What happened to next year?

We weren't going to spend any money on large improvements to the house this year.  We did many things just this past November and December to the house to upgrade, improve and make it better.  We were both happy with all the things we did and it looks much better for doing it all.  This year we agreed that there would be no large expenditures to be thought up because once we get into that remodeling mode it's easy to find other things and projects to take on to make things better.  We were supposed to stop.
Obviously, we failed at stopping.  It started out as a simple annual check-up of the air conditioning unit.  A simple check this, check that, write a check for $69.95 and you are set for another year. That was the way I naively thought it was going to go.  It didn't.  Yes.  I did write a check for $69.95 but that wasn't the end of it.  Freon.  Leak.  Same as last year but now it's more expensive for the freon and it cost even more to find the leak and then replace whatever needs replacing on such an old unit.  I was going to have them add freon because I was still of the mindset of no big expenditures this year.  Yes.  I realized a band-aid instead of surgery probably wasn't going to go very far but it was only needing to hold out for a year.  At least in my mind that was the way it would work.  It would hold for a year.  But that didn't happen. 
So then came the parade of estimates...four in all...to replace the entire A/C inside and out from the ancient, broken-down, leaking machine to a brand new heat pump, energy something or other  machine.  Expensive.  Not cheap.  Then look...while part of the parade was going on someone noticed the calcification on the water heater.  The old, how-old-is-that-thing that is starting to leak water heater.  More estimates.  Plumbers join the parade of high-priced papers being filled out and left on my kitchen table to be used as high-blood pressure devices while going throught them all.  After all the days of appointments and tramping through the house and being told of this option and that labor and that price and this the stack of estimates was becoming a blur.  All the while I want to hold on to the idea of next year...none of this was supposed to happen until (well, I hadn't thought about it happening at all) but at least not until next year.
But now it's all done.  Finished.  New water heater and new A/C heat pump.  Shiny, new, expensive and all done this year not next.  An extra year of enjoyment.  The house is shivering with excitement.
But please excuse me...I have some bills to pay.
TT