Out of the blue expenses suck

[free4now]

This thread does demonstrate pretty clearly how difficult it can be to control spending.

The classic budgeting approach of "never spend more than your income minus monthly savings, and never touch your savings" is clearly doomed to failure.

Last night I was discussing the serenity prayer with my Men's group:

grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

This of course applies to spending... you have to accept some expenses as unavoidable, even while having the courage to slash unneccessary discretionary spending.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Learning how to build and fix stuff yourself helps avoid or mitigate some of the unexpected costs.

Building in 30% spending/budgeting 'buffers' to a lot of stuff and forecasting major expenditures for the next ten years helps too.

 

[HFWR]

So the float valve on one toilet is leaking. Replaced the washer. Still leaking... Not only that, the valve to the toilet won't completely shut off. Turn off the water to the house to inspect situation without being spritzed. Decide to replace float valve and shutoff valve. Turn main valve back on, now it's leaking... 

Time for a house fire... 

 

[Cut-Throat]

I don't do plumbing!

 

[SteveR]

Learning how to build and fix stuff yourself helps avoid or mitigate some of the unexpected costs.

Building in 30% spending/budgeting 'buffers' to a lot of stuff and forecasting major expenditures for the next ten years helps too.

I agree.

Doing some repairs can some some money on the little stuff but putting on a new roof or pouring and finishing out 2000 sq. ft. of concrete I will leave to the experts and just be sure to fund a reserve for these kinds of expenses (which I have). Nothing on my list will need to come from income since I have a sizable reserve for these things (not 30% of spending but big enough to cover most everything over a period of time. If it all hits at once I will have to go to plan B but plan A is working fine right now. (knock on wood).

 

[Nords]

Learning how to build and fix stuff yourself helps avoid or mitigate some of the unexpected costs.

I was just thinking about some of the "infrastructure failure weeks" we've had around here. If we hadn't spent so much time & trouble tracking down that stupid roof flashing leak then we would've been in a world of hurt during our 40-day rainy spell.

So the float valve on one toilet is leaking. Replace the washer. Still leaking... Not only that, the valve to the toilet won't completely shut off. Turn of the water to the house to inspect situation without being spritzed. Decide to replace float valve and shutoff valve. Turn main valve back on, now it's leaking... 

Forgive me in advance if I'm preaching to a plumbing expert.

The good news is that you may be able to get your water company to help you with that one if they're amenable to sweet-talking. If the leak's on their side of the valve then it's their problem. If it's leaking from the stem then it might be your problem but they might be willing to fix it.

Another option would be to buy a "basin wrench" at a hardware store. It can be a $20 tool but it's worth it for tightening the stem nut to stop those leaks. You may have to remove the valve handle (or hacksaw half of it off) to get the wrench to the stem nut.

Submarine engine rooms have hundreds, perhaps thousands, of small "just in case" valves that are used once per year-- if that. Mechanics actually have a list requiring them to operate them periodically to check for leaks or other problems. Sometimes it's the only way a potentially serious casualty-in-waiting is discovered, other times it breaks more things than it prevents.

Don't even get me started on military technicians testing their computer systems. Or water-cooled computers.

 

[kaudrey]

I found out yesterday that one of my cats has a heart murmur, and it needs to go to a cat cardiologist! Estimated cost: $350. :

And I REALLY need new carpeting/flooring downstairs. Not sure what I'll get yet, but I'm figuring several thousand dollars. At least this one I have been saving for...

 

[kz]

One out of the blue expense for us (the night before hubby retired) was finding out that oldest son and his gal decided to get married in 6 days prior to son's deployment to Iraq. Trust me, totally out of the blue but it didn't suck and it worked out great. (and somewhere around $2000)
Some of the sucky expenses have been hubby backing into a tree ($600) or putting an ATV thru the sliding rear window of his truck (another $600). Both times he was on a 'boys only ATV weekend' which, unfortunately, takes place again in a few hrs.
And then there's the time I left to go grocery shopping while hubby was working on the plumbing in the boys' bathroom. I came home to find not one but two plumbers trucks in the driveway. At least that was only $450.
The man is high maintenance.

