Out of the blue expenses suck

[accountingsucks]

I am so careful with my money - most call me extremely cheap/frugal, etc. It's all in my goal to FIRE at 47ish (I am 30 now). Anyways I wake up to a very cold morning and my furnace is not working. I actually had the day off work today so I was able to get someone in to look at it. $420 later and the furnace is fixed (I think this is actually reasonable as $100 for labor and $300 for parts). It's just frustrating that these kinds of things happen and when they do I just think that there is no point in being careful with money and that I should go out and just gamble my money away or something dumb. I agonize over buying a $1 pop as I think of what that $1 would grow to in 20 years....LOL...so $420 out of the blue kinda sucks

OK, i'm done venting.

 

[Focu$ed]

Look at the bright side: a lot of people would not have the $420 cash, and would have put the repair on their credit card and be PAYING for it 5 years from now!

 

[Cut-Throat]

$5,000 - 1 Tooth implant! - It only gets worse!

 

[VoyT]

    I hear you. $360 for a sump pump, followed the next week by $8,000 in hail damage to the house ($500 is my share).  S^^t is gonna happen, and you can't control that. 

But this worries me a bit ..

It's just frustrating that these kinds of things happen and when they do I just think that there is no point in being careful with money and that I should go out and just gamble my money away or something dumb.  I agonize over buying a $1 pop as I think of what that $1 would grow to in 20 years....LOL...so $420 out of the blue kinda sucks

   
    If you're agonizing about the occasional $1 coke, I'll nicely suggest that you need to lighten up just a bit. It's not all or nothing -- it's possible to have a balance between an occasional indugence and FIRE...  even with the occasional setback.

 

[retire@40]

I am so careful with my money - most call me extremely cheap/frugal, etc.  It's all in my goal to FIRE at 47ish (I am 30 now).  Anyways I wake up to a very cold morning and my furnace is not working.  I actually had the day off work today so I was able to get someone in to look at it.   $420 later and the furnace is fixed (I think this is actually reasonable as $100 for labor and $300 for parts).  It's just frustrating that these kinds of things happen and when they do I just think that there is no point in being careful with money and that I should go out and just gamble my money away or something dumb.  I agonize over buying a $1 pop as I think of what that $1 would grow to in 20 years....LOL...so $420 out of the blue kinda sucks

OK, i'm done venting.

Think positive: 

+ You had a day off work (probably paid)

+ You have a furnace

+ You had the $420 cash to fix your furnace

+ You were able to get someone to fix your furnace the same day

+ You got your furnace fixed for a reasonable price by your own account

+++ You woke up this morning.

 

[perinova]

Try not worry so much. You are a saver = You have a great financial future and a chance at ER.

Things will happen that are unexpected (cars, homes are the major problems. You can do a lot better without any IMHO).
More importantly: invest diligently in the market starting at a young age. Look at it grow. One day you will realize that $300 is a drop in the bucket and that those events will not affect your portfolio.
Later yet you will also realize you are close to making your overall goal of retirement and that there is an end to the tunnel. That is usually when the protfolio gets a life of itself and when what you put in is in the same order of magnitude of the return.

I remember asking my FIL's financial advisor about work and financial stressors. His answer was that it is about the same for everyone and basically that I will feel better after some financial "padding".
I had about maybe 50k in the bank then about 15years ago. Getting stressed about car repairs, about unstable job market etc. Today I know that things breaking down and job losses are a fact of life and that you need to factor the whole thing in your saving program. IE save a lot when times are good. Do not blow your bonuses and stock options in a nice third Lexus: PUT IT IN THE MARKET.

Also make sure you use a Quicken type program to know where you are in your plan (YOU NEED ONE with unexpected break downs and an allowances for fun things). It's been great for me.

Anyway my 2c on this. I am not as far along as others on this forum but I know how you feel and I AM SO GLAD THAT THOSE FEELINGS ARE ALMOST OVER FOR ME.

 

[REWahoo]

accountingsucks, as Hillary’s husband is fond of saying, “I feel your pain.”

I’ve complained mentioned before, I tried very hard in the months leading up to retirement to take care of any upcoming expenses while I was still collecting a paycheck. Bought a new refrigerator, a new car, replaced the submersible pump in our well, and replaced the hot water heater. Thought we were all set. HA!

In the 11 months since retiring, we’ve replaced or repaired the following:
- dishwasher
- water softener
- microwave
- toaster oven
- air conditioner (thankfully under warranty)

On the positive side, we’ve done all this and still remained under our spending budget. Retired life is good!!!

