Spending in the last few days has gone nuts. First of all, the biggest thing, was an electrical problem. I turned on a hanging light in the kitchen, and sparks flew up and down the wire. Very scary. I called an electrician, and he came out and diagosed a problem with the switch, the wiring behind it, and the breaker panel in the basement, which needs to be replaced. He also recommended that I replace the light. Then he did a safety check in other areas, and recommended that I replace my old smoke alarm and add another in my bedroom.
Since I am leaving soon on my trip, he did not do the repairs, but made everything safe. When I return, he will come back to do the repairs. I paid half the estimate -- $1231! Thank goodness for emergency funds!
Then I ordered a new hanging light from Home Depot - $39. He will install it when he comes back for the repairs.
Then there's the eating out. I have just topped $100, very unusual for me. A big chunk of this was meals for my grandson, in conjunction with his baseball games. There have been quite a few away games, and after all those hours of traveling and playing, he's hungry. Also, I have not grocery shopped very much, not wanting to leave food at home while I'm traveling, but that means that sometimes I pop out for a quick meal.
I had to replace the filter in the aquarium -- again! That's $17, but it happens too often; I don't know why the thing keeps breaking. Everything is junk these days.
I had to pay my semi-annual auto insurance - $813 -- and my AAA membership renewed for $99 (I have a premium membership, so I can have my car towed a decent distance, if need be).
There have been a few extra expenses for the trip as well, and ordinary expenses like deoderant and probiotics and a new umbrella.
Variables are only at 65%, because the electrician's bill and insurance come out of savings. Thank goodness I have planned for both emergencies and big bills like insurance. Kind of sad though, because I'll have to rebuild my EF now, when I was doing so well saving for my bathroom remodel.
July 18th, 2022 at 11:45 pm 1658187905
You won't be eating out as much once the ball season ends. And you are right, I wouldn't want food to sit while I was gone. You are careful with your money, you'll figure out ways to make it back up.
July 27th, 2022 at 07:45 pm 1658951149
July 30th, 2022 at 02:35 pm 1659191733