The Occasional Observer

Not quite sure how Adam Smith would have explained this phenomenon, but I'll bet all of you are familiar with this feeling:

If your house is like ours...the $300 to $1,200 that arrives courtesy of the Internal Revenue Service -- and maybe even more if you have children -- will fall victim to the insidious and unforgiving Law of Household Economics.

Haven't encountered this law? It goes like this: For every financial windfall that comes into your home, there will be an equal, unexpected household cost.

Our family first stumbled on this reality several years ago when we cleaned out closets and kids' toys to join in a family garage sale. We loaded up the minivan with stuff the day before the sale and my husband stuck a dolly in the back just in case someone needed it. It shifted, and when he slammed the back door, the handle of the dolly crashed through the rear window.

Some colorful words were shared. But despite the setback, the garage sale went on. When the organizer tallied up the proceeds, she challenged us to guess our take.

"Three hundred and twelve dollars," my husband replied.

She looked stunned. He was off by maybe a couple of bucks. "How did you know?" she asked.

"That's what it cost to fix the minivan window," he sighed.

And this woman has a bunch of other similar examples in her own life. Looks like there is an invisible hand after all.