Money, marbles and chalk

Mark had a saying when we were newly wed - he'd sigh and say "money, marbles, and chalk" when we had money woes.  Money always seemed to slip right through our fingers on the way to Debt.  I  assumed the saying meant "using everything you have to make ends meet" and I was mostly right.  {it's actually the opposite of rags to riches}  Its been awhile since I've heard him use that particular phrase, but I recalled it on Tuesday when we had the dishwasher repaired to the tune of $225.

Home repairs are usually something we can do, but replacing a drain pump in the dishwasher isn't one of those.  I guess it was cheaper than replacing the whole darn thing, but it greatly annoys me that it had to be done as the thing is only about 3 years old.  We are hell on our appliances, for sure.  We've gone through two microwaves, three dishwashers, two stovetops, an A/C unit, 4 coffee pots, and  2 toaster ovens since we've lived at Rustown.  Sometimes I worry about what we will do, out in the country in Burnet, fending for ourselves and arranging repairs when we are old and gray.