Monday, August 18, 2008

Savings, revisited.

Our home is crashing down before us....

As I anticipate what the air conditioner guy will say (once he gets here), we could be looking at a whole new air conditioning unit (we have central air). My friend just had to replace hers, and it cost about $5,000.00.

I use to have $5,000.00 in my savings account....until I "needed" things....I now have $2,700.00 in savings. That's not enough for a new air condition unit....

What have we been doing with our cash?

We've been putting $500.00 mos. into a 529 plan, and paying cash for my daughters tuition/room and board. And I suppose, spending money on things we just didn't need.

I was so hoping to have at least $10,000.00 in savings by now.

It's now time to get serious about savings. We will be celebrating 10 years in our home in September and I'm afraid along with that goes replacement of many appliances, etc. I can tell you that our cooktop is about to blow. Our refridgerator is slowly dying....and my washing machine is making strange sounds. Not to mention the furnace...or the roof...etc. etc.

Ah, home ownership. I read somewhere that you are suppose to put away 1% of the value of your home for home maintenance, so by the time you need to do some repairs, the money will be sitting there. I have not done that, and I'm afraid a storm is brewing ahead.

So, I will now calculate what is needed to fund a 1% home value fund, and regigger our budget accordingly. So much for the cash envelopes...there will be nothing in them....

6 comments:

Grace. said...

Hmm--looks like Murphy CAN be two places at once! Nice thing about living in the Pacific NW is that we mostly don't DO weather. We just had three 100+ days in a row, and you would've thought the world crashed and global warming landed in our back yard! But never mind, we're back to 76 degrees today. I only have one air conditioner--in my upstairs bedroom.

Anonymous said...

Oh Sharon, I'm so sorry to hear about all these expenses popping up!!

That's no way to return from a holiday.

I hope you'll manage to fix all the things that need fixing, and be on your way to saving again soon.

Praying for you, that you'll be able to stick this out, and soon be motivated by your steps forward again!!

Denise Mall said...

Okay, I think something is wrong with that $5k number. All I can say is price check.

I just, and I mean just, paid for a 5 Ton A/C Unit at my COMMERCIAL Property. It cost me under $3600. I find it highly unlikely that yours would be $5 for your home.

Most homes use a 3 -3.5 Ton unit. I have 2600 SQ FT and a 3.5 High Efficency A/C. LENOX

So, take your time and get quotes.

It may be that all you need is a new condensing unit or a charge.

Anonymous said...

I understand you woes....we are starting to see those same problems. The 1% of your home value is a great idea. Kuddos to you for planning on changes.

DLD

http://debtlessduty.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Oy. That sucks.

Jennifer said...

I know just what you mean! We need to replace out heating system this month. We budgeted and saved $5,000 but depending on what kind of a system we decide on it could cost much more. And, I know soon we will need to replace the windows, the roof, the appliances, etc. Ugh! We NEED to get all our debt paid off so that we can begin to save for these inevitable expenses!

I never heard of the 1% rule - thanks for sharing. And good luck! :)