Unplanned Expenses = Why You Need An Emergency Fund
Well, that should read why I ended one but I already have one. If you’ve been following my tweets then you know that my car was broken into today and they tried to steal the GPS and possibly the car itself.
Police caught someone trying to break in my car outside the school. I am PISSED!! http://twitpic.com/wsuak
I was pissed! Beyond pissed but it didn’t really show, I was just relieved they caught the guy and even better I have car insurance. Who am I kidding, having to pay $1000 in unplanned expenses doesn’t conjure up happy thoughts!
$500 – Deductible
$110 – Rental (Geico pays for the rental itself but I put down a $100 deposit and the extra $10 is taxes)
$40 - Gas to fill up rental tank
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$650
Luckily, Geico will go after the guy civilly for my out of pocket expenses like the deductible and I plan to press charges and pursue restitution.
But the week from hell doesn’t end there, it started off with returning home from our trip to NYC to 46 degrees IN OUR HOUSE! We were gone for about a week so we left the heat off (1st mistake) and upon turning on the heat we realized that the furnace motor died. The house was built 5 years ago so that was well odd, and the HVAC guy still doesn’t know why it died. What does that mean? Well, the heat was on but the fan wasn’t able to push the hot air through the vents since the motor went ca-put.
Getting someone to come out to the house on the weekend was like pulling teeth, after 18 calls, one company made an appointment to come out the next day. Everyone had their hands full with heating/AC calls in the area so we were out of luck.
The damage?
$400 for the service
$50 for space heaters before he got here
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$450
Moral of the story? Make sure you have an emergency fund. I can’t promise that it will cover everything but at least you’re saving up for a rainy day. In my case, busted furnace and passenger window.
When it rains it pours, doesn't it? Someone once told me trouble travels in sets of three. I believe it now after our house caught fire, then two days later our car was totaled when an "impaired" woman rear-ended us, and then I got a speeding ticket going 35 mph in a 25 mph zone while moving our remaining belongings to a temporary apartment.
I feel your pain…
Emergency funds are great and it has saved my but plenty times. The thing that gets me the most is how when you have money it becomes more of an inconvenience vs a crisis. I have had a lot of emergencies over the last two years but each time became less stressful as I realized I had the money saved to take care of what it was.
If anyobdy out there doesn't have a fund this tax season is a perfect time to get one!!! You can use your refund money to build it up and NOT TOUCH IT. iTS SOOOO worth it!!
Another name to call it is a oh sh!t account. Shyt happens
-moneymonk.net