On Friday I drove out to Fullerton to pick up my friend Shelley so we could hang out one last night before she flew back to Portland yesterday. I drove to my old house, pulled in the driveway, went in for a few minutes, and when I came out my battery was dead.
Boooo.
Didn't leave the lights on or anything...I've had this battery for about four and a half years, so I guess it was just time. I called AAA and after diagnosing my battery with a handheld device that ran tests and printed out charts and graphs, the nice man set me up with a new battery on the spot. With tax it came out to $126. He said I could have gotten one cheaper at Walmart, but the convenience of having him do it as well as the six year warranty made it worth the few bucks I could have saved.
Here's the best part. Instead of worrying about that amount or hemming and hawing about using my credit card, I handed over my debit card without a worry. I knew that if I couldn't squeeze it into this month's budget, I could easily transfer the money over from my emergency fund. It was such a nice feeling!
It was also nice to be able to crunch the numbers on my budget for the month and know exactly where I stood with my money to see if I could do it without the emergency fund. In the past, I would have said a wish and a prayer and taken a guess. Now I know I can use my regular account, since I have some cushions in my budget categories. I'm a little bummed, since that could have been $126 toward my car loan this month, but oh well.
I guess what I'm saying is, it's nice to have an emergency fund, even when you don't have to use it.
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