3-6 Month Emergency Fund Challenge!!

DuranGirl

Morning All


Thanks CRV for your comments, clearly a few of us are having a tough time of it at the moment. Thank goodness for this thread!


My wonderful dad is at the garage as I write this, talking to my mechanic about what else I could spend money on to "repair" my car. I think it's going to cost around another £300:eek: for another wretched part. I have no option but to have the repair, and they're not going to charge for labour (quite right too), but I wondered what your thoughts were on how I should pay for it. I can see three options:

1. Pay using my debit card and go o/d this month (by about £250). I don't get charged per transaction when in the red and the o/d would be cleared on payday, so minimal interest. Don't touch the EF.
2. Pay using my credit card and clear the balance next month by DD as usual, so no interest. Don't touch the EF.
3. Pay using the EF. The money is there, but it would take me longer to replace the spend from the EF than if I use option 1 or 2 and keep up my regular EF payments. There will be money for 1 or 2 straight after payday.

Not sure if that makes sense.:o What do you think? Tired and confused today.

DuranGirl

I have my little car back from its third visit to the garage! The panic I had earlier about the cost was significantly reduced when the mechanic said that it was worth trying the scrap yard for the part, as they don't conk out very often. So instead of the £400 for a new one, my dad found one locally for £20! :ADriving home was a white knuckle ride - I'm just waiting for it to go wrong again now - but tomorrow to and from work will be the acid test. So, unless I have to buy the new part after all, I shan't be going overdrawn this month! :j:T Going to have a nice cup of tea and stop clogging up this wonderful thread with all my moans! Everyone has been so supportive - I hope I can do the same for you too!

[Deleted User]

I'm so pleased for you DuranGirl, that your car repair costs didn't hurt too much:T. It's always worth trying to find parts for older cars in scrapyards, you can save a fortune, as long as your mechanic is willing to fit used parts and doesn't try to make a profit from supplying new ones. OH tries to find used parts for my old car every time I need anything (which has been too often this year:eek:). He isn't always successful though, but you could also try eBay if it looks like a well-trusted seller and you know exactly what you want.


Keeping my fingers crossed for a trouble free drive for you tomorrow and every day after:)


Don't ever worry about moaning on here, it's good to get things off our chests and it's sometimes a lot easier with people we don't actually know. We're all here to support each other on what is often a long and scary journey through the financial jungle.

stormpassing

Oh dear, sorry to hear about everyone's woes. Anything that drains money is particularly unwelcome at this time of year. I had similar car trouble a few years ago. Turned out to be some kind of electrical fault but took 5+ visits to the garage and several hundred pounds before it was successfully fixed and I was starting to lose hope so I do sympathise DuranGirl. On a more positive note I have added my weekly fiver taking my total to £20.

Stay positive and keep up the good work.
SP x

patman99

Ah yes, the good old scrappy. A first port of call when looking for car parts.

I had the con2000 (the cluster that houses the lightswitches, indicators, wipers and radio controller on the steering column) go on my Berlingo earlier this year (common fail on Citroens and peugeots). New part £385. Second hand unit from ebay, £41. Guess which one I went for.

Cost to fit was 1 hour's labour at £60 as it involved removing the steering wheel and airbag (not something I wish to undertake myself).

I could have purchased a repair kit for £10 but would have had to pay even more in labour to get them to dismantle the unit to replace the part than it cost to buy the 2nd-hand one.

Have started to post some money-saving ideas and budgetting tips on the facebook page, so hopefully we may see a few new faces appearring on this thread.

Anyway, 8 days to end of working month, then just got to wait until last Friday of month for pay.
Did well last week, as had 2.5 hours away from work on the Monday for an interview (they thought I was at a hospital appointment). This would have left me short, but luckily my boss took pity on me and let me work Saturday. So in the end, got 1.5 hours overtime after making-up the lost hours.

Hoping for another Saturday this week, but not looking good at the moment as 90% of the staff are on normal hours as there is littles work to do at the moment.

DuranGirl

Well, I'm still here with a knackered car.... managed to get less than five minutes from home before the red light of death appeared again and speed dropped to 10 mph. Limped home, had a cry, texted work (who are still utterly brilliant) and phoned my dad. Waiting for the garage owner to arrive before discussing next steps. My mum just wants to take me out and buy me a new car. I personally want to crawl back into bed and wait for spring.

[Deleted User]

Afternoon all on this blustery day, sorry to hear some of you are struggling at the moment, sending hugs to those who need them.

A Tilly Tidy for me today makes my new balance of £842, am hoping to break the £1000 barrier over the weekend

lexbubbles

Sorry to hear about those car problems I hope it gets fixed soon.

Well, my family are (finally) paying back the remainder of the money they owe me in regular instalments. It started as a £7,000 loan some 5 years ago, but I've been getting it back intermittently. There's still £2,100 left to pay but they're going to chuck £50 a week over when they can afford it (so any week that there isn't a big bill)

Got the first £50 through today, so put it in the EF. That along with rounding down from paypal payments etc puts me at a little over £30 this week alone. Proper chuffed with that.

crazy_cat_lady

DuranGirl wrote: »

My mum just wants to take me out and buy me a new car.

If this is a genuine offer then take it. I drove an old car until pretty recently. It was starting to need a bit of work doing on it and I was finding a couple of hundred pounds here and there and in the summer my mam offered to lend me money for a new car, which I refused. Fast forward to September when I had a £700 repair to pay for, which made me more determined to drive it until it died. It died on December 21 the same year - and I ended up taking my mam up on her offer. Could have saved about a thousand pounds if I'd done it earlier as well, which I still kick myself for. The money I saved from car maintenance meant I could pay her back pretty quickly as well...
I would only recommend an old car to someone who has the knowledge and time to fix it themselves. I have neither of those things.

DuranGirl

I've never had a brand new car. This one is only ten years old - one of the newest I've had. Mostly I've gone with Ford that have been so reliable and low-cost to maintain (I have no skills in that area either). I could never let my parents do that for me - they've helped out my sister and brother-in-law a lot lately and I worry that their own finances might be under pressure too. It's just one of those things. It did occur to me tonight that, when my new mortgage comes through next month, I could use the extra I've borrowed to do up my bathroom to buy a newer car instead, and save up for the bathroom. I really don't want to go down the finance route as work is a bit shaky. A mortgage would be manageable on a lower wage, but not with car finance as well. I'm going to sit tight and see what tomorrow brings.