I got hit by the stupid tax.

The Stupid Tax (n.) - Extra dollars paid out for no reason other than an inattentiveness to the situation.

In July I accepted a promotion at work, bringing with it a company cell phone with little to no restriction on how I use it. Since I don't really want to carry two phones, I have converted over to the new number exclusively and turned off my personal cell phone.

I do not anticipate losing the company phone any time soon, and when I do I have no problem with taking on a new cell number. I could not, however, cancel the service on my personal phone because it was under contract, and paying a $200 early termination fee doesn't seem reasonable when I can ride out the last five or six months of the contract for less.

I was reviewing my cell phone statement the other day, and it turns out my contract was up two months ago - altogether I paid three extra months for cell service that (1) I had no intention of using (2) without any justifiable reason except that I wasn't paying attention.

$90 down the drain. Rats.

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The Car is No More

I got some very bad news on Friday - something went horribly wrong in the engine of my 1998 Chevy Cavalier, and it will take at least $1500 to fix it, in the best case scenario. The Blue Book value of the car, if it was in "Fair" condition is $1900, but to call it Fair is a stretch, and that's only if it still worked. To add insult to injury, I just invested $600 in new front wheel bearings and brakes two months ago.

For the next couple of months, my wife and I will have to share her car. It isn't a huge inconvenience, since we both work similar schedules and we were carpooling two days each week anyway, but it will make it difficult for us each to take care of personal errands without a good deal of advanced planning.

I haven't decided how to handle the replacement cost yet, nor have I invested much thought in the replacement vehicle either. I know this much so far: definitely not new, definitely searching for the lowest price while maintaining a modicum of reliability, and definitely want to pay cash for it. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten too far into building our savings.

I had planned to put our tax refund towards debt and a mini-vacation, but it looks like I will be using it towards the car. The other possibility, which depends largely on how the carpooling works, is to hold off on the purchase of a new car for a while, save some more money, and take more time to hunt for the right deal.

Until next time,
Jonathan

a.k.a. Debt Magnet - I just seem to attract it.

Foiled - Car Trouble

In The Plan: Savings, I wrote that I was going to wait a while before I start building our "Long-Term Emergency Fund." I mistakenly considered that Emergency Fund a buffer against lost income. Had I been paying more attention, I would have seen the value in that Emergency Fund as a buffer against unexpected expenses that overwhealm our budget.

One unexpected expense jumped into our financial picture today. I was driving from Albany to West Hartford, CT to spend a couple of days at my Reserve Unit tidying up some issues before I transfer to a new unit. As I was clearing the toll plaza in Canaan, the last toll plaza in New York before crossing onto the Mass Turnpike, my car just stopped. Luckily, the tow back to Schodack didn't set me back a dime, thanks to the AAA. I am waiting for a call on the extent of the damages.

I need to revisit our savings plan, so I can start building that Emergency Fund. As of this last paycheck, our Short-Term Emergency Fund sits at $300.41, just a couple of months away from the $500 goal. Once I hit that goal, I will shift that contribution to the Long-Term Emergency Fund.

Until next time,
Jonathan


From My Blogroll:

Karen Datko gives a simple approach to budgeting at MSN Money's Smart Spending (originally posted at The Dough Roller).

Shannon Christman talks about insulting advertising at SavingsAdvice.Com. I have to say, I agree with her assessment.