The flat taketh away and the flat giveth

I've long considered work on my flat to be a zero sum game, especially when it comes to money. Leaving aside the fact that I've spent more than double my original budget (where did it go? where?), it seems that whatever savings I may have clawed back along the way are immediately swallowed by some other work that's required. Most famously I saved a good few hundred pounds on the installation of my gas fire, only to receive a phone call a few hours later informing me that the cost of the kitchen worktop had risen by that same amount. So it is, and so it has been since I started, way back at the dawn of time.

Flat finances have been on my mind even more than usual since I realised I'm more than likely indebted to the Inland Revenue for a not inconsiderable sum. I've been somewhat lax when it comes to accounting my monies. Usually I don't pay that close attention to what's in my bank account. Often I simply have a rough idea of what's in it at any given time, and if my irregular checks on it don't throw up any obvious anomalies I'm content. However, with things being as they are I thought it was for the best if I gave it close scrutiny than is my norm and decided to open up the small stack of bank and credit card statements I've accumulated over the last few months.

And lo, my checks threw up a fair whopper of a discrepancy. The balance in one of my accounts was unexpectedly down by a hefty amount, but for once it turns out to be good news. It transpires that I'd paid for several expensive items not by credit card as I'd supposed, but with a debit card instead. The net result of this is I'm considerably better off that I'd supposed. And by dint of good fortune, the surplus I've just discovered is almost exactly enough to cover my estimated debt to the taxman. Better yet, it's just as well I discovered my tax debt before the surplus money, since otherwise I'd have very likely spent it already (doors and rugs amongst other items, in case you're wondering). It seems that the vast karmic pendulum that's been governing my life since it became entangled with the flat has finally swung back in my direction.

Hurrah!