Home Ownership Sucks

It really does. I don't care what anyone says. Homes are a costly money pit. You're constantly spending to maintain, upkeep, upgrade, improve, redecorate, or junk it up a bit more.

That said, I love my home. My front lawn is looking decent. But for whatever reason the back lawn looks like crap. More weeds than ever. Last summer took a toll on it. Heat and dry weather. I may have over-fertilized too, drying it out further and opening the door for weeds. I did line a flower bed with some bricks MMcB gave me from her Waldo home.

Today I spent about three hours cleaning and shining down the kitchen cabinets. I changed out almost all the handles. It's been a pain because the screws that come with the handles are not quite long enough. I guess I have wider-than-normal cabinets. But the screws that are currently there are just slightly too long. But not consistently. Sometimes it works and the handle is nice and tight and sometimes it doesn't. Nothing is ever easy. Another reason home ownership sucks.

Then I need to sand and touch up the deck. Paint more in the kitchen. Change out more switch plates. Deal with some wood rot. Get the entire house painted. Have the lawn mower tuned up, blade sharpened. Have the carpets cleaned.

The list easily could go on and on. I'll stop for now.

I wrote to Edith Lank and asked her to remind people that if they are looking for a tax deduction they can donate to charity and receive the exact same deduction as they would for home interest. Surprisingly, whe wrote back within just a few short hours and said she receives numerous messages from folks along the same line as my message.

Mortgage interest is money out of our pockets. It's not going toward our homes. It's going to the bank in order to loan us money. Because the U.S. government wants to help folks own homes, mortgage interest is tax deductible just to make the money pit of home ownership a little less painful.

Have I mentioned that I love my home?