You’ve probably noticed I haven’t been posting as much the past couple of days. We’ve had a pretty rough couple of days and since family comes first, the blog had to take a backseat to everything else that’s been going on.
Normally I don’t share much about our lives but I thought I’d give you a glimpse into our rough week – not as a “poor me” but hopefully to inspire those of you who aren’t already saving to begin working on an emergency fund.
Wednesday I got home from work to find Stan cleaning out the freezer in the garage. It died and took all my stockpiles of meat and veggies with it. I was really sad that I lost some of my hard earned meat stock pile! I was sadder about that than the fridge. Why? Well, because we have a 4.5 month emergency fund and spending $400 on a new fridge is really not a big deal. Sure, it sets us back a little and we’ve got a little further to go to get to my goal of 6 months but the fact is we don’t have to go into debt to replace the appliance.
Thursday I had to skip work to drive to Nacogdoches for a funeral. It was already a pretty sad day. Stan wasn’t able to come with me because of work obligations. I called him when we arrived in Nac to let him know that we were there safe and sound. Then he dropped the big bomb. His truck had been stolen while he was eating lunch. I thought he was kidding at first. But no, he was meeting with the police officer right then. So now our 4.5 month emergency fund is going to take a HUGE hit.
We have to buy Stan a new truck. I doubt the insurance company will give him exactly what it was worth. Plus we have to pay the deductible. Then to make matters even more complicated, all his tools and everything in the truck is covered on our home owners insurance policy. So that means another deductible and a lot more haggling.
Stan’s rocking a rental car for a while and we dropped a big chunk of change at Home Depot this weekend replacing the essential tools he needs for work. Since he works in construction he can’t wait 2-3 weeks for the insurance settlement to replace his drill.
This whole situation makes me so very thankful that we have an emergency fund. It doesn’t matter that it wasn’t quite up to six months yet. It doesn’t matter that after this mess it will be down to three months. What matters is that the stress of these situations isn’t further complicated by the fact that we have to go into debt to replace these things. Knowing that money isn’t yet another problem is a big relief.
So yeah, it stinks. I lost a lot of food. Stan lost a lot of his belongings but the main thing is we are both safe and sound. Plus, we’re not in debt and another bomb could drop and we’d still be okay.
If you haven’t started an emergency fund yet or have thought about it but just aren’t sure how to get going, I encourage you to check out Dave Ramsey. On April 5th he’s even offering a free class just to get you started. Find out more details HERE. Dave has helped thousands and thousands of people get out of debt with his Financial Peace University and if they can do it, so can you.
You don’t even have to be in debt to get started. Stan and I had already done Steps 1, 2 and 4 so we plunged in at Step 3. It doesn’t matter when you start as long as you have a path. It doesn’t even have to be Dave’s path but I encourage you to start with something.
I’d love to hear, how many of you use Dave Ramsey’s method? What step are you on?
Shellie loves to share her frugal living tips as well as deals and bargains to help you get more with less. A spender at heart, she balances her frugal lifestyle with the occassional splurge. 
{ 24 comments }
Hi Shellie,
First of all, I want to commend you for having a WONDERFUL money-saving website. My husband works and I am a stay-at-home mom of twins. Your website has saved us LOTS of money and I have received tons of free samples so thank you so much for all your hard work! Secondly, I am very sorry about all the recent events for you but agree that having an emergency fund is an absolute MUST! It really helps put your mind at ease when you know you have a money stash for moments such at these which do happen from time-to-time. My husband and I took Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University class at our church a few years ago and have been so blessed because of it! We have a bit saved away now, thankfully. We are on step 3 and are almost on step 4. Hang in there Shellie and thanks again for your website!
Thanks for the information about the free class. I’ve read the Total Money Makeover book, but haven’t quite implemented the teachings yet. I’m hoping this class will give me the little bit of extra motivation I need to get started.
