Hello, beautiful people from across the lands! So I spent my emergency money in full, $1,000 gone! I use the funds for emergency reasons but it definitely could have been avoided if I had other things in place. I’m also thankful the emergency money is in place to help me when these unexpected crises hit. I am pretty transparent with you guys and gals. I believe in humility and just being real. This is a journey and I’m willing to share the ups and downs of it all. I hope my transparency gives encouragement and reality that we’re not always going to have it together. Life will happen for good and bad. Alright, so now that I got that out of the way I’m sure you want to know what happened.
Emergency 1: Grease Fire
I thank God my family is OK and safe but we did experience a grease fire in the kitchen. The damage was minor but cost me a pretty penny to get our home back to normal. The microwave sits right above the stove and was damaged pretty bad needing complete replacement. The soot from the smoke covered most of the kitchen walls needing new paint. I am a renter and I did not have renter insurance in place at the time. I know, I know a very big mistake!
Emergency 2: Car Overheated
Yes, my car is down again after all the repairs I got done around tax season! This car has been a true throne in my side. It’s frustrating to be making payments on a car that you constantly have to put money into to keep it going. I appreciate my car but I know this was a bad deal. Poverty and desperation are not a good mix for making financial decisions. Anyhow, my car overheated in the middle of traffic, smoke flying from the hood of the car.
Again, God is good, my family was unharmed. Police were on the scene quick and calling their towing people to tow my car. I have roadside assistance and towing is done for free! Just allowing the Police to do what they do; I did not want to come off confrontational. Police trauma is a thing! Another expensive mistake that was avoidable. The comical part of it all is that these two events happened within days within each other. When it rains, it pours.
Now what?
After experiencing these hardships, I understand now more than ever the importance of having this put aside. I am following Dave Ramsey’s baby steps to get out of debt. He addresses this very scenario of what to do when you actually need to spend the emergency money. Right now, no extra money will go towards my debt payments. I will maintain the minimum payments and throw the extra money toward building the emergency money back up to $1,000. After replenishing the emergency fund I can focus back on the snowball method for my debt. I will keep you all in the loop of course as I build that backup.
Some important takeaways I’ve learned from these mishaps is that it’s important to have a backup plan AND renter insurance! Well, it has been more real than real today folks! Until next time dream, believe and achieve.
