Comments on: Using Your Emergency Fund for Non Emergencies

By: Payday Loans

Payday Loans — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:04:38 +0000

I never used to save… luckily I have started to now. So I now have one of these funds to blow.. I mean save!

By: Stacey

Stacey — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 21:53:20 +0000

I’m so glad to hear your solution. We recently learned that our 13-year-old car will need some major repairs in the near future and it caused us to ask how much longer we are willing to put into a car that old with over 130k miles. (Although I had been telling myself I wanted it to make it to 200k!) I would love to find a car of good value for $10k but that would almost empty our EF. I LOVE the idea that we could finance a car with a 0% interest loan and keep our money in our EF. Now that I’ve set this intention I think I will be more willing to look for this deal. Thanks again!

By: Lucie @ Unconventional Origins

Lucie @ Unconventional Origins — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 03:52:41 +0000

I think you found the perfect solution. Yay for having a new dishwasher!

Lucie @ Unconventional Origins´s last blog post..Hoping babies get AIDS (or, how NOT to win back voters)

By: Gina

Gina — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 16:10:34 +0000

This rationalization is a bit difficult for me to swallow – I suspect that it is what gets most of us in debt in the first place. I really really need a whatchamagig, so it is ok to finance it – chances are very good that you will end up paying finance charges for that dishwasher, that is how companies can afford to offer that ‘deal’. Slippery slope, or not so slippery, this is more debt plain and simple for an unnecessary item that you could not afford.

By: Dana @ Letters to Elijah

Dana @ Letters to Elijah — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 15:36:14 +0000

That’s a tiny kitchen!

Congrats on your new dishwasher. I think it’s good that you asked if it was an emergency and thought outside the box. The key here is that you paused and thought

Dana @ Letters to Elijah´s last blog post..What 6 months of snow looks like…..

By: Kristy @ Master Your Card

Kristy @ Master Your Card — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 06:47:04 +0000

I stand by my original argument that a dishwasher isn't an emergency and therefore, I would not consider the use of emergency funds to replace it. However, I think your solution is perfect. You get to make interest free payments for a better quality product AND you get to keep your emergency fund. Personally, the only appliance I would use my emergency funds for is the refrigerator. I don't have a cooler that could sustain the refrigerator and freezer contents and I would end up spending more to replace the food when I did get around to getting a new refrigerator. Also, since I live in Texas where the heat stays in triple digits like 7 months of the year, my AC would be another emergency fund usage - though fortunately, apartment living offers me the grace of not having to pay for ANY of these appliances myself. Another joy of apartment living. Kristy @ Master Your Card´s last blog post..The Customer-Centric Culture

By: Sherry

Sherry — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 02:29:33 +0000

Thanx Saver Queen for your comments. For me, having a greater “awareness” or stewardship of “where” our money goes has allowed me to “prepare” for those unexpected “rainy days”…the car, the appliance, a tax bill, maybe even a speeding ticket (ooops!). I think if we can annotate/track “where” our money goes, we can see trends & then those unexpected events are not so stressful.

For us, there is no blurring between the lines of non-emergent vs. emergent. As I write this, I have lost 50% of my hours @ work over the last 3 weeks (and I’m a RN!!). But I would not even consider touching that emergency fund unless we were starving or they were going to take away the house…..it just wouldn’t happen. I think much of my anxiety as well as conviction comes from having struggled many years ago..I just don’t EVER want to feel that again….it was pure hell & I won’t ever go there again. Which is the driving force which keeps me from touching that $$$.

By: Saver Queen

Saver Queen — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 20:20:30 +0000

Don’t get me wrong, not having a dishwasher sucks, and obviously with your tiny kitchen, it’s important for your own sanity to have one! And it sounds like you got a reasonable deal.

If I were in your position, I probably would have done the exact same thing. But I stand by my previous comment, that you should have separate accounts – one for real emergencies (covering basic NEEDS like food, rent and transportation to work) and one for the “rainy day” fund as Sherry describes.

The biggest problem is that when you pull money out of your emergency fund, you blur the line between emergencies and non-emergencies. What happens if you pull the money for something non-essential and then someone loses a job, or you have a major health care expense to attend to?

The rainy day expenses happen all the time. I just got a big bill for a $1200 car repair. While it is “unexpected”, in a way you can expect and plan for big expenses to happen almost every month.

Bottom line: I like Sherry’s idea of keeping the accounts separate or at least keeping a running total (a mental divide) of what the accounts can be used for.

Saver Queen´s last blog post..Reusing plastic bags

By: Andy @ Retire at 40

Andy @ Retire at 40 — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 19:59:41 +0000

Heh, well that's fair enough. Maybe we didn't see it as an emergency but you know your own situation better than anyone. Gee, and I thought my kitchen was small. Good that you got it all on interest free anyway

Andy @ Retire at 40´s last blog post..Personal Finance is Not a Destination, it's a Journey

By: Sherry

Sherry — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 03:28:34 +0000

I know many see a dishwasher as a luxury & I count myself fortunate to have one. Replacing ours would not be an “emergency” such as a hotwater heater but it would be very high on the list of “we need to find a great deal QUICKLY!” I work outside of the home & my time is limited…a dishwasher is a “tool” which allows me to get thru my day & accomplish much more with the time I have alloted. I have found my “perception” of our “emergency fund” to be very narrow i.e. it would have to be a MAJOR issue to tap that fund. I had MAJOR heartburn everytime my dh would pull $500 out to pay a unexpected car repair or $$ for Christmas. So…I divided the funds…keeping an account of “savings” for “anticipated” emergencies (if such a thing exists??). I would define appliances breaking, car repairs, minor health bills, etc. Not necessarily emergencies but expected events that occur without notice. No appliance or car is going to last forever without some form of repair. So, our “emergency fund” is truly that & now our “Rainy Day” fund is for those areas such as a broken appliance. Mentally, I don’t get so freaked out when we have to pull $$ out of this fund, I feel like I have “planned” for use of this fund as needs arise……

I know it all sounds like psycho babble, but it helps me with decisions of this nature.

And if I had your kitchen….I wouldn’t have thought twice about buying a