My Furnace Broke Down

Do unexpected expenses ever derail your financial progress?

My furnace stopped working last week when it was 13° F outside.

Great.

As I awaited the diagnosis, I wondered how much it would cost and began to regret dipping into my emergency fund recently for some very, um...non-emergency purchases... 😬

I tried to play it cool as I asked the technician, "Worst case scenario, how much does it cost to replace the system?" I tried even harder to seem calm when I heard the answer. "Starts around $12,000."

I hadn't felt so nervous about affording something I urgently and unexpectedly needed for quite a while. It was a terrible feeling.

Look, it's not really fun to save for things like HVAC systems, broken pipes, or car repairs. But when we don't, we risk sacrificing our financial peace. My financial peace was interrupted by the mere thought of being out an unplanned twelve grand.

Fortunately, this incident ended up costing a couple hundred dollars instead of thousands. But it was a great reminder that it pays to sacrifice a little bit of fun now to prevent devastating setbacks in the future.

Dodged this bullet. We'll see what life has in store next.

Hopefully, I'll be better prepared.