Back on Spend Cycle

We are entering another big spending zone now.

Started with MonsterMustDie's money spent on repairs to his van. He felt so good about finally getting his car repaired and his personal mobile freedom restored, he decided to take the van to a car wash. Then the hose blew the side view mirror off, shattering to pieces when it hit the pavement.
He had to order a new mirror today from the dealership, which will hopefully be in sometime tomorrow. He's planning to glue it on himself, rather than paying labor costs. Rarely do his money-saving attempts end well. In my mind, I picture the new mirror falling off in the first day or two as he's going down the highway, maybe at the first pothole he hits, and having to go back again to the dealership to purchase another overpriced part.

Then I had a routine dental check up and cleaning last Friday and they found a new cavity so I have another appointment in a couple of weeks for a brand new filling. This seriously upsets me, as if having a cavity is a sign that the end is near and my health is declining because I have a hole in my tooth. Like my body is suddenly breaking down like the old van.

Then, on top of my sound not working in my computer, a recent system upgrade has killed my FTP software. I'll try various freeware for a while, but I know it's time to upgrade my professional packages - all of them. The current Adobe CS4 is not offered as an upgrade for my CS2 package. I would have to upgrade to CS3 first and that is not offered any more, either. So, having missed an upgrade, I need to order a complete version of the new CS4 design suite. To be honest, the complete package seems no more expensive than going through two subsequent upgrades from CS2 to CS3, and then from CS3 to CS4 if I'd kept up. The savings in price on the upgrade is roughly only half of what a new complete package costs. Then I need to upgrade Suitcase font software to 2.0 or higher. That's just $50+. Those are my three immediate needs.

Not so urgently needed: I need to buy QuarkXpress 8.2. Then a new scanner, and that should do it until I need to replace the computer.

All this and the condo is sitting empty while MonsterMustDie is cleaning it to his satisfaction. That 795.00 each month lost from our normal budget while we still have to pay rent on a house.

limited mobility

We are a one-car household for the remains of this week. Monster had to take his van to the mechanic this morning. The diagnoses was the replacement of a reasonably inexpensive part that they have to remove the engine to get to. Labor will be $1,300+. Part is $200. I mentioned the idea that, along with all the electrical problems the van has, that it might be time to invest in a new car but he thinks it's still cheaper to fix what he's got. So, the estimate is that the van will be ready by Saturday or Sunday. Meanwhile, unless he can afford to rent a car, he'll be driving my Honda to work this week.
I have to pick him up on the northwest side town today after work.