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."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
i'm beaming from ear to ear at this. doesn't it feel good? same thing happened with the initial incarnation of my emergency fund when i lost my stupid iphone.
ReplyDeletejust sent dave an e-mail about my double rent... issue... and i mentioned your blog at the end. i'll call you soon, been a little busy :/
It must feel good to have to money ready to go.
ReplyDeleteThis same thing happen to my friend, who is also a Dave Ramsey fan. She told me the story about her car last week. The repair location quoted her $1400. (www.5girlsditchingdebt.blogspot.com)
ReplyDeleteI have no idea who Dave Ramsey is but I just read your blog and wanted to congratulate you on your emergency savings fund. I have the same thing going and it's good to know it's there if I need it.
ReplyDelete