 

[HFWR]

Plumbing update:

Using channel-lock pliers a specially-designed plumbing instrument, I tightened the packing nut on the house supply valve, stopping that leak. A new flat washer fixed the toilet supply valve, and a new float valve to stop the always-on tank fill, and viola... 8)

Should've done all this before starting the fire...

 

[SteveR]

Plumbing update:

Using channel-lock pliers a specially-designed plumbing instrument, I tightened the packing nut on the house supply valve, stopping that leak. A new flat washer fixed the toilet supply valve, and a new float valve to stop the always-on tank fill, and viola...  8)

Should've done all this before starting the fire... 

That's Ok.
As soon as the other plumbing valves in the house figure out you "fixed" one, they will all start leaking in sequence. It'll put that fire right out.

 

[razztazz]

BOTH thermostats in my electric hot water tank coaked a few days ago. SO, after having them replaced I decdied to o fo one of those "Home systems maintenence" plans in case there's something else waiting to "surprise" me

Now that I have that, I'm nearly positive NOTHING will be a problem.

 

[Texas Proud]

Plumbing update:

Using channel-lock pliers a specially-designed plumbing instrument, I tightened the packing nut on the house supply valve, stopping that leak. A new flat washer fixed the toilet supply valve, and a new float valve to stop the always-on tank fill, and viola...  8)

Should've done all this before starting the fire... 

You mean before that strange fire somehow started in the middle of the living room....

 

[HFWR]

The jet-engine powered bong exploded... :


So true, SteveR...

 

[justin]

Dear Mr. Insurance Adjuster,

I like fire-roasted hot dogs and smores. It was raining outside. I didn't know the varnish coated wooden coffee table and carpet were combustible...

 

[Nords]

I came home to find not one but two plumbers trucks in the driveway. At least that was only $450.
The man is high maintenance.

Geez, I'd have a hard enough time tricking one plumbing company into coming to our house, let alone TWO. I can only imagine what he had to say to them.

You have a keeper there...

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

"Plumber? I didnt want the plumber...I wanted someone to help me get rid of all these intoxicated naked women in my living room and...hello? hello?"

 

[MJ]

That's why, I am so happy that, I just sold my house. Being very cheap frugal and lazy, I did minimal maintainance and upgrades on the house over the 15 years I owned it. The house held up well enough to get me nearly 12% over the original asking price.

 

[youbet]

I found out yesterday that one of my cats has a heart murmur, and it needs to go to a cat cardiologist!  Estimated cost: $350.   :

Cat. $350. Oxymoron

 

[sailor]

The jet-engine powered bong exploded... :

Or your jet engine beer cooler:
http://asciimation.co.nz/asciimation/beer/index.html

 

[HFWR]

Isn't technology great!!

 

[Telly]

I like to hear of other people's expenses.  Not to gloat, but just to bring me back to reality of what it costs to do things.  I'm over on the extreme end of D-I-Y, and I grumble about the cost of materials or parts.  I lose touch with what people are paying to have things done.

I haven't tried dentistry yet 
I've broken up lot's of concrete with a jackhammer, but I've never poured 2000 sq. ft.!

 

[razztazz]

Remember the epsiode of Andy Griffith where Aunt Bea has this old freezer she wants to fix so she can save money by storing a yrs worth of beef? She keeps trying to fix it on the cheap and Andy keeps repeating "Aunt Bea. Call THE MAN! That's how I do it.

In this age of technology, I have found over  the years, (and I am almost 50 now)  that most people can  almost never do what they want to do in terms of repairing something because they don't really know how or, they might know but dont have the tools. 

If they buy the tools they will use them ONCE in their whole lives...maybe twice... and 90% of the time they will never be satisfied because they know they were doing a lot of "Poke 'n Hope" instead of actual FIXING.

