Looks like last month’s big gains aren’t going to have a repeat performance. A month after the mini-[tag]emergency[/tag] fund is funded, up pops an emergency…
Our minivan – my primary vehicle – is in need of a fairly expensive [tag]repair[/tag], to the tune of a couple thousand sad little dollars. It was expensive enough, and the minivan is old enough, that we very briefly considered doing a little car shopping. In the end though, doing the repair and sticking with what we have is just a smarter economic move (a car payment is definitely not on our to-do list right now), so we’ll go ahead and get it done (transmission reseal & overhaul, for those who might care).
The one bright spot in this news, however, is the true effect it’ll have on our [tag]finances[/tag] compared to years past. In the past, we’ve had similar auto-related expenses pop up. And they’ve always been big financial hits, adding big ol’ chunks to our growing [tag]debts[/tag], because, of course, we were generally spending every last cent (and often, then some) so on the credit card the repair went. This time around, we will actually have that cash available! Delaying paying everything off, sure; adding to that debt, not this time… 
So while I certainly don’t relish the thought of a couple grand going to the unexpected, it’s borderline blissful to be writing a check rather than signing that credit slip… 
