Why do you need an emergency fund? Because an emergency fund it is great when shit happens!
This month, shit happened! And I am so glad I have an emergency fund!
I am a big advocate of having an emergency fund.
An emergency fund to cover your expenses should you lose your job, have medical expenses, or home/auto repair.
While I am sure most of use would prefer not to use our emergency funds, shit happens!
Double Trouble on the Home Front
So, I had to go into my emergency fund this this month.
It started one Friday afternoon.
I flushed my toilet and the bowl just would not stop running. As time passed, it went into a full continuous flush that would not stop.
Basically, the mechanism inside my flushometer broke. Normally, it would be simple to replace the diaphragm part inside.
However, the pipes behind my toilet are very old. In fact, you could not even open the area to replace the diaphragm.
So, the entire flushometer behind my toilet had to be removed and a new one installed.
That cost $450 to replace.
But the story does not end there.
While building super and plumber were inside my apartment, they noticed a certain smell.
I never smelt anything as while home I almost always had the windows open or the AC on during the summer.
This happened to be the day I had my windows shut all morning so the smell really had time to build up.
They realized it was gas! And a lot of it!
It was emanating from my stove. My stove was quite old. It had been there since long before I even bought the apartment.
I’m not one to play around when there is a gas leak. Therefore, it was time for a new stove!
I had it done that same day.
I have a smaller size stove, so the price was a bit higher, but it had to be done.
That cost $1,000 to remove, replace, and install.
The leak must have been happening for a while.
I noticed myself feeling fatigued more often, having brain fog, and had been wondering why. The weekend prior I remember having a headache.
I am 100% certain it was from the gas leak.
That’s what less oxygen does to you (and it could have been worse). In fact, once the stove was replaced, my energy levels really bounced back and my head feels clear.
Conclusion
All in all, I spend $1,450 on repairing my bathroom pipes and replacing my old stove.
In a very real way, I believe the flushometer breaking this was a blessing in disguise. I probably would not have noticed the gas leak until it was too late.
And because I have an emergency fund, I won’t miss a beat with my investing strategy or go into debt by putting the expense on a credit card.
Emergency funds are not just for job loss. Emergency funds are for when shit happens!
So, what do you think of this post? Do you have an emergency fund for when shit happens? Let me know in the comments below!
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