Overall, I'm pretty thrifty. But the hubby and I decided to afford ourselves on luxury when we moved to Ohio-- a hot tub.

There isn't much to do in Ohio, so people have a lot of house parties. So, we figured, we'll invite lots of friends over and make margaritas, grill out, and sit in the hot tub.

It started out thrifty enough. we bought a used tub on Craigslist for $1,000. About $8,000 less than the same one new. It worked when we bought it. But something must have happened to it when we moved it because it hasn't worked since.

We've put $2800 into it so far in repairs and installed the electricity. It's just one thing after another. The repair guy came last week, a $432 bill, and yes, we fixed one problem, but the problem we had last summer when it went on the fritz is still there, so I have to convince the guy to come back for yet another god knows how expensive repair.

That hot tub is my albatross. After I filled it this weekend and it didn't work despite the latest repair, I was so mad I couldn't talk about it for days. Then I had to tell the hubby we wasted more money on it. He said call the guy, we're stuck with it, I want a working hot tub.

So here we are still, 18 months later, with a tub that doesn't work and eats money like it's at a buffet. It's frustrating. Something will definitely remember next time I think something that requires maintenance is a good idea....