The Tightwad Syndrome

OK, so here we are living in yet another place. Once again, near a river (see image) but without the actual view of the water! Not sure if we're on the left or right side of this photo, but that's the bridge that lies almost at our front doorstep.

Yes, I miss the spaciousness of the last digs in Lachute, and think fondly back to the days when there was nobody living over my head. We're definitely a bit cramped here, and the basement locker space overfloweth!

Overall, this apartment building is quiet. No parties, no fights. I have a night-owl above me, however. I have left him one very pleasant note so far -- after our second weekend here, when he got rather out of hand two nights running -- and although early-morning revenge scenarios abound, I haven't really followed through. I do bang about a bit without being careful, I admit. On the ceiling. With a broom. (Kidding! I only did that once.)

Alex installed one air conditioner after much scrutiny and many measurements. He didn't install the second one, though. The landlord charges an extra $15 a month for a/c, though that might be per unit; we didn't inquire, as the single machine made the July heat wave quite bearable. And I'm pretty sure Hydro-Quebec would be bleeding us to run a/c every day, if electricity weren't included in the rent. I'm still not crazy about a/c in theory, but I have to admit it blocks outdoor (and upstairs) noise pretty well.

The Tightwad Syndrome is something from which Alex "suffers," and he's passing it on to me. We don't go out (other than one show in July at the Just for Laughs festival) so our only expenditures so far have been for food. I tend to second-guess most purchases, resist all impulse buys, and stick strictly to the basics, which means I'll only break down and buy cookies if they're severely reduced in price, and I get everything else that's a weekly special. (I'm aghast at the price of yogurt, generally, but that and fruit are pretty much all we ever have for dessert. Some nights I think I'd sell my soul for ice cream or cheesecake... or better yet, those little frozen chocolate-coated cheesecake bites, best of both worlds. Sigh.) I'm also shocked to see that some things here in the city cost literally twice as much as they did in Lachute -- same product, same format!

The good news is that the young man recently landed himself a full-time job. I need to see the steady flow of income to be able to relax a bit in the knowledge that we aren't in the poorhouse. But it can be difficult to shift from a hardship mentality back into the abundance mindset that I have tried to hard to cultivate the past couple of years. If I stop to enumerate the many ways we are already saving money just by sharing this apartment, it's quite astounding. Alex's school is across the street and his job just a few blocks away -- so no more monthly bus passes. We have our own washer/dryer, so no need for him to spend $5 on a single load of laundry.

The downside is we have absolutely no leisure activities yet. But I imagine that when we've socked away some savings, I can begin to envision the yoga classes or the bongo drums I've been dreaming about and he can start saving for the car he so badly wants (any car will do; his big Cadillac and Lexus visions have been scaled down to reality).

Soon, we will need to break down and buy a new vacuum cleaner. The current one spits stuff out the back, which is counterproductive, to say the least.