Aside from being the Chief Cook and Bottle Washer of my family, I am also the Chief Accountant. That means twice a month, it is I who drags out the checkbook, opens my laptop, and clears whatever household accounts payable are due.
SO. MANY. ZEROS!
I’ve said this before, but aside from my disdain for doing laundry, my most loathed chore is bill paying. It is a necessary evil, and at times, physically painful.
Generally, each month our bills are fairly spread out, so no single fortnight is particularly draining on our bank account. But… a couple months of the year, that second two-week period just about slays me because ALL of our largest expenses come due.
Making sure there are funds available not only for the bills, but for extravagances such as food, is a juggling act that would make Enrico Rastelli jealous.
During these periods, I also become somewhat of a shrew… (read:bitch). At any given time, I will announce to my menfolk what amount of money they are “allowed” to spend that day. I’m a smidge over-zealous about this sometimes, and am paid back in eye-rolls and heavy sighs – neither of which are acceptable currency at any retail establishment.
The unfortunate thing is if we had unlimited financial resources, I would most likely be the same way.
*Full-disclosure – we are never in danger of not being able to pay our bills, I simply HATE how much we have to spend on discretionary things like house payments, medical expenses, utilities, and gasoline.
“If you want to see what God thinks of money, just look at all the people He gave it to.” ~ Dorothy Parker
This week’s word is:
Money
What to do:
Using “money” for inspiration, write 100 Words – 100 exactly – no more, no less. You can either use the word – or any form of the word – as one of your 100, or it can be implied. Include a link in your post back here, and add your story to the Mister Linky list. If you don’t have a blog, you can leave your submission in the comment section, or as a Facebook status post. Remember to keep spreading the love with supportive comments for your fellow Wordsters.
Thin spiral notebook 
This was a hard challenge, Tara! Finally came up with something. Looking forward to reading the other entries!
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Anytime the topic of “money” comes up, it makes me twitchy. Off to read yours…
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Ah, money. The reason for the world’s happiness and harmony; sadness and quarrels. I’ve discovered that if I worry about not having enough, I end up not having enough! But if I don’t worry about it at all, I receive abundance (all that I need). Impressive quantum physics at work? The thoughts and feelings I send out to the universe do seem to come back to me – positive or negative. So, I’ve made the conscious decision to let go of what I cannot control, and instead, visualize myself with just what I need. It seems to be working fine.
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Here are my 100 words – it’s all true. Well half of it is definitely true anyway.
My husband removed the 1980s bath-panel and found something bizarre.
A 1914 penny under an upstairs bath in a 1950s house.
We put it safe and ‘Googled’. In 1914, a penny bought half a pint of beer or loaf of bread or pint of milk.
The penny’s since disappeared.
Our friendly ghost’s playing tricks again. It often plays piano or rattles pipes. Bet that’s who put the coin where it shouldn’t have been.
No doubt it’s now sloped off with phantom mates to buy spectral beer at The Headless Spook Inn, which I suspect is in our attic.
Typical.
https://paulaharmondownes.wordpress.com/2017/01/28/ghost-coin/
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I liked the “friendly ghost” and the images of him buying beers in the attic with his ghost buddies.
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Thanks!
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I don’t have a blog. I’m brand new here. Hope this works.
COLD MONEY!
They bundled up.
Johnny figured if they could shovel snow at 10 houses and got $5 each they would make $100.00. That would get some meat, milk, and vegetables to eat until Mom got paid from her job. Since Dad died 10 months ago things had been really tight. Money was not easy to come by.
The first house they tried was on the mainline. It was a long walk.
A woman answered when they knocked. Johnny explained what they wanted to do she hesitated but then said, “$10? For the walks and driveway?” Johnny agreed.
They got to work.
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This was perfect! Thanks for joining in the challenge, Ninnanh. I hope you come back again next week.
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I plan to come back. This was fun but not easy! Being sure to write only 100 words is a challenge! I’m looking forward to it. Who knows? Maybe I’ll even figure out how to write a blog. But, that is for the future. For now, thanks for posting the prompt!
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It does get easier as you keep writing. It’s a exercise that forces you to choose your words wisely. If you keep joining in, just keep leaving your entries in the comments. Glad to have you here.
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There’s nothing really wrong with budgeting! It only means you’re planning for the future, and having enough to pay your bills is probably one of the best things you can do, as painful as it is. I feel for you though – while I was studying, budgeting was one of the hardest things I’d ever done.
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