I’m not one to play the victim but wow, when things go wrong they really go wrong! Let me run through the list.
1. One tire got slashed when the guy are the car wash drove it onto the track the wrong way. I didn’t notice until I got home so I couldn’t file a claim.
2. We had a freak hail storm and the golf sized hail cracked my windshield.
3. My car came out of warranty about 1 month ago and suddenly my airbag light popped on.
4. My inspection was due.
Total cost? $650. This was all within a one week period. Normally, I would have freaked out and charged it all to my credit card but nope. I suddenly remembered that I have one of those Emergency Fund things. If I could have done a song and dance I totally would have. I was hoping that it would be there in case something critical and life threatening happened. What I realized though is that it’s not the big things that constitute emergencies, it’s the small stuff that may need immediate attention that you just can’t afford. I love the fact that I had an emergency fund to turn to, but with all these things at once plus I trip that I had to take, the emergency fund it pretty much gone.
The best part through is that I am starting from zero and not from a negative balance. So this emergency fund stuff actually works and it only cost me $50 per paycheck. Starting small can add up when you need the money right away.