I’m sorry to hear about all the upsets you’ve had to overcome recently, but it sounds like you are handling them well. And you are such a wiz with these coupons, I know you will have that freezer fully stocked again in no time at all!
Emergency Funds rock! It helped us survive a year of unemployment. What is it with losing food. Our freezer came unplugged and I didn’t lose everything but had to cook up TONS of meat to save some of it. I only through out about 1/3….so sorry, my friend, that you got hit with all of these things at once.
Sorry you had such a rough week! But I LOVE having an emergency fund too. Thankfully, we haven’t really had to dip into it, but it gives me such peace of mind to know that it’s there if we need it.
Oh, no. It’s horrible that these things happened to you — even works that they all came at the same time. Thank you, though, for using these awful things in such a positive, constructive way for all your readers.
Wow, you did have quite the week! Thanks for sharing…I enjoy seeing into other bloggers lives. Sorry about all the losses. That is NEVER fun.
And you did wonderfully at using it to show the blessings of having money set aside for such things.
Enjoy your blog!
What a terrible week! I’m glad that you and your husband are both okay, even if your emergency fund took a hit. We’ve been working Dave Ramsey’s plan and are almost done with paying off debt (step 2). We’ve been thankful for our baby emergency fund of $1000 several times. It’s caused us to not have to borrow/charge when life just happens. We borrow from ourselves and then rebuild the fund. I can’t imagine life without an emergency fund now and can’t wait to get to the 3-6 month mark!
Sorry to hear about your bad week! Thank goodness you did have your Emergency Fund. We are on baby step 2 and would be debt free already except for medical and financial setbacks. We have 3.5 months emergency fund due to my husband being self-employed and having a bad back. We never know when his back will be out of commission and then have no money coming in so we switched around a step and stockpiled our big emergency fund first. Having that gives us peace. You will replace your emergency fund in no time and also your freezer. Thanks for all you do. You and Dave Ramsey ROCK!
Hi Shelli,
I am sorry you have had such a rough week. My husband and I received the Dave Ramsey Total Money Makeover book for Christmas. We are very excited about his path and are on Step 2. We are working diligently to pay off our debt and have a baby emergency fund.
Thanks for all your tips to save money. I really enjoy your website.
I’m really sorry about your bad week, gosh that’s hard.
we love Dave Ramsey and been on his program about 4 yrs. We are on step 4 and 5. Act your Wage…………………..love it.
Thanks for sharing into your personal life. I love it~ We have medical debt that we are working on but starting in January we began a plan to have a $1000 set aside for an emergency. We are on a tight budget and can only do $20 a week. We look for ways to increase and it has been fun when we find “extra money”. We are almost 1/3 of the way there. I am not looking forward to having to use it but when/if that time comes it is a blessing to know we can use that and not wreak havoc on our already tight budget. Your post has really inspired me in several ways. I really appreciate you opening up a little in your “real life”.
So sorry you had such a rough week. My best friend introduced us to Dave Ramsey and My husband and I are just starting the program.
Thanks for being so open. It it hard to share when things aren’t going your way. We are on step #2 Debt Snowball. It seems like we will be on step 2 for a long time. However, it is nice to get real with yourself.
Shellie, thank you for sharing the reason why an emergency fund is so important. I’m sorry you have these losses! I hope your husband’s truck turns up (and not damaged).
I’m going to tell my readers about the free Dave Ramsey class as well. It’s what inspired me to start blogging as we progress through the baby steps.
First of all, I’m very sorry about your string of losses. I’ve been reading your blog for a little while and know that you’ll recover – much stronger than before! After all, the best lemonade is made from a BUNCH of lemons!! It is also a WONDERFUL illustration of the importance of an emergency fund!! God Bless!!
When we got married, my husband had some medical debt and I had one car with a bit left on it. We took care of those within a couple of years. So that right now (year 4 of marriage) we have our college student loans and a used car payment. The car (I hope) to have paid off within a year. I’d wanted it gone by December…but we’ve had some rough times in January/Feb. that we’re still recovering from. The student loans are going to take much longer….but we usually pay more then the regular amount…every little bit helps.
