Not enough in Emergency Fund!

PasturesNew

I am close to retirement age.

I used my first tumble drier a couple of months ago, never had a clue how marvellous they are.  It was somebody else's.  I might/might not get one in the future, but they're not essentials. I've had a lifetime of drying outside (1-2 days) or drying on an airer indoors (2-5 days)... one lives. 

When I lived in a studio flat I specifically measured the shower cubicle and bought an airer that'd fit inside that.  I often pop airers into the bath in other houses.

I've never had/used a dishwasher. I never expect to.  

Unicorn_cottage

Buy 2nd hand. They will last you until you have replaced. I could not survive without a dryer. I live in the South West and it rains all the blinking time. I of course put on the line in the summer. Our dryer is a cast off from my in-laws and was really old when they gave it to us but it is still going strong.

SadieO

I never had or wanted a dishwasher until I moved into a house that had one already. Now I wouldn't be without one! I love that, even when dishes are dirty (and you are waiting to dirty more in order to fill it up!) they are shut away in the dishwasher so the kitchen still looks tidy even if technically the washing up still needs doing! Also, I've read various studies saying they use less water and energy than washing up by hand, also that because they can use hotter water than you can stand by hand they get rid of more bacteria. I don't have a dryer and am not bothered about one, but we don't have kids or wear uniforms so it's never an issue that items need to be dried quickly. We've got enough clothes that some items can hang for a day or two!
OP, not to encourage you to spend money unnecessarily but you do need to think about your life, what works for you and what you need. Maybe don't rush out and buy top of the range new models, but if you try without and struggle then don't feel guilty about buying things that you require, especially if you do so in a MSE way! - second hand etc. Do you have an Emmaus near you? They often sell refurbished white goods (and you are helping a charity!)

D_M_E

Your original post says 3 items died - dryer, dishwasher and....what was the third?
Have you tried Freecycle in your local area for replacements?

With the dryer dying, how much will not using it save on your energy bill?

Drawingaline

When our dryer broke we had to get another one. I am a cleaner and wash my cloths every evening, and they just wouldn't be dry the next day without a dryer. But I try to only use it or cloths and bedding. 

I don't like dishwashers. I took the built in one out when we bought this house. Wash everything by hand and always have. I watch my sister empty and load her dishwasher, it takes so long he could have just washed the dirty dishes in the same time!

Unless either of these items were essential I would leave it for a few months. By then you will know if having them is a deal breaker or you, and by them you will hopefully have enough money for them. 

EssexHebridean

PasturesNew said:

I am close to retirement age.

I used my first tumble drier a couple of months ago, never had a clue how marvellous they are.  It was somebody else's.  I might/might not get one in the future, but they're not essentials. I've had a lifetime of drying outside (1-2 days) or drying on an airer indoors (2-5 days)... one lives. 

When I lived in a studio flat I specifically measured the shower cubicle and bought an airer that'd fit inside that.  I often pop airers into the bath in other houses.

I've never had/used a dishwasher. I never expect to.  

This reminds me of when I was a child, the airer had "v-shaped" feet and ALWAYS sat over the bath - I'd completely forgotten about that until I read this post! 

middleclassbutpoor

I think whilst this is probably an extreme example of why £1000 emergency fund is recommended. 

I will use a Dave Ramsey phrase here which goes something like - Get gazelle like with selling everything and anything you can get your hand on to build your emergency fund.  You should be so intense with this that the kids think they're being sold next!

The only time you should see the inside of a restaurant is if you have a job there.  Really cut back and be prepared to eat beans and rice, rice and beans until you are debt free. 

Clearly the kids bit is said in jest but the principles covered are true.  You should be focused on getting the £1000 saved up (if you have over £20k of income or £500 if less) asap so you can focus on repaying debt.  You can do this by squeezing every £ out of your income.  

As others have suggested - go without these appliances and one of 2 things will happen.  You will get so determined to get one that you will save up, or you will get so used to not having one that you will use the electricity savings to help build your emergency fund. 

amanda_p

The heated airer from the land of lakes folds flat when not in use,so no problem with storage.

phoebe1989seb

I wouldn't be without my dishwasher, although like a previous poster I didn't have one till we stayed in a holiday cottage with one (in the early 2000s) and realised what a difference having one made 
OTOH, my parents had one for years then swapped it out for an extra cabinet - I could never understand that. Even though there's only the two of us these days we still fill the dishwasher at least once a day.....
We've never had a tumble dryer and I've never used one - although when we bought our first flat we had a washer dryer which was rubbish at drying, so I think that deterred me. Now we live in beautiful but very wet Wales, we're seriously considering a tumble dryer 

phoebe1989seb

I wouldn't be without my dishwasher, although like a previous poster I didn't have one till we stayed in a holiday cottage with one (in the early 2000s) and realised what a difference having one made 

OTOH, my parents had one for years then swapped it out for an extra cabinet - I could never understand that. Even though there's only the two of us these days we still fill the dishwasher at least once a day.....

We've never had a tumble dryer and I've never used one - although when we purchased our first flat in 1987 we bought a washer dryer which was rubbish at drying, so I think that has always deterred me. Now we live in beautiful but very wet Wales, we're seriously considering buying a tumble dryer