Emergency Fund Depleted

It's more of an unexpected expense than an emergency, but I raided my emergency fund today. My house has a pellet stove, and pellets are less expensive if I order them now, before winter hits. Next year, I will plan ahead and save for the pellets all summer.
Using the pellet stove should decrease my heating bill overall this winter. Since this will be my first full winter in the house, I should be able to track my heating expenses by keeping good records in YNaB.
With the September 15th pay, I'll start rebuilding the emergency fund. It's a good thing that September's Challenge is to earn more. It looks like I'm going to need a little income boost!

Dodging Murphy

Murphy has been trailing my car for a few weeks. First, a tire was low, so we put air in it. Next, one headlight wasn't working. I thought I would have to replace the bulb, but when I looked, the bulb had fallen out of the socket. The bulb was extremely hot and melted the plastic covering on some wires. After turning off the lights, I finally got the light into the socket and covered the wires with electrical tape. Crisis 1 averted.

Yesterday, the tire problem resurfaced . The right left tire was almost completely flat-much too low to drive to the tire shop. With no other option, my son and I took off the flat and replaced it with the mini-spare. The local tire shop is only 5 minutes away, so I immediately took the car there, thinking I would have to buy two new tires. I had already decided to take the money from the emergency fund. I was ecstatic when the cost was $15. The tire had a staple in it, so they plugged it and put air in the tire. Crisis 2--not too bad.

I know that Murphy will eventually visit, but I'm glad to dodge him this time.

5% Interest on Checking!

My local credit union is offering 5% interest on checking accounts. I switched my account today and also deposited my emergency fund in it. The requirements for the account are: to use on-line banking once a month, use a debit card 12 times a month, have direct deposit, and get statements on-line. The only thing I'm not currently doing is using a debit card. I plan to use the debit card for gasoline and grocery purchases. We'll see how the debit card goes for a month. I don't think I will misuse it, but I didn't think I would overuse credit cards either!

The 5% interest rate almost sounds too good to be true. What do you think? Are banks in other places doing this promotion?

Update: I found this article on LazyManMoney about 5% checking accounts.

Why I Need to Plan Ahead

My plumbing repairs are complete: new kitchen faucet, new garbage disposal, new connections under the sink, bathroom sink unclogged and one pipe replaced--all for $300! I chose to get the less expensive, 1/2 HP disposal, which saved $80. It is a little louder than the more expensive model, but not worth the extra $$. I'm really happy with the results and the price.
This repair is a good reminder for me of why I need to save for unexpected expenses. I know that with a house come repairs and upkeep expenses. Instead of ignoring that fact of life, I need to prepare for it with a house repair fund.

Plumbing Solutions Cost $$$

I got an estimate today to have my kitchen sink repaired. I need a new garbage disposal, a new faucet and new pipes beneath the sink. I'm going to buy the faucet and disposal and the "handyman" is going to install them. I think the cost of installation is pretty reasonable, $100.
I've been pricing disposals online and it looks like there are three categories: low price (1/2 HP), medium price (has sound insulation, 3/4 HP), high price (1HP, "whisper quiet"). I'm thinking that the medium price one will be best. Does anyone have any information about disposals?
I will pay for the repairs with my debt snowball, so I will be sending less to the credit cards this month, but the balance still be going in the right direction--down!

Plumbing problems

The kitchen sink has 3 leaks--the faucet, the disposal, and the drain pipe. The bathtub is also leaking. I tried to call a plumber Friday, but the number was disconnected. Where have all the plumbers gone?
I'm going to try to find the number of a "handy man" for Monday. The last time I tried to do plumbing myself, I broke the pipe and was without a kitchen sink for a few days. Since I have so many plumbing problems, I was to get them fixed correctly.

I'm really glad I replenished the emergency fund--this is probably going to be expensive. I'm thankful that I should have enough money to cover the repairs.

Emergency fund replenished

I decided to replenish my emergency fund instead of sending $500 to CC debt. After reading comments (Thanks, jpkittie!), talking to family members and reading what other bloggers had to say, I decided that a small emergency fund was the wise choice, since I had depleted it when putting the deposit on the new house. I now have $850 in my emergency fund, and will add $80/month to it.

Changes

The owners accepted my offer on the new house! The offer is contingent upon me selling my current house, so there is a 24-hour kick out clause, which means that if another person wants to buy the house and has the money available, I have 24 hours to decide if I want to buy the new house without selling my old one. I won't do that. Having two mortgages would be crazy for me, not to mention going against Dave Ramsey's wise advise.
I am feeling very peaceful about my decision, even with all the contingencies. I trust that God has a plan for me. If someone else buys the new house, then something better will be available in the future. There will be positive results from getting my house ready to sell. I am working on decluttering and making a list of small repairs that would help the resale value of my house. As I declutter, I find that I am letting go of the past (This is a little strange and surprising for me). I'm still processing this, but overall it's a change for the good.
The realtor is coming by this evening to measure the rooms. On Wednesday, all the realtors in town will come through to see the property. This is a little stressful for me, because I am not the most organized or best housekeeper. On the plus side, I have lots of help. My daughter and son-in-law are very efficient, so together we should be able to get (and keep) the house looking presentable.
Upcoming projects, I think, will be replacing kitchen and bathroom floor tiles, repairing screens, and painting 2 bedrooms and a bathroom. It sound a little daunting, but I will make a prioritized list after talking to the realtor. Debt-reduction will be on hold for a few months so I can pay for home repairs and replace the emergency fund. I used the emergency fund to make a deposit on the new house. Maybe I can make enough from the sale to pay off the last credit card!

Debt Reduction Progress

I updated my progress in reducing debt and increasing savings on my side charts (I'm having a little trouble updating the NCN chart). This month I added $65 to my mini emergency fund and paid $790 in credit card debt. I like seeing the progress on the charts and tickers, but I would also like to see the difference monthly in a graph. Does anyone of a widget that shows debt reduction graphically?

Silver lining

Every cloud has a silver lining...so the saying goes. Last week I had to replace the brakes on my car for $447, so my budget was a little tight for the last week of August. Instead of invading my emergency fund, I decided to see if I could reduce my food and gas spending until Friday (payday!) I just bought the essentials at the grocery store and reduced my food spending by about 65%! I couldn't do this every week, but it was good to find out that we could get by on a lot less for a short period of time. Now the challenge will be to see if I can continue the frugal trends--multiple meals from one entree and using frozen food that I already have. For specific tips on these frugal ideas, check out Frugal Food at Notes from the Frugal Trenches. She has reduced her food budget by 75%!

Our dinner menu for the week was:

Spaghetti with tomato, basil and olive oil (ds ate out)

Cheeseburgers, corn on the cob, edamame

Soft tacos, salad

Cheeseburgers (again), french fries, salad

Spaghetti with meat sauce

Chicken wings, mac and cheese, salad

stuffed peppers, left-overs (ds had a cross-country team dinner)



Not too exciting, but not too bad, since these are foods that ds likes.