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.
Brian P. Moran: The 12 Week Year
*Books stay on the list until I'm finished reading them. (This one's gonna be on here for a while...it's like 2,000 pages long. But so good!
Hope you enjoyed these little tidbits. Hit reply to let me know how you've been and what's on your mind.
Tyler
Please consider inviting someone you know to subscribe. ❤️
Unsubscribe from Tyler Smith Consulting LLC. | Budget Coaching
Main Street, Lehi, UT 84043
Join 1,000+ high earners who want to feel as rich as they actually are. Get impactful insights and fresh perspectives on spending and living with purpose—every Thursday evening.
People say the key to financial stability is living within your means. But what does that actually mean? I worked with a client who made nearly a million dollars a year. By most people’s standards, he was wildly successful. But during one of our sessions, he admitted something that caught me off guard: “Tyler, I’d honestly rather make $300,000 and have a life. This isn’t what I wanted.” Despite his impressive income, he felt trapped—by obligations, by expectations, by the lifestyle that came...
Hello, and welcome to another edition of me writing to you on a Friday evening and choosing to ignore the fact that I could schedule this to send at a time you're more likely to read it. But as usual, I’d rather send it out while the thought is fresh. If this is not your jam, I give you guilt-free permission to swiftly and liberally smash the UN-subscribe link (https://preview.convertkit-mail2.com/unsubscribe). Recently, I’ve been reflecting on the challenge of knowing what you truly...
I used to be a money stasher. I'd put cash in little places around the house, including in books and boxes in the closet. I opened multiple bank accounts and stashed money in where I hoped I'd forget to look. I really enjoyed "finding" money later. It felt like a nice surprise, and I guess it made me feel financially secure in the back of my mind. My own little version of, "There's always money in the banana stand!" In 2014, I discovered a bank account with $4,000 in it that I'd completely...