A few weeks ago, in the post I wrote about emergency funds, I ask how much does a person without a car and full insured by the State need. I concluded that in my life not that much could really go wrong besides my cats getting ill so I put aside £100. Not the best thinking on my part, as the one thing I didn’t think about going wrong did, of course did. My beautiful iBook of almost 5 years is finally giving up the ghost.
Now if I had the £1000 emergency fund that is recommended by Dave Ramsey, I guess this would be a no brainer. I would pop to the Mac store and just buy a new expensive Mac book then go back almost to square one to fund my emergency fund. Since dodo over here does not have nearly that much cash on hand, I must think of another way.
A few people have said just put it on a credit card. Sorry I just can’t do that; I have developed a hate of the entire industry to match the passion of an evangelical minister in the deep South. I have even asked my beloved not to get me an engagement ring until he can pay for it with cash. Yes, lovely readers, I have gone truly mad. What women would delay getting an engagement ring? Dodo over here.
I think I have found a plan to have a computer and not go into debt (well anymore debt) with the monstrous credit card industry. I am going to buy a nifty little netbook that is 30% of the price of a gorgeous Mac. This will leave me living very close to the edge but I think I can manage, just.
My next move will be to attack my debits like a banshee (eBay here I come) and when I am totally debit free, I am going to march into the Mac store and buy myself a new, probably a G6 by the time I get debit free) computer with cash.
Have any of you been bitten on the bum by not having enough of an emergency fund? Tell me your stories as I will be at home eating rice and beans for the foreseeable future.
Moonwaves
Aug 20, 2010 at 1:39 pm
Often and over and over again. But I keep trying. Last time was my laptop, which died in May, just before I went away (when I had been planning to bring it with me to finally upload all those photos to flickr). We are occasionally able to buy old laptops in work for a very reasonable price (which is where I got that one two years ago) so I checked and lucked out that my office had just put up another one to be sold the day before I checked. So I put my name down and went and picked it up. The payment is deducted out of our salary so everything would have been fine if I had only remembered to write it down on my budget for July. Getting paid that bit less really threw my budget off and knowing it was my own stupid fault for forgetting to write it down didn’t help. But I know when I got the first second-hand laptop a couple of years ago I thought “it’ll do while I save up to buy a really good one”. Ha. So, yes, I am still eating through my storecupboard and even raided my piggybank last week. 10 days left till payday!
Still, at least I did manage this year to get to the stage of putting money aside every month for covering annual expenses. That savings account is completely depleted now since most of those expenses fall due in July/August but after paying the last big one directly next month I will be able to get straight back to putting money aside every month to at least cover that stuff. It recently occurred to me that not only do I need to do this, I also need to factor in the planned obsolesence on all the white goods I bought when I moved here two years ago. The washing machine and fridge won’t last for 20-odd years like the ones we had at home when I was a kid did. So now I’ve added an amount to my annual expenses to hopefully build up enough to cover most of the cost whenever I need it.
Tammy
Aug 29, 2010 at 7:03 am
My husband has a netbook instead of a computer, and likes it! 🙂
I wish you the best with your savings goals!! 🙂
Dani
Sep 15, 2010 at 3:31 am
Oooh, I have been THERE. My laptop died right when I landed a new job and had NO emergency savings. I thought about getting a new laptop, but instead paid $50 to have a tech diagnose that it was a faulty hard drive and another $60 for a new hard drive (which I installed myself – SO much easier than it sounds!) Still typing on it today!
You hear now that technology is so ever-changing that you need to buy new constantly. I find this to be untrue. Buy a good machine, then spend a hundred or so every couple years to replace broken parts or upgrade. Eventually you’ll have to buy a newer model, but not nearly as often as most people do.
And now my 6 months expenses emergency fund is fully funded and I can focus on… debt.(!)
Viviana
Sep 15, 2010 at 11:34 am
Hi Dani, Thanks for commenting. I totally agree with you, I repaired my MAC a couple of times then came to the concluesion, she might not be able to take another surgery. I ended up buying a nifty little netbook at a fraction of the price of a new MAC. I am now going to sell the MAC and hopefully break even so I can go back to buy war on debt.