Murphy’s Law – Anything That Can Go Wrong, Will Go Wrong

Murphy’s Law tells us that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. We’ve all been there, right? You go through a stretch of bad luck, where Murphy’s Law is in full effect, and you just want to kick something.

Murphy’s Law Has Visited Our House

Steve here. It started innocently enough with a blinker light going out. You know that sign, the blinker starts blinking really fast, telling you “I need to be changed”. No big deal. I had another bulb changed at my last oil change. I think it cost me $16. My brakes had been squeaking a little lately, so I thought I would take my truck in to get the brakes looked at and get my turn light fixed.

You should know that my truck is a little long in the tooth. It is a 2004 Dodge Dakota that has been paid off for many years. The plan is to give it to our daughter, Justine, when she is ready to drive, so we try our best to keep it properly maintained. Mr. Murphy first decided to visit when I took my truck to Les Schwab for a break inspection.

Sure enough, I needed some work done on my rear breaks. New pads and calipers. Again, no big deal right? But just like one of those cheap infomercial dudes always says “but, that’s not all folks”! It turns out, according to Mr. Les Schwab guy, I also need new shocks all around. With that, there are several other parts in the general area that need to be replaced (can’t remember the technical names, not really a car guy). And …….. just for fun, Mr. Les Schwab guy told me it is time for new tires. If I would have said “sure, let’s do this” it would have cost us around $1,500! That’s a lot of dough!

Mr. Murphy was not done yet! I am on spring break and took a few vacation days to take on a fairly substantial landscaping project. The plan was to knock this puppy out, in a couple of days, and enjoy the last few days of break, before it is back to work. First, should we even do this? With a car repair slapping us in the face, do we want to take this on right now? The answer was yes. We are putting in raised garden beds so we will get the expenses back, in money saved, by not paying for organic produce (that stuff is not cheap). One little problem, however! The weather has not been cooperating. I need to cut some sod out of our side yard. The machine, according to Mr. Home Depot guy, will not work on soggy ground. I have taken vacation days to do a project I can’t even do. So here I sit twiddling my thumbs. Well, actually I am not twiddling my thumbs, I am writing this post. The good news is the next few days are supposed to be dry. PROJECT ON!

Does it sound like I am whining? I kind of am! The final straw came in another small issue. Yesterday, Bridget was leaving the house when she realized she forgot something. She tried to come back into the house, through the mud room entry. For some reason, our door handle was frozen. She couldn’t turn the handle. I let her in the front door, she retrieved what she needed and left. I went to see about the door. We choose to have a locking door handle on our garage entrance, which most people don’t, and the lock was jammed. For some reason, that jammed lock was it for me. I kind of lost it. To say I was frustrated would be a gross understatement. I almost put my years of Karate training to use by putting my foot through the door! Using my better judgement, which oftentimes does not happen, I chose not to kick a hole in the door. I was able to get it to work but we will probably need to replace the handle mechanism.

So, what to do? I am getting a second opinion on my truck, we will press forward on our landscape project, and we will keep using the door handle until it stops working all together.

The point of my rant here is that not many of us are ready to deal with unexpected costs. Especially when they come in a bundle package. As much as we try to set aside money for these unforeseen expenses, we do not. Well, at least not to the extent that we should.

I hear some of you! “The price of a turn light? A door handle! Really?” Well, yes! When you pile those onto an auto repair, it seems like Mr. Murphy has it out for you!

Don’t get me wrong, we are blessed! We are not facing the financial setbacks that many families endure. I would, however, like to put Mr. Murphy and his stupid law in a headlock and give him a noogie!

Enough of my rant! What do you think?

Do you have that rainy day fund set aside?

What do you do when Murphy’s Law visits your household?

Drop me a note. Let me know.

Bridget here! Yep. That was a rough 24 hours. Hindsight perspective is so much better. You know how it is when every step you take, there’s something else waiting to go wrong. You’re afraid to take any more steps in hopes of avoiding the madness. You were thrilled because you had saved for a project and then something else vies for that project money. Dare I say, it’s happened to us all?

We CAN rest in the confidence that it will all work out. It always does, right?

Oh … and Steve, I’m glad you didn’t put a hole through the door!