ok so dave ramsey is psychic. just one week ago i got my $1000 emergency fund all saved up. well today my check engine light went on in my car. i was way overdue for an oil change anyway so i just took it in right then. well the mechanic called and told me that my car had all this shit wrong with it. broken oxygen sensor, all the tires were practically worn through, the alignment was fucked up, a bunch of fluids needed to be replaced, etc.
this was not really surprising to me since i have had the car for 3 years and never done anything other than oil changes and once i had to replace the brake pads when they completely wore out. the woman i bought the car from never did shit to it either. so basically this car (a 2003 hyundai accent) has been driving around with no maintenance done to it at all for 6 years other than oil changes. the mechanic has been harassing me about the fluids and the tires for months and i was just ignoring it because i couldn't afford anything other than oil changes.
total cost for all this work? $971. can you believe it? and of course, i did not even break a sweat since i knew i had my emergency fund. plus i have $50/month allocated in my budget for car repairs. so i did not even worry.
i put all this into my budget spreadsheet just now and it is not even going to set me back that much. i will only need 2 months, may and june, to build my emergency fund back up, and then i will be back on track to have all my credit card debt paid off in march 2011. yay!
i was having the day from hell at work. normally, even on a good day, a $1000 car repair estimate would have sent me straight into a state of panic. but this did not even phase me. in fact, i was actually excited that i was going to get to put my emergency fund to use!
let me say this again since i am really in total shock over this. just four months ago, if an unexpected and required $1000 expense had arrived in my life, it literally would have been impossible for me to handle. i had no savings and my credit cards were maxed out. i literally have no idea what i would have done. probably open another credit card, or put it on one that was already at or over the limit. this would have cost me so much money over time. but here i am today just taking this in stride and moving on with my life. it literally was the least stressful thing that happened to me today. i cannot get over this.
what the hell has happened to me? i have no idea but i love dave ramsey. i may change the name of this blog to "i need dave ramsey."
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
$1000 emergency fund... check!
"wait a minute," you say. "how the hell did that happen? didn't you just decide to save up that $1000 like 2 days ago???" yes, it is true. i have somehow ALREADY saved up my $1000! how? i will explain.
first, starting on january 1, i was putting $50/month towards my emergency fund (with $25 already put in at the end of december when i opened the account). that got me to $200 on april 15. last month, i paid off a credit card. so i put all the money for april that would have gone to credit cards (above minimum balances) to the emergency fund. that was $163 which gets me to $363. then about a week ago, i got a $178 travel reimbursement check which got me up to $541. and then just today, i got both my medical flex spending money ($300) and my tax return ($164). put that in the emergency fund and my ass is at $1000. it is a miracle!
i still do not understand how this could happen so fast. dave ramsey says, "twist and wring out the budget, work extra hours... quickly get your $1000. most of you should hit this step in less than a month." (total money makeover p. 105). i hit this step in TWO DAYS!!! what the fuck! i have no idea, but i will take it.
now that i have my $1000 emergency fund, the $50/month i was putting towards it has been freed up and can go towards my debt. additionally, as of next month my car will be paid off and that gets me another $200/month to pay off my debt.
i just put my credit card debt into this debt calculator at payments of $800/month. it tells me that i will have all my debt paid off in one year and 8 months! that is right, if i continue to stick to my budget i will be done paying it off in january 2011. that is SEVENTEEN MONTHS ahead of schedule!!! oh my god. i don't even know what to do with myself. i am so excited i am seriously about to freak out!
how is this possible, you ask? don't ask me, i am terrible at math and have no fucking clue. i am just happy! someone tell me if i am messing this up somehow. i am going to go run around the block screaming or something.
first, starting on january 1, i was putting $50/month towards my emergency fund (with $25 already put in at the end of december when i opened the account). that got me to $200 on april 15. last month, i paid off a credit card. so i put all the money for april that would have gone to credit cards (above minimum balances) to the emergency fund. that was $163 which gets me to $363. then about a week ago, i got a $178 travel reimbursement check which got me up to $541. and then just today, i got both my medical flex spending money ($300) and my tax return ($164). put that in the emergency fund and my ass is at $1000. it is a miracle!
i still do not understand how this could happen so fast. dave ramsey says, "twist and wring out the budget, work extra hours... quickly get your $1000. most of you should hit this step in less than a month." (total money makeover p. 105). i hit this step in TWO DAYS!!! what the fuck! i have no idea, but i will take it.
now that i have my $1000 emergency fund, the $50/month i was putting towards it has been freed up and can go towards my debt. additionally, as of next month my car will be paid off and that gets me another $200/month to pay off my debt.
i just put my credit card debt into this debt calculator at payments of $800/month. it tells me that i will have all my debt paid off in one year and 8 months! that is right, if i continue to stick to my budget i will be done paying it off in january 2011. that is SEVENTEEN MONTHS ahead of schedule!!! oh my god. i don't even know what to do with myself. i am so excited i am seriously about to freak out!
how is this possible, you ask? don't ask me, i am terrible at math and have no fucking clue. i am just happy! someone tell me if i am messing this up somehow. i am going to go run around the block screaming or something.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
want to view your credit report for free?
don't believe the commercials... freecreditreport.com will NOT get you a free copy of your credit report. they will eventually charge you in the end in order to see the full report. in fact, i am not even giving you guys a link so that you don't accidentally click on it. do not use freecreditreport.com, they will ride you like a pony.
the only website out there where you can get a real, honest, actual free copy of your credit report from all three reporting agencies is annualcreditreport.com. this website is run by the government and allows you one free copy of all three reports every year.
my budget is still on target. i have decided to take my readers' advice and am building up my $1000 baby emergency fund before getting back to paying off my credit cards. i have nothing else to report. sorry this blog is so boring.
the only website out there where you can get a real, honest, actual free copy of your credit report from all three reporting agencies is annualcreditreport.com. this website is run by the government and allows you one free copy of all three reports every year.
my budget is still on target. i have decided to take my readers' advice and am building up my $1000 baby emergency fund before getting back to paying off my credit cards. i have nothing else to report. sorry this blog is so boring.
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