and is unable to communicate. He is being severely neglected, and I feel powerless to help him. All my advocating on his behalf is falling on deaf ears.

2. I am a single mom of three, and my only source of income is from my home daycare business. I am down to only one full time child and one after school child. Financially, things are getting really, really tight.

3. At least one of my kids has been sick every day for the past 2 weeks. We've dealt with the stomach flu, pneumonia, colds, and high fevers with headaches.

4. My car is making awful noises. I'm praying it is something minor.

5. My 20 month old had a horrible reaction to his Prevnar shot last week. After hours of high pitched screaming and refusing to move his leg (he was keeping it flexed at the hip and knee) I brought him to the ER. I haven't met our deductible yet so that is a massive bill.

Every day I purposely take the time to reflect on the positives in my life which helps me keep things in perspective.

Yeah... I've been in one of those months..... Doctor bills, mostly..

My insurance is pretty bad.... $2400 deductible before any co-pays kick in.

I had to have a sebaceous cyst lanced and drained the end of October... they billed it as "surgery" and the billed cost was $550. Fortunately, I found out later, that much of it is written off, although the insurance company didn't pay any of it.. I owe them $195 for that...

3 weeks later, I tripped in the back yard and thought I'd fractured a bone in my foot..... ignored it over the weekend, and it was very swollen and red, so on that Monday, I got an appointment (they "worked me in" so it was "Emergency Medical Services"), and fortunately, it wasn't fractured... but the redness, swelling, and pain was from cellulitis (I tripped over a tomato cage and it poked me.... heck, it didn't even bleed!).

Their "Emergency Medical Services" was billed at $206, and I owe $104.... plus another $45 for the x-ray.

So... I owe the doctor $300 at this point......

I get that insurance "free" (through my work), but I have to pay for hubby's insurance, since his job doesn't offer any.... I pay $469 a MONTH for a $2400 deductible insurance...... crazy! (He pretty much refuses to go to the doctor, though.... but we can't afford for him to not have insurance... he was diagnosed with emphysema in 2004, although he hasn't had any treatment for it.... I know one of these days he will get the flu, or something, and we will start getting socked with big bills for that....)

My car is giving problems......

It all piles on after a while.....

Oh man. Reminds me of a slow-leak from an improper dishwasher installation that ruined my kitchen floor. (Made the wood buckle.) AND when my son left the sink running while he luxuriated in the jacuzzi tub upstairs. I looked up from my book in the living room downstairs to see water pouring out of a light fixture, ran upstairs screaming his name, and as I pushed the door open to the bathroom, slid on the water all over the floor and landed on the back of my head. And of course, my husband was out of town for both...

So sorry about the out-of-network stuff. I do hope that all goes well with the testing and that you are all okay.

Oh wow.
what a lousy day!
:(