When it rains, it pours!
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| Wed, 02-25-2009 - 4:10pm |
Well, got that dreaded phone call from the mechanic. How much is it going to cost us to get our car fixed? I was guessing around 200-300 dollars. That was a doable amount for us at the moment. We needed an O2 sensor, we needed a ball bearing on our wheel. When he had the wheel off, he looked at our breaks pads and he said they were almost gone so he replaced those too. (good family mechanic that wouldn't jip me so I trust him). And the total comes to...$483 dollars! Gulp! We have 200 in savings and that leaves 283 unexpected dollars to take out of Dh's check this week. This is going to put us behind on every single bill for next month...including the mortgage! This means we are going to be eating soup and mac'n'cheese for a week or more!
I get so sick of this happening. I get so sick of not having any backup plan. No safety net. And now I have to start all over on the Emergency Fund...but at least I had the measly 200 dollars in there to help. Now that we don't have any credit cards and can't even qualify to get one, if something bad happens and we need money and we don't have it...we're Sh*t out of luck! This month has just sucked! 70 dollars to the tow truck company! 50 dollars for parking tickets and now almost 500 dollars to get our car fixed. I'm thinking of bills I can avoid this month...my cell phone bill might have to wait...the comcast bill might have to wait...My only saving grace is my tax refund. I should have all my paperwork available in 2-3 weeks. We're getting approx. $4,000 dollars back. I was going to use that money to fix my car anyway, I just had to get it fixed a little sooner than expected!
Crossing my fingers for a better March! OHHHH and let me also add that my problem may not be the o2 sensor...it may be the catalytic converter which is at least $400 dollars! Let it rain!
Abbie
Edited 2/25/2009 4:20 pm ET by abigailnh2

Hugs Abbie.
Is the work already done on your car? Can breaks wait until after your tax return? If so, I would hold off on the repairs (except that O2 thing....if that needs to be done now.)
You are working hard - you are doing your best. At least you had $200 in the Efund. This really shows us that stuff does come up and repairs DO need to be made and we DO need the money to do them.
Have you possibly considered dumping cable or lowering cell plans until you have a decent efund in place? Then perhaps reinstating some of those things? Just a thought.
Ohhh Abbie - doesn't it feel like you keep getting kicked when you are down? Huggss, been soooo there after my divorce, didn't know if I would make it out of that black hole.
Is there anything you can sell to get that Efund back up again- kids toys, clothes they have outgrown, etc?
I'm sending <<>> too because I know what this feels like, having been in a similar situation because of a root canal.
I'm so grateful
Kate
The thing about our mechanic is that he is 30 miles away so when we get our car there, I guess it's better to just get everything done that he can do and he's super reasonable. This doesn't kill us...yet...but it does set us off on all our bills by a few weeks. If I'm really really diligent, I should be able to get back on track in a few weeks.
And yes...the work is already done. We had a fuel problem with our car and the tire was making very loud noises, to the point of not feeling safe in the car. The fuel problem is really not safe either because our car stalls out at the most inopportune times, like right in the middle of intersections. We're really hoping it is the O2 sensor, because if it's not...then it's the catalytic converter. But we'll deal with that when it comes.
I'll wait a few more weeks before I decide whether I need to truly rearrange things like phones and cable (I just got the cable after 2 years of not having it- WAAAAAA) I'm actually thinking of funding our Efund with a thousand dollars of our tax-return. Even if that means not paying off our debt as fast as I wanted.
Hi Abbie,
You nailed my plan exactly (funding the efund with tax return money - if I get any!). I am not sure what to expect this tax return as I rent out rooms in my house BUT I get to deduct the interest on the mortgage because of it. I am hoping that I can come out with a little bit of a tax return. Even if its just $50, it will go a long way to getting the efund back up!
If you have a car that may need work on it, I think funding the efund is a great idea.
Bex -
"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift -thats why its called the present."
Bex -
I know it can be depressing to have what little progress you feel you are making taken away.