 

[Spanky]

Recent expenses:
property tax $2,000 for half year,
$400 for a timing belt replacement,
$800 Dell notebook computer

Anticipated expenses:
summer programs for kids: $1,000
window replacement: $6,000
garage door replacement: $600
new refrigerator: $1,400
summer vacation: $2,000
air conditioner drain pan replacement: $??
extra car insurance for adding a teenager as driver: $1,000?
a new used car: $14,000
Ummm... College expense: big $$$ for brand name colleges

...... etc

 

[runchman]

Look at the bright side: a lot of people would not have the $420 cash, and would have put the repair on their credit card and be PAYING for it 5 years from now!

I see this in the laundromat I own - people come in week after week just to use the dryers, because their home machine is broken and they don't have the $350 or whatever it takes to buy a new one or to get theirs repaired. So they give me a little bit each week instead

I can't comprehend not being able to come with a few hundred bucks when needed. Guess we're fortunate to be born savers!

 

[preben]

I know the feeling too - and it seem to come in waves!

In addition I also catch myself in occasional spending "splurges" not really adding value/happiness after having been frugal the whole day. Example; cooked own breakfast and walked the extra distance to the discount supermarket probably saving $10 in total, followed by buying a bottle of booze out on town ($100) that I hardly felt like drinking (but some friends did... ).

Cheers!

 

[Lancelot]

Ben,

$100 for a night out? Did you go back to Euro Land?

Hey buddy, time to meet for the $5 all you can drink "Chang Special" again...

Lance

 

[preben]

Ah Lancelot - I got carried away I guess! 8)

And yes; we better go and get our moneys worth! - I could have went there 20 times for that bottle!

Cheers!

 

[mathjak107]

$5,000 - 1 Tooth implant!  - It only gets worse!

oooh man just saturday i had 6 implants and a bone graft done...13750.00 with another 8,000 needed in 3 months for the implant bridge.........im soooo sore but not feeling to bad except for my pocket

 

[saluki9]

Hey, these things happen to us all.

Just yesterday I was leaving my doctors office and rushing back to work. Being in a rush I didn't pay enough attention pulling out of the parking spot and smashed my dealer loaner car into a support pole in the garage.

I'm probably looking at $700-$1K in repairs for the one dent. So, I have consoled myself by realizing the following

1. Thankfully I didn't hit a person
2. I can actually afford to pay the money
3. My FIRE portolio can fluctuate by several times that much in any one day, so I just view it as a bad day in the market (If THAT isn't a little mental accounting, I don't know what is?)

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Look at it on the really bright side.

At least your spouse didnt up and wanna buy a lexus...

 

[SteveR]

Out of the Blue stuff:

1. Replace decaying driveway.........$13k
Original builder should have his license pulled for the crappy job that I am now paying to have done again.  2k sq. ft. to replace plus regrading away from the house (duh!) and adding some rain gutter downspout drain pipes (double duh) under the driveway to eliminate the ice skating rink that forms in front of entrance to the house (lawyer's dream).  

2. Replace split water pipes in summer cabin.  ~$2000  
Long story but basically the garage door opened and allowed the water system to freeze over the coldest part of the winter when we could not get in there. I lost the whole system plus a 500 gallon storage tank that split.  Needless to say....I have quite a mess to deal with once the snow melts enough to get in there without snowshoes.

3. College expenses are due again soon.  $5000

4. DW is getting the decoration bug (again) for the living room.  $?

5. Need to re-landscape part of the front yard...$1-2k

6. Need to repair a retaining wall that is falling apart.  $2-3k

These are all near term projects that need to be done over the next couple of months.  Yikes!  

I just take deep breaths and take them on one at a time.  I am thankful I have a house and that otherwise it is in pretty good shape.  New roof in about 5 years and some other stuff but I will deal with that when it happens.  Maybe we will get a nice hail storm about then so the insurance will cover it.  

 

[chris2008]

If you had blown you money the furnace had not been working, too.
Then you had charged repair to the credit card and you would pay 1000$ over time, including interest.

Conclusion: Things break down. That is part of life. Blowing your money won't change that. Saving your money would still be cheaper on the long run.

 

[Andre1969]

My last big shock was back in March. Had to sink about $1100 into my '85 Chevy pickup. I think I cursed myself because I decided to splurge and go for some relatively expensive raised white letter 255/70/R15 tires to make it look cool, instead of the cheaper stock 235/75/R15s that it came stock with. Anyway, after mounting, balancing, some brake work, an alignment, new radiator and hoses and coolant, and a few other odds and ends, it had crept up to $1100.

Oh well, it's still cheaper than buying new.