One of the best things we did (other then always over pay on your debts…even if all you have is $5..it’ll add up)…is we have a savings account tied to our checking. This is our main emergency fund/temporary/oh crap-bad month-checking account dry account. Then we have another savings with a higher amount in it (right now about 2months expenses…goal after the car is paid off is 6months) that we don’t touch. I have thought about setting up a small savings…for things like a summer vacation/Christmas, etc
So I think we’ve done pretty well. We’re thinking about having kids through (we’re both almost 30)…not sure how that’s going to fit in…other then a lot of faith lol
We plant a garden to offset food costs. Reuse/repurpose things…eat simply.
So far that’s my advice….over pay your debts and organize your accounts.
I would like to echo much of what your other readers have said. Your website is GREAT!! It has certainly helped me to save money for my family (right now, just my husband & I).
I am sorry to hear about the challenges that you have experienced recently, but agree that you are doing a great thing by putting a positive spin on your situation and using it to help benefit others. I appreciate you sharing your personal life & experiences with us!! :)
I have listened to Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover (on CD) and I am making my way through the Total Money Makeover Workbook. Now I just have to get my husband on board with cutting back and improving our financial health. I know that there are sacrifices we will have to make, but to have the security to overcome obstacles like you were able to recently, that would be truly amazing.
Thank you for all you do!!
Shellie, I’m so sorry for all that you have been through lately!
I’m so thankful that you have the emergency fund. We’re on Baby Step 7 – we’re completely debt-free, including the house, and we’ll never use a credit card ever again! We are completely on board with Dave Ramsey (I’m listening right now!) and are so grateful for his teachings, which have allowed me to stay home with my kids and completely eliminated money fights.
Emergency funds provide a huge sense of peace. Besides a fridge loss for us last year (which was frustrating), it allowed us to survive losing ALL of our perishable food , a fence, and a roof due to Hurricane Ike. Living through a hurricane with a leaking roof and kids in the house is terrifying, but knowing that we would be financially fine was a huge comfort.
My advice to everyone – get on the Dave Ramsey plan!
Thank you Shellie for sharing. My family and I are following the Dave Ramsey plan too! Hope your month gets better!
Shellie, I’m so sorry to hear about this! What’s weird is my brother-in-law who lives in Dripping Springs (I believe that’s near you right?) he got his truck stollen last week as well! But then found it totally stripped of everything! I hope they find your husbands too. So sorry!
I have heard great things about Dave Ramsey as well. Hope your month gets better!!!
Lisa
I’m late on this… Hope you see it!
OH my, Shellie! That stinks! But yay for Emergency Funds!
We do Dave. We’re on Step 4 — upping your retirement to 15%. We’re at 7% right now, and we just met with a planner to figure out where the other 8% should go. So yay for that! I can’t wait until we’re done with all of them.
Wow, Shellie, so sorry to hear about your terrible week! We had a similar week to yours. First a huge hit to our emergency fund, and then a tragic family death and funeral (it’s all on my blog), but like you, I’m grateful that we had an emergency fund to resort to, instead of credit cards. I hope you guys are able to get a decent amount from your insurance company. When my husband’s silverado was totaled in a freak wind storm, we actually got a great amount for it (it was worth more than we could’ve sold it for), and it was God’s way of providing a mommy mobile for us, since we had a baby on the way. I’m so sorry all of this happened at once! So stressful!
How horrible! Sorry about your horrible, horrible week! Hope you are feeling okay besides all of that!
I’m a bit late in telling you how sorry I am of the misfortunes you & Stan had experienced a short time ago. Sometimes when it rains it pours but I know you’ll look for the rainbow & pot of gold at the end. I hope you’ve had a prosperous month since this happened. :)
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