Owning a Home as a Single Woman

I am realizing how challenging it is to own a home as a single woman. If it's not one problem, it's another. I've been without hot water for about 2 months. Finally, a friend from church offered to try to fix it. After draining the tank (an all day thing) TWICE, it wasn’t working properly. Thankfully, a friend from Bible Study volunteered her husband to take a shot. He actually does this for a living. He fixed it, temporarily...from what I understand. But he has to come back in a couple of days. BUT I had my first HOT shower in two months!!!!!! YIPPY!!!!


Hannah will be so excited, since she's been asking for a candle lit bubble bath with her mommy. My goal was to have hot water by Mother's Day to grant her wish. The downside, I haven't gotten a bill yet from the professional. I don't know if this is charity or a job. YIKES!

Now that the water heater is somewhat taken care of, I noticed I have a busted sprinkler pipe underground in he back yard. So, on to the next contractor!!! This is the season to need sprinklers. It is HOT, in case you haven't noticed. I can do a lot of the sprinkler work myself, but that is something I feel I should leave for a professional. But now I need to find one that will not break the bank.

At the same time, I'm trying to find new ways to save money. I've been contemplating letting my lawn guy go and buying my own mower and accessories to do it myself. I figure, by not paying someone to mow my grass, I would have my equipment paid off in a year. Am I taking on too much? My yard isn't that big. I enjoy working outside. One obstacle is having the space to store all this lawn equipment, too. Plus, I hear there is maintenance involved.

In addition, I gave up my gym membership in hopes of getting creative with my exercise. I did finally go for a 3 mile walk with weights today. I walk out, stop to do lunges and squats, then I walk back home. Well, after the half way work-out, I wasn’t sure how I was going to make it back home. My poor legs were like jelly, and yet, I had to get back home while carrying 10 lbs of weights. That was the longest walk home, EVER! And to think, I used to do this every day a year ago with no problem. Shall we say I’m out of shape?

Now my back sliding door is not opening easily. I think it’s even getting worse with time to the point where it may not even open one of these days. So, I need to get that fixed. It seems there’s always something, and contractors want to charge an arm and leg! What’s a girl to do? These are the joys and trials of owning a house. I’m thankful I have a house to care for.

What’s different is that I don’t have a husband to help me with these things. I am responsible for taking care of EVERYTHING myself with whatever money I have. Thankfully, I’m not paying the mortgage, yet no one is. Yes, the mortgage hasn’t been paid in 4 months! The X is trying to do a loan modification. I’ve given that one to God. He will not allow me to lose my house. But at the same time, I don’t want to invest too much into this house in case I have to move.

I know that God will only give me what I can handle. He will provide a way out for every obstacle, and he’ll even teach me along the way. So, I guess I should be thankful for my obstacles.