Let There Be Heat

Yipee! Our furnace has been replaced! We've been without heat for the past month or so, ever since we found out that our furnace had a cracked heat exchange and was both a potential fire hazard and a potential carbon monoxide hazard in our basement. Lovely, huh? We found out because our home warranty company had given us a free maintenance visit for our heating system when we renewed our warranty for another year. Little did they know that this nice little thank you gift they gave us would cost them a pretty penny when they would end up replacing the very furnace they were paying to have serviced! Although it cost us a pretty penny, too--the warranty covered the furnace itself, but not the extra duct-work needed to adapt the furnace. All told, it was $850 to us. Still, better than footing the entire bill. To date, the home warranty company has now fixed our furnace twice (last year--probably should have just been replaced then, but oh well--we didn't die of carbon monoxide poisoning, so all's well that ends well), replaced our microwave, and now replaced our furnace. We're getting our money's worth, as well as our peace of mind's worth, out of this policy.

We're also having our two bay windows replaced, along with the front bedroom window. We had a couple of industrious salesmen point out to us that the seal had become cracked around our front bay window, and as a result, the bottom support was starting to rot and disintegrate outside, and the inside caulking was beginning to disintegrate. I had noticed that these particular windows collected a lot of condensation on them whenever it was particularly cold outside, and now I've learned (yet again) that the persistent presence of water on wood doesn't have good effects. These replacement windows are definitely higher-end products. We could have gotten less expensive products, and the Hansen in me feels that I should have fashioned a replacement window myself out of the old glass top table and left-over caulking we have down in the sunroom. But those salesmen demonstrated all of the features of these windows and guaranteed me that what we paid now would be the last money we ever spent on those windows. Even screens, they said, would be replaced for free if we had any problems with them. And, yes, I believed them. I like the idea of paying for something once, and never having to pay for it again. I guess we'll just have to see if we live in this house long enough to make good on that guarantee.

So money for the furnace, money for the windows--all of these big-ticket items have taught me something about myself. I can't bring myself to spend money on things like clothes, eating out, entertainment, even outings for the kids. Once in a blue moon it happens--around holidays or birthdays. But during the normal weeks and months of the year, I just can't bring myself to shell out cash for anything other than groceries, gas, and store-brand household items. But I have no problem writing out big checks for things like replacement windows and new furnaces. I was *this* close to agreeing to the $3000 gutter upgrade that the salesmen were pitching too, until Dave pointed out the not-insignificant percentage of our current bank account that $3,000 represents. So anyway, this all goes to show that I don't know how to have fun with my money. I'm only capable of spending money on extremely boring things. I'm guessing that as I get older and money becomes a little more available, I'll loosen up about that. But for now, my poor husband is stuck with a cheap wife and a new furnace.