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The Law of Household Economics
By JLP | June 24, 2008
I read an interesting and funny article by Karen Blumenthal in today’s Wall Street Journal titled Vanishing Act: The Law of Household Economics ($). She defines “The Law of Household Economics” as for every financial windfall, an equal, unexpected cost. She then goes on to lament the fact that everytime she and her husband experience a financial windfall, something comes up that requires them to spend that very windfall:
Our family first stumbled on this reality [the law of household economics] several years ago when we cleaned out closets and kids’ toys to join in a family garage sale. We loaded up the minivan with stuff the day before the sale and my husband stuck a dolly in the back just in case someone needed it. It shifted, and when he slammed the back door, the handle of the dolly crashed through the rear window.
Some colorful words were shared. But despite the setback, the garage sale went on. When the organizer tallied up the proceeds, she challenged us to guess our take.
“Three hundred and twelve dollars,” my husband replied.
She looked stunned. He was off by maybe a couple of bucks. “How did you know?” she asked.
“That’s what it cost to fix the minivan window,” he sighed.
Been there, done that! Actually, I would call that “luck” rather than bad luck. There’s nothing worse than an unexpected expense when you don’t have the money. So, although it may be frustrating, I would consider it a blessing when there’s extra money to pay for an unexpected expense. There’s lots of people out there that aren’t quite so lucky.
Topics: Budgeting |