Oh, I did just blow about $4,000 for concrete and grading work to finish off my garage, but I saw that one coming, so it wasn't a shock. It still hurt my cheap self, but I was expecting it at least.

 

[SolidA]

Hey Spanky - I want to live at YOUR house - $14,000 for a used car (for your newly minted teenage driver?!).  My Honda Accord has over 200,000 miles on it - I bought it from my banker's wife for $4500 almost 5 years ago with a bit over 100,000 miles on it.  Now THAT is a used car (and the insurance is a lot cheaper,too!!).

Everyone with dental trouble - oohh, I feel your pain (in the wallet, since my husband is actually the one with the hole in his mouth).  A bridge for hubby last month: an unexpected $2000 (and that's AFTER the insurance paid for part of it).  Sigh.

Last night the Air Conditioning guy came out and told me the whole unit has to be replaced - (not just fix the fins from the hail damage late last fall).  While he was testing it, black stuff spewed out at him and smoke filled the air.  $1800.  Sigh.

The extra freezer decided to give up the ghost, and took all the food in it with it.  $800.  Sigh.

Stuff happens, but I totally agree with the statement that I am grateful I woke up this morning, have a roof over my head and food in the fridge (if not the freezer  ).

 

[d]

but we can anticipate that there will be unanticipated expenses!  which raises the question: do you "plan" for them?

I've got about 12% of my $ designated for such things, kept separate from my investments.  I expect that this is overly conservative, but it meets my sleep quotient.

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

earlier in life seemed whenever i put money together something happened to take it away. i'd get savings up and something would break. one time it was my back that broke the bank. i lost all the money i had saved for years to buy a house. workman's comp was a joke, i lost everything and had to start again. back to school, new career. start saving again. about 10 years later until i finally had enough for that house.

at least, as an earlier poster noted, i had the savings and so didn't have to go into debt.

it is an amazing feeling now, when something breaks, to shrug it off, pay the piper and still enjoy the music.

 

[Ginger]

Dex, I do the same type of budgeting. I put a percentage aside from each paycheck (yes, I am still working - DH is retired) for emergency expenditures. Since DH has retired in October, there have been a few house repairs and more to come. It never ends - part of life and the home ownership money pit.

 

[Spanky]

Hey Spanky - I want to live at YOUR house - $14,000 for a used car (for your newly minted teenage driver?!). My Honda Accord has over 200,000 miles on it - I bought it from my banker's wife for $4500 almost 5 years ago with a bit over 100,000 miles on it. Now THAT is a used car (and the insurance is a lot cheaper,too!!).

SolidA,

I am comtemplating on a new used car for me and give my 2000 Corolla to my daughter.

 

[MJ]

I recently decided to buy a USB flashdrive for my laptop. I had to shell out an unexpected $45 but will get a $20 rebate back. Boy, do I hate these expensive surprises.

 

[Canadian FIRE]

Out of the Blue stuff:

1. Replace decaying driveway.........$13k
Original builder should have his license pulled for the crappy job that I am now paying to have done again. 2k sq. ft. to replace plus regrading away from the house (duh!) and adding some rain gutter downspout drain pipes (double duh) under the driveway to eliminate the ice skating rink that forms in front of entrance to the house (lawyer's dream).

2. Replace split water pipes in summer cabin. ~$2000
Long story but basically the garage door opened and allowed the water system to freeze over the coldest part of the winter when we could not get in there. I lost the whole system plus a 500 gallon storage tank that split. Needless to say....I have quite a mess to deal with once the snow melts enough to get in there without snowshoes.

3. College expenses are due again soon. $5000

4. DW is getting the decoration bug (again) for the living room. $?

5. Need to re-landscape part of the front yard...$1-2k

6. Need to repair a retaining wall that is falling apart. $2-3k

I can totally relate to how everything can got to hell with unplanned expenses. I had the following happen in a four month period last year.

Baby born 10 weeks early. Air ambluance transfers $2500. Other related expenses $8000. (And we were staying with friends and being cheap for 67 days in care.) Thank god that I was not living in the US. I LOVE free healthcare in Canada!!!

House had a leaking roof. Found major structure damage from water. $9000 to fix.

Car buyout on lease. $8000 (Ok, I got the lease when I just got out of University. Not smart, but hey, its a great car.)

So after $27, 500 in expenses I could pay for most of it up front. Put $10,000 on a lower interest line of credit and then had to borrow $5000 from my parents for 8 months to hold me over.

The REALLY good news was LBYM helped us pay off the $15,000 borrowed in under 1 year. So life does happen, just be happy we are all so good at managing our money that we can cover these things and recover from them very quickly.

CF