I can paint, scrape, spackle, move stuff (up to a certain weight limit, heh heh) and  do "regular" lawn work.
I do not want to spring for, and end up using ONCE and owning forever,  different kinds of shovels, and tools, and gadgets. What I WANT is the f'ing THING FIXED! Not in a few days or whenever I can get  to it,  or I'm able to FIGURE IT OUT.  IT!....  FIXED! ..... NOW! (Or ASAP)

I do the simple obvious stuff or optional stuff that has no consequences and might even have some "theraputic value"

For everything else I just take Sherriff Andy's advice and ...

Call THE MAN!

Before I retired  I knew I'd need some emergency money not in my normal pool. I did a fairly detailed audit of all the expensive emergencies I had had in life from age 15 to age 38. There were not all that many. And MOST of them were related to having a job anyway. Usually travel and automobile related. Yes, I needed an emergency furnace in February in Utica once.  You can't do that one yourself and save money.  But how many emergency furnaces will you need? It probably averages out to <1 per lifetime

So, I figured for the next 30-40 yrs I couldnt be any worse off. Something comes up... I just pay for it.  I want something "non-standard"... I don't waste my time trying to cheap-it-out. I buy it at the store or pay a guy who knows how to do that stuff.  Call it Trickle down economics  if you want.  Everybody's a winner

I like to hear of other people's expenses.  Not to gloat, but just to bring me back to reality of what it costs to do things.  I'm over on the extreme end of D-I-Y, and I grumble about the cost of materials or parts.  I lose touch with what people are paying to have things done.

I haven't tried dentistry yet 
I've broken up lot's of concrete with a jackhammer, but I've never poured 2000 sq. ft.!

 

[SteveR]

I like to hear of other people's expenses.  Not to gloat, but just to bring me back to reality of what it costs to do things.  I'm over on the extreme end of D-I-Y, and I grumble about the cost of materials or parts.  I lose touch with what people are paying to have things done.

I haven't tried dentistry yet 
I've broken up lot's of concrete with a jackhammer, but I've never poured 2000 sq. ft.!

I made a deal with the concrete folks..............they don't make or test prescription drugs and I don't pour and finish large quantities of concrete. It works for me.

 

[Nords]

If they buy the tools they will use them ONCE in their whole lives...maybe twice...

If I can learn how to fix the problem, and if the right tool helps me fix the problem, and if calling the man is more expensive than buying the tool, then I'll buy or rent the tool.  When I'm done, even if I never use it again, I might be able to admire a cool tool or perhaps generously loan it out to envious neighbors, and we're still ahead of the expenses. In our house that philosophy has been shortened to "Just go get the damned tool, eh?"

Our personal best was using a gas-powered concrete cutter in our master bathroom. Those whirlpool tubs just don't fit the traditional bathtub drains.

Planting our downhill slope was brutal with all the lava rock & clay.  I was making satisfactory progress with a mattock but the pace really picked up when we rented a gasoline-fueled post-hole digger.  It was power-tool playtime, it was fast, it was fun.  The best part was that suddenly my spouse realized that we needed 20 or 30 holes drilled all over the yard!

 

[razztazz]

If I can learn how to fix the problem, and if the right tool helps me fix the problem, and if calling the man is more expensive than buying the tool, then I'll buy or rent the tool. When I'm done, even if I never use it again, I might be able to admire a cool tool or perhaps generously loan it out to envious neighbors, and we're still ahead of the expenses. In our house that philosophy has been shortened to "Just go get the damned tool, eh?"

This is what I mean. People talkin' all kinds of S to themsleves to rationalize something, instead of just identifying the mission and getting it done.

So what if you save a few dollars. Only poor people sweat that anyway. What you want is something DONE. Now if you simply WANT to do that thing with the tool ... then it's either like enjoying a good meal, or playing the violin: You derive pleasure from it, and that's OK. Or it's like going to the bathroom: You simply have to and you can't help yourself. But this is really outside the bailywick of "out of the blue expenses"