Yes, it’s only March and I’ve already suffered a MAJOR setback to my 2015 Money Goals.
During the last week of February, I went out to start my car in the morning and…no dice. My car would not start up. No movement whatsoever. Luckily, I was able to get the mobile mechanic to come out and see it and get me back on the road. My car did have to get towed out of my parking garage via a special sized tow truck (cost = a lot of $$$) and I was without a car for a few days. Thankfully, I have friends & co-workers close-by who were able to give me a hand. Also, Uber and Lyft are cheap to my place of employment. It wasn’t horrible, but I was annoyed. Oh, and I was also in tech for my show at this point. Trust me, the timing was just awesome. :/
So let’s look at the negatives here:
- Car didn’t start.
- Cost almost $600 for all repairs.
- Was without car for few days.
- NYC Trip money/annual bonus was technically obliterated.
I did try to find some positives to the situation as well:
- I was not on the side of the road in -10 degree temperatures.
- I had rides when I needed them.
- I was able to get the tow truck fee reimbursed from my insurance! Holla for that dolla! 🙂
- My car has a new battery and spark plugs! That car should be set for a little while!
- I did not go into ANY debt to pay this car repair. No credit card was used. I was able to pull a little money from savings and use my bonus to make this happen. While I wasn’t thrilled to use that money I had allotted for my NYC trip, I knew it was the right thing to do.
At this point, you may be curious about how I’ll try to make up that money. I know I’m not going to get quite up to the amount of my bonus, but I should get close. I’ve already signed up for a couple more bar shifts than I normally work per week, so that will help. I’m also expecting a stipend before I leave and I always ask for cash for my birthday. While it wasn’t ideal and set me back in my plans, I’m really no worse for the wear in the debt department. I’m not going to beat myself up for this too much because it wasn’t my fault at all (cars are machines, they break down), but darn it, I was mad for a hot minute.
However, I’m SO ready to take this trip! I need out of my homeland…BAD. I might have a little less cash flow, but I’m sure I’ll have just as much fun.
Setbacks happen! How do you deal with them?
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