Have you ever scrimped and saved for something, only to have a huge repair bill smack you upside the head?
For instance, last month our van (“You drive a minivan!” you say. “Yes.” I respond. “And I look quite sexy in it too.”) needed new tires.
“. . . tires off . . . rotors are shot . . . replace them.” That was all I caught as I tried to corral my 5 YO and not drop my squirming 20 MO.
Needless to say, I was late. But thank heaven, so was the party. A week later, I returned for said brakes and rotors. This time, the tire man was smart kind enough to give me a ride home and come get me 4 hours later.
For all this, $700 bucks.
Fast forward a month. I wake up shivering in the night. It’s 60 degrees in my house. My husband does what he can to fix the furnace to no avail. We call the repairman. 3 days, 6 hours, and $200 dollars later, he informs that the part is under warranty, but it cost 200 to deliver and 400 for labor to install (which is oh so generous of the furnace manufacturer).
But he thinks we should just get a new furnace.
He recommends the 2,000 dollar one.
So you know that vacation we were going to use our tax return on? To Washington DC for a visit with my SIL. Well now we get to stay home in our warm house. Or maybe we could go for a ride in our sexy minivan.
Cue creepy music: So now I’m left wondering, do the rotors count as my third in the law of three, or do I have one more to go?
Does this kind of thing ever happen to you? Just when you’ve saved enough money for something fun, it gets sucked into repair costs?
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Oh Amber! What a week. That sucks you guys won't be able to come out this way. I hate when you plan on money for something fun, and life with its practicality gets in the way. I think you should take a drive in your mini-van and call it a vacation (and yes, I think you look sexy driving it!)
This happens to me so often that now every time extra money comes along I start to wonder what is waiting around the corner. We've had termites surprise us ($1200), the ever common car repair (bet I look sexier in my minivan than you do in yours), and even bed bugs (not everything that happens in Vegas stays in Vegas–cost us more than $1000 to eradicate).
Sorry about your vacation–hopefully you can make it there soon.
Becky: It's my life. My Mom says everyone on a budget is like that.
Rebecca: We should take pictures of us driving our minivans in our bikinis and share. You first!
Yes! We just slogged though our own domestic disasters and I'm holding my breath, hoping it's over. In the meantime I'll enjoy the warm house and the car with tires that don't slide–and don't explode.