The £1,000 emergency fund challenge.

Depth_of_Field

Can I join too please? Need to get this sorted for 2015

patman99

Welcome onboard DoF.

kdalwayskint

Oh no, the absolute worst has happened

Road trip to visit family (Wiltshire to Kent) I broke down :eek: I didn't have any breakdown cover had to sign up for RAC on the roadside £140ish :mad: lesson learnt there!

I know I don't want it, but thank God I had the CC with me.

I was nearer Kent than home so we've been recovered to my dad's, we could have been recovered back home but that would have cost another £163!

So I will be stripping my EF all £11.41 of it, my saving for next Christmas fund all £30 and the £13 left from my car fund (had a small windscreen wash repair done last week otherwise that would have been £40) and putting it all towards my CC

Hopefully my cousin will be able to help me sort the car the in the next few days.

So feeling a little :eek::(:angry:

[Deleted User]

kdalwayskint
My heart goes out to you, it really does. It's always one step forward and then half a dozen steps back in trying to get out of the money-mire isn't it? I don't know how I'd have coped with your emergency as I don't have any credit cards or overdraft and what emergency fund I have managed to build up ( thanks to this challenge) is still only £100. You did the best thing you possibly could and at least you can have a winter relatively free of motoring worries now you're in the RAC:).

I hope the repair doesn't cost too much (lucky you knowing someone who can help:j) and you can start building up your EF again.

Take care:kisses3:

patman99

What a pity no-one else in the car had break-down cover.

£140 is expensive, but I guess that this is standard for those who join at the roadside AFTER they break down. The RAC used to have a policy of not charging any extra, but having a minimum 4 hours from signing to being able to make your first call.

Mind you, reminds me of a car that broke-down along the road from me. The guy went to join the break-down services, but discovered that there was a penalty for joining at the roadside, so he joined, left the car for a week, then called the AA out. He told them he had just come out of the pub down the road and the car had stopped. He got away with it.

I have personal rather than car-specific cover, so if a vehicle I'm in breaks-down and the driver has no cover, no problem.

kdalwayskint

Thanks Patman, unfortunately it was just me and my 16 year-old son.

If was one of those things I thought I'd get round to sorting out, and then forgot about hopefully my son has learnt a lesson from this too

Nintud

#7 reporting in after a long absence. I've added Christmas money from my parents and a surprise refund from the water board and pushed my ef up to £650. The refund came out of the blue, an unexpected cheque for over £400. Turns out they had been charging me for a service they do not provide to my street because they have never adopted my street from the builders ( who went bust). 15 years worth of waste water (street drainage not house drainage) returned. Not sure how this impacts on us if the drains block though.

It won't be in the ef for long as I've still got a taped up Ensuite loo but now at least I can finally call in a plumber!

Bobarella

Kdalway oh no what a rubbish situation. I broke down in Feb on a really nasty stretch of dual carriage way just up the road from a roundabout. It was terrifying as cars kept whizzing up to then past us. I had my then 5 year old with me and was so grateful for the A A. Even then it took an hour for them to find us. But we paid to be recovered to London from Essex and then the car was only good for scrap. I'm glad you have some help coming and you will get back to saving again soo n I'm sure.

Eyebright

Ooopsy, I've been AWOL from the forum for the best part of 7 weeks now! I was so busy with Christmas and all the rest I've just not been on the forum.


However I have managed to push some small amounts into the emergency fund, which is now standing at 22%! Up from 18% when I last logged in Pretty pleased with that, and I'm aiming to get it to 25% by the end of January. I've got a 250 mile trip to Cheshire and my brothers 21st birthday, so this will be tough!


How is everyone else doing? Hello to all the new members who have joined since I last showed my face! Right I'm off to read about 25 pages to catch up!!!!

peony40

Evening all,

Sorry to have been absent but been busy with trying to sell our home. Since my last post I now have £105 in my emergency fund so I am slowly getting there.

I will try and be a more regular poster from now on.