money and Dave R. 04 Apr 2007 08:05 am
Murphy Be GONE.
Funny thing sometimes happens when one is “broke”…stuff happens. Dave calls it “murphy” after “murphy’s law“, or, what can go wrong, will. It’s why building a basic emergency fund FIRST is the most important of the baby steps. That fund is what keeps one from living on credit. Thing is…when the income is a lower one, that fund gets used quite often. And being debt free doesn’t necessarily mean that there is a lot of funds around; it means what is made is not owed to someone else. Lots of times testimonials will be shared of things breaking as soon as someone decides to live on purpose, sometimes important things, which means frequently the debt snowball will slow down or halt so that the emergency fund can be built back up. Or the next step apparently because here we are, at the threshold of baby step number three, which is a fully-funded emergency fund, and were working on the refreshment of our basic fund. Last time it was car repair and recovery isn’t always so fast. Ah well…c’est la vie. We have made the critical changes; we have changed our behavior so as not to depend on borrowing, we know how to priorititze and wait for something, we’re working hard…it will come.
In the meantime, Murphy seems to think he lives here. My oven is broken. My refridgerator is hanging by a drippy thread. And yesterday my dryer broke, some belt within loudly snapping. The kids need summer clothes and the weather turned warmer earlier than expected. Our cars both have over 180 thousand miles on them and we’re busting at the seams upstairs in two small bedrooms while the third is in the process of being created.
But you know what????
I’d use a cooler before I financed a new fridge.
I’ll use a grill and stove top and a fire outside before financing a new oven.
“Car payment” will never again be part of my vocabulary.
Jeans can be cut off to make shorts and hey! We have a sudden cold snap! Maybe summer isn’t going to be here quite so soon.
I have a clothesline thankyouvermuch. A dryer is a LUXURY, not a necessity, in case modern America has forgotten that.
And those cars? Well they are maintained and so far, wonderful performers. I just need a bumper sticker for each one that says, “It’s a Total Money Makeover Beater” ;-). At some point, maybe around 150k miles, it becomes a competition to see how long one can make a car last. I’m bettin’ we still got awhile…
So I’m still kickin’ Murphy to the curb, Dave! He wants to crawl back but he’ll find no hospitality at this house.
on 04 Apr 2007 at 10:49 am 1.Cathy said …
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Morgan_County_Tn_Freecycle/
You might try signing up for your local Freecycle group. Be sure to read the instructions, so you’ll know what to expect. I signed up so we could bless others when we needed for something to find a new home (instead of everyone having to drive all over town to the various thrift stores). A lot of people who are part of this want to keep things out of the landfill. Anyway, I keep waiting for another 20 gallon tank to show up on my list, but I haven’t asked for it yet, as we really don’t have room. Jus an idea….
Cathy
on 04 Apr 2007 at 12:26 pm 2.Susan said …
WOOHOO!! That post made me smile.
Susan
on 04 Apr 2007 at 1:59 pm 3.Julie said …
Free cycle is great! Jon and I have donated so many things to the freecyclers: computers, desks, small household appliances, a refrigerator.
I was going to suggest, too, that you look for a refurbisher for the dryer. We bought a pair of washer and dryer for $100 once (they were Maytags which run forever - the same ones my mother used in the 70s, in fact). They had been refurbished.
You go! Love your attitude.
on 04 Apr 2007 at 7:32 pm 4.Carrie said …
Great post! I admire your convictions. I’ll only put one little caveat in here. Some of us have to use dryers for our family’s health.
I can’t dry my clothes outside due to allergies, and I can’t open windows in the house during the seasons when the weather is nice enough to do that.
on 04 Apr 2007 at 8:23 pm 5.Beth said …
Tia, Ditto the advice to join freecycle. I’ve given away ceiling fans, cell phones, furniture, etc…and you’ll soon have kittens to freecycle!
I see all kinds of things on there….coupons, appliances, …. I even got a new bra from freecycle! (How weird is that?)
Your attitude is great.
on 04 Apr 2007 at 9:36 pm 6.Erin said …
I’ve had mixed reviews of freecycle on the board I participate in but most of them are positive. Good idea!
on 20 Apr 2007 at 7:28 pm 7.Living Deliberately » Getting the stars to align… said …
[…] the power bill came today….that broken oven and broken dryer (sorry folks, long time member of freecycle here and there is no time in my schedule for scouring out deals; […]
on 24 Apr 2007 at 10:51 pm 8.Getting Finances Done » Dave Ramsey Resources and Links said …
[…] Murphey Be GONE [sixredheads.com] ConquerYourDebt.com Snowball Calculator Give up a 401(k) match in order to pay off debt [allfinancialmatters.com] Dave Ramsey’s Snowball method vs. Suze Orman’s method for getting out of debt [allfinancialmatters.com] About.com About.com Nashville Debt Snowball [mdmproofing.com/iym] Dave Ramsey vs. Suze Orman: Which Plan For Dealing with Debts is Best? [thesimpledollar.com] […]
on 24 Feb 2008 at 11:08 am 9.kentuckyliz said …
A dryer is optional. Even if your family has allergies and you can’t hang clothes outside, clothes still dry indoors! I use hangers and wood drying racks. In the home where I grew up, we had clothes lines indoors in the basement! It was in a room that had two little windows with southern and western exposure for plenty of light, and the furnace/water heater was in that room so that also heated up/dried out the room to help it evaporate fast.
I could buy a fancy brand-new dryer out of my fat bimonthy paycheck, but I don’t. I PREFER to line dry. My clothes last forever (dryers break down fabrics fast), my electric bill is lower, it’s an easily doable “green” practice.
I’ve been really lucky with my Murphies. The biggest Murphy ever (14 months of unemployment and underemployment until my next professional job) was a year after I had received life insurance proceeds–and had enough left to survive…barely had two Abe Lincolns to rub together by the time I got the first paycheck. I couldn’t have survived without the life insurance money!
Most recently, I had $1,450 in car repairs last summer…within a day or two after receiving an unexpected check for $2,000. I hadn’t spent or decided what to do with that money yet, and my mind was made up for me!
But I know I can’t rely on sheer luck. I can’t count on life insurance and big fat surprise checks coming into my life in the right time for every Murphy that comes along. So here’s my definition of luck, to help me be ready for any other Murphies in my life (and I have 3+ months of expenses saved up right now):
LUCK IS PREPARATION MEETING OPPORTUNITY!
(That’s for both the good opportunities and the Murphies!)
Best of luck to you. I hope the Appliance Fairy works overtime in keeping your machines running.
P.S. toaster oven for small baking jobs until you can buy the new oven.