Last Saturday, I spent the afternoon driving around to all the different grocery stores in our area, stocking up on all the sale items at each store. I do this every week in an effort to stretch our grocery dollars as far as possible. The roads were wet and sloppy that day. One turn in the road before our driveway, our van slid to the side in the wet snow, and smashed quite hard into the curb. The wheel rim was pretty damaged - a big crack and dent.
My husband, I must say, was very nice about it. He didn't even frown. But I felt so foolish!
At first we thought maybe it wouldn't matter - but as the week progressed, the crack grew and Chris had to leave work early yesterday to visit the junkyard for a new rim. It cost $125.
Ironic, isn't it? Here I was trying to hard to save every penny, and instead I ended up costing us over a hundred. I was so ticked at myself. We are supposed to be saving everything we can right now for a downpayment, not plunking down money for car repairs.
Oh well. These things happen. Let's hope I can manage the rest of the winter without any more mishaps...
Doesn't it just drive you crazy...We are also trying to save, to buy some land. And just when we think we are finally starting to get ahead, something happens...a pipe bursts, a car dies...one day at a time I guess.
Thank you for sharing.
Posted by: Natalie | January 19, 2012 at 07:56 PM
I end up philosophical about stuff like this AFTER I've cursed a bit and felt really sorry for myself...just before Christmas, my mom gave me some money to buy myself some desperately-needed jeans. The next day, our cat came home with a broken leg. Turns out, the cash just covered the vet bill. Sigh. It's hard to stay positive sometimes, isn't it?? Because sometimes it just seems like...well, if it's not one thing, it's another.
Posted by: Stephanie K. | January 19, 2012 at 08:10 PM
Oh no well at least you were ok... that can be so scarey!! i do know that feeling of taking one step forward and two steps back.
Posted by: Jenn | January 19, 2012 at 09:35 PM
Erin (from Feather + Anchor) was just talking about desperately needing new jeans. And I do too. My regular pair just developed a huge hole in the inner thigh...not too sexy, haha. I guess it is a serious problem for us moms, keeping ourselves in hole-free jeans.
Posted by: Laura Jeanne | January 20, 2012 at 09:09 AM
So glad you weren't hurt. Though it's too bad about the rim, you guys did the frugal thing by finding a used one at a decent price!
This year we added a new section to our budget for unforseen emergencies. At least if the unexpected comes up this year (like the hot water heater that went earlier this winter), we've accounted for it ahead of time, and won't feel so bad about plunking down the cash.
Posted by: Leah | January 20, 2012 at 12:18 PM
Oh I know how that is, not specifically with the car, but certainly with trying so hard to save in one area only to have to spend in another. Glad that no one was hurt.
Posted by: Account Deleted | January 26, 2012 at 10:46 PM