Wednesday, December 15, 2010

That's Why I have an Emergency Fund

So I had budgeted about thirty bucks to get my oil changed this month. But, when I took my car in, it turns out that I am almost 10,000 overdue for my 60,000 mile maintenance. Which is one of the big ones. I'd list what they do, but does anyone really care? I doubt it. The cost of this maintenance (including all services, a car wash, and a complimentary loaner car for the day) is $370. Ouch.

Yes, I should have planned for this better, but no, I did not. I do have an Unexpected Expenses category in my budget for events like this, so I slid that over into the car budget. I also added $16 that I didn't spend from my Christmas money, as well as about $14 from my most recent Amazon sales. I'll also add my unused money from my gas budget (which always has some extra in it), whatever I make on a few items I have on Ebay, and any other extras throughout the rest of the month. But, it looks like I'll be taking about $100 out of my E-fund to cover these costs. It's not a big deal, because I have an automatic deposit to my savings of $100 each paycheck, so I'll be back to fully-funded by January 5th. (Though I'd like to start bulking up my savings for a move that is coming in the next six months).

And yes, I know about the idea of figuring out how much I'll spend on my car and other annual expenses throughout the year, dividing it by twelve, and taking that amount out of my check each month. Yes, you are all more organized than me. Enjoy it. But don't gloat. It's not becoming. :P

2 comments: