As I mentioned before, we started shifting money into our savings account to save up for upcoming expenditures. One the items was the 60K mile service on our Honda van. We are about to leave on a road trip, and the odometer reads 69K... so we were way overdue.
Our van is no longer under warranty (for the most part) and I am doing a happy dance. I have had a great deal of difficulty with the dealership when it comes to getting oil changes or service. They are over-the-top when it comes to amenities, but the customer service personnel is another issue. They aren't exactly polite when it comes to being around kids. Especially when you have four of them. I took the van in for an oil change recently, so that I could redeem a punch card for a free one. We were quoted 45 minutes for our wait time. We were there 2 hours and 10 minutes. For an oil change, people!!! Four kids and a stressed-out mom, crammed into a 6x8 playroom, for 2 hours and 10 minutes. I may or may not have been responsible for some verbal abuse as I was paying my bill. The best way to get out on time is to take your cranky kids back out to the service desk area at the appointed time, and let them go full boar. Then you politely ask, "Dude! Where's my car?"
This time we happily took our car to our regular mechanic, Tom. Tom works only on imports, and I have been taking my cars to him since I was 16. We had our old Subaru Forester up until this past April, when the head gasket blew climbing a mountain pass, so we haven't seen him in awhile. It was actually one of his mechanics that took the vehicle off of our hands for $500. We were thrilled! We were facing the very real possibility that we would only be able to sell if for scrap - and get *maybe* $100 for it. So, since our van is now out of warranty - I was all too happy to finally bring it around to see Tom.
Following advice we received from Financial Peace University, we called ahead a couple of months ago to find out what the estimated amount for the service would be so that we could begin saving. We divided it up the amount, spread it out between the paychecks, and saved up the $400 we would need. That was a generous estimate, but it was nice to know it would be there.
The car was worked on yesterday, and I went back in the late afternoon to pick it up. I was double-checking the bank balance on the way (my dad was driving), but just about had a mini-heart attack when I saw what was left in our checking account. I was dropping off the mortgage payment that afternoon as well, (yeah - we were paying on the last day of the grace period...), and adding the two amounts together (mortgage and car)- it was more than was in the checking account. WHAT??? I went into shock! How could this have happened? We have been so careful! It took a full minute for me to realize that the money for the car service WAS there. It was just over in the savings account. We have been operating for so long (YEARS) with nothing but the minimum balance in the savings account ($25 bucks) that I completely forgot it was there.
Thank you Dave Ramsey! What a feeling of relief to know that the money was there and that the money was meant for nothing else but the car service. I wouldn't be shorting us for grocery or gas money, or be unable to pay some other bill because had I paid for the car service. In the past, that was the vicious cycle. Rob from one item to pay for another.
So, since it felt so good to have this money there and ready to go, and I like this feeling and I want to continue it, I called up Tom this morning and asked him when the next scheduled service is and what the cost estimate would be. He told me 90K and around $1200. It is a doozy of a service because a lot of things need to be replaced at that point. That makes sense... So. We are at 69K right now. We average 900 miles a month. Each trip to OK is about 3K, and we go 2 -3 times a year. We are not planning any other trips at this time because our focus is to pay off debt - not blow it on a trip. So, I figure we will need this service in about 16 - 18 months. Divide it out and I come up with $40 each paycheck. That hurts a lot less than trying to come up with $1200 all at once.
So save your pennies - but give a name to each and every one and make a plan for those pennies! The peace of mind is worth every penny. :)
Penny for your thoughts??
(okay, that was corny)
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