When it rains, it pours...

AnnaFV · November 2015

Hello all! I have always been a lurker on this board but thought I would post now since my husband and I recently had multiple unplanned expenses come up and thought advice would be helpful or just to hear similar situations

Last week was the week from heck. My husband hit a deer and messed up the front end of the car. He was fine but the car suffered $3500 worth of damage. For the first time ever we had to file a claim. Luckily we have full coverage so we only had to pay $250 and our insurance shouldn't go up. We just borrowed money from a secured loan that we already had open for that.

Then 2 days later our fridge went out

For that we went to Best Buy and found a really neat fridge on sale and used our Best Buy credit card to have 18 months no interest. This should probably be paid off in a year or less.

On top of this, my husbands car needs new tires (something we have been putting off for awhile). So yeah when it rains, it pours. With everything we are now adding about $2000 to our current debt which really sucks

We are still trying to get out emergency fund going so we have to use credit cards or loans to pay for things, trying to avoid interest.

Can anyone else relate to when it rains, it pours? How do you pay for all the unexpected expenses when they come up?

jessica490 · November 2015

Welcome! I'm sorry this is happening to you! This is why we keep a big e-fund because you never know when things are going to come crashing down!

Xstatic3333 · November 2015

Welcome! Sorry that you have had a lot of bad luck lately. You are definitely on the right track with trying to get an emergency fund going. Even the "starter" emergency fund of $1,000 that many recommend would be a huge help in your situation. Many of us also keep funds such as a "car repair fund" for issues like the tires that are somewhat predictable (you'll need them eventually). I started a floating car repair fund (which is actually a shared floating fund that also includes vet expenses, routine home repair, annual memberships, and local car taxes) after I recently had to get a sudden tire replacement, and it's giving me so much peace of mind.

What kind of debt do you have? What are the interest rates and minimum payments? I know some kinds such as medical debt can really seem to happen "to" you, but if it is CC or consumer debt you may want to cut up the cards. If you are comfortable posting your budget, many of the regular posters here can give you great, specific advice about where to go from here. From what you've posted, I would definitely just pay minimums until you $1,000 in an e-fund (and maybe a little more if you own a home or have kids).

vlagrl29 · November 2015

Yes I can relate. We had unexpected bills from DDs birth. That first year of her life we made it a priority to pay off credit cards and start an emergency fund. Though now I complain if we have to take out of it but at least we aren't financing things anymore.

julieanne912 · November 2015

Wow, that is quite a lot at once, and I can definitely relate. We got married in September, which comes with a whole set of bills of its own. Then 2 weeks after the wedding a rock flew up while my H was weedeating and shattered the outside pane of our sliding glass door (conveniently right after we had used the wedding cash we received to buy a piece of furniture and to pay down our landscaping debt). Then H was using our brand new riding lawnmower that we received as a gift, and one of the tires got a piece of wire stuck in it so he had to buy a new tire for it. None of it was a huge expense on their own but it sure did add up.

Without an Efund, I'd probably do the same thing as you unfortunately. I would take the full 18 months to pay off that fridge though, since it's interest free, and then pay what you would be paying to pay it off faster into an Efund, even if it's just $30-50/mo.

I guess the main question I have is, what does your budget look like? Maybe you could post it and we could look at it, to see if there's a way to tweak a few things to bring more money into an E-fund, that way you won't have to constantly rely on credit for these types of things.

AnnaFV · November 2015

Thanks everyone for the responses! We actually do have a savings account which you could probably call our efund. That has about $2100 in it right now. The problem is that amount stays that amount--it's really difficult for us to add to it. Unfortunately my husband and I don't get huge tax refunds--we actually usually have to pay in about $700. The only real extra money we get is from my work bonus in December which should be around $2000 this year--another reason why I am not freaking out too much about our bad luck because I know that is coming.

Another thing with an efund that I struggle with is determining when to use it. What is really an emergency? Would all that I previously described be considered an emergency? I guess I always thought of it more as if we lost our jobs. I do like the idea of starting small to build it like doing $30-$50 a month and think I might try it.

Lastly some of you asked about my budget. I don't really know the full numbers right now but you would probably all agree that what is hurting us is having 2 car payments. I know it is hurting us, but what keeps me going is that my car will be paid off next year so I see the light at the end of the tunnel.

CuriousKiddosMama · November 2015

An emergency to me is something you can't cash flow- so for those things, I would have used our emergency fund. Having said that, new tires aren't really an emergency. You know eventually even the best car is going to need work, and so we plan for that monthly. That way when we need the $ it's there.
How much debt do you have total? Are you working through getting it paid off? You mentioned 2 car payments, once yours is gone will you be able to pay extra on your husbands so his is gone quicker too?
If you lose your jobs a 2k emergency fund isn't really going to do squat. This is why to me it's best to get out of debt, and then save 3-6 months in your emergency fund. We are facing my dh losing his job if his company shits down in March. We are literally saving every penny we can between now and then as a precaution. But we can do this, and save quite a bit, because we have no debt besides our mortgage. And if our rental house sells before then, we will be completely debt free.
Something to think about as a long term goal, but being debt free, or almost, is a lot more freeing than paying a bunckv of payments every month.

simplyelise · November 2015

I definitely have been there with it raining and pouring. Back when I was single and grossing 25k, I had to go to the ER for a possible appendix rupture. It ended up being an ovarian cyst which I should have known because I used to get them all the time, but when you're dry heaving from pain in the middle of the night, you aren't thinking clearly. The cost of the visit was like $10 short of fulfilling my deductible, so I had $590 in medical bills with not much wiggle room in my budget. Then I punctured a tire and the auto shop couldn't patch it, so I actually bought a single used tire because that was all I could afford. It can really start to pile on.

I think my advice would be to take a look at your budget and see where you could tighten things up. Most of us around here like to know that we can pay all the bills and get food and pay for gas and still have some money left over. In normal months, my DH and I put that money to debt-payoff right now, then we'll use it to build up our e-fund more and then we'll use it to save for a down payment. But if it's not a normal month and we have to shell out money for a medical bill or car repair, we will divert that "extra" money towards the unexpected expense. If we don't have extra money to cover something, we would consider using emergency fund money for it. If it's something we know is coming up (knew we had some car maintenance coming last month), we'll spread the amount out over a couple months to save before the maintenance is needed.

Keep plodding along and it will get better. It definitely sounds like you guys have some areas you could work on to make sure you're maximizing your money and not feeling so open to risk. We'd definitely be happy to help if you want to figure out a better budget or plan of attack for taking care of some of the debt.

julieanne912 · November 2015

AnnaFV said:

Thanks everyone for the responses! We actually do have a savings account which you could probably call our efund. That has about $2100 in it right now. The problem is that amount stays that amount--it's really difficult for us to add to it. Unfortunately my husband and I don't get huge tax refunds--we actually usually have to pay in about $700. The only real extra money we get is from my work bonus in December which should be around $2000 this year--another reason why I am not freaking out too much about our bad luck because I know that is coming. Another thing with an efund that I struggle with is determining when to use it. What is really an emergency? Would all that I previously described be considered an emergency? I guess I always thought of it more as if we lost our jobs. I do like the idea of starting small to build it like doing $30-$50 a month and think I might try it. Lastly some of you asked about my budget. I don't really know the full numbers right now but you would probably all agree that what is hurting us is having 2 car payments. I know it is hurting us, but what keeps me going is that my car will be paid off next year so I see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Definitely try starting small! I'm working on building my own personal savings up to prepare for having a baby, and some paychecks I can only afford to put like $25 into it, but it's better than nothing. It also helps me to have an actual budget line item for savings, and I pay it just like I would a bill right after I get paid. Also at work, if I get extra bonuses or whatever, I earmark that for savings, not for "extra" money to spend or even put extra towards my student loans or car payment, since the savings is a priority.

orangehills · November 2015

Oh I feel you! When I was single, I moved out on my own. A month after I did that, I bought a cat. And then my job went furloughed, so I lost 15% of my income, and my cat needed $3000 in medical bills, and I needed new tires unexpectedly. I lost all of my savings and went into debt a little. I sat down and did a budget, and then slowly repaid my credit bill and then built up my savings a bit again. I swear- things happen in threes!!

Anywho, this is what I did that helped me- I agree with the other gals. Sit down and get the exact numbers of monthly bills or your best estimates, create a budget, and stick to it the best you can. Pay off your debt first, since you do have over 1k in an efund, (Dave Ramsey's way works great to pay off debt), then continue building that efund!!

When you do your budget, include in it a Car Maintenance savings fund. Tally up what your registrations and insurances per year cost, divide it by 12, and save that much for it per month. And then include extra for maintenance/tires. Then when things come along, it's not so painful. But it works best if you can pre-fund it with the amount to start with, so you don't drain it the second one insurance payment comes along.

And then have a house maintenance savings fund as well for normal wear and tear and things you have to buy for the house.

Of course, those big expenses can't be covered by normal savings account- those would be the efund purchases once you have that built up. This is all stuff I've done and now everything seems easier! I still suck at budgeting sometimes but it slowly gets easier..

jtmh2012 · November 2015

Just a tip to help with the savings. If you can get work to do it, have part of your paycheck direct deposited to another account. Then you never see it. If they can't/won't, setup an automatic transfer the day after your paychecks normally deposit. Same idea.

csuave · November 2015

Sorry to hear about the run of bad luck but it sounds like you managed to minimize the immediate negative effects to your budget.

We had bad news this year that was also a big vet bill. While we do have a healthy e-fund/savings we haven't had to use it since we found a way to make extra income. If you can find some extra income by working some odd jobs or selling things it may offer some relief for the multiple expenses.

PurpleBookmark · November 2015

I can totally relate, last year I had a high risk pregnancy along with my older daughter being ill for a few weeks. It was shocking how quickly we went through much of our savings. Then weeks short of my younger DD's birth we found out we couldn't fit 3 car seats in our paid off car - we bought and returned a bunch of seats, had the stores help us - it was just too small. We bought a used car to fit everyone so we now have an unexpected car payment.

PPs have given great advice. I'm pretty new too and we're trying to increase our emergency fund, then I want to start sinking funds for car repairs, etc.

short+sassy · November 2015

I'm commiserating with you! Although not as much money or as much of an emergency, I had my laptop and Xbox (which I use as a DVR) BOTH go out on me this month. The Xbox was on its way out and I was planning to replace it with Black Friday (BF) goodness. Except it died this weekend...just a few days too soon. Grrr! I didn't want to wait, especially since I didn't see any specials for the "old" Xbox version, so I caved and bought that this weekend. I found a decent deal on a laptop a couple weeks ago, so I grabbed it instead of waiting.

I also need to replace my digital camera. I use it very heavily for a p/t job I have. The one I have works okay, but the main button is starting to get sticky. Plus I made a bad choice with this camera and don't like it anyway. So I'm keeping my eye out for BF deals.

It's just a bummer to replace three electronic items all in the same month! Especially considering I'll sometimes go a year or more and not buy any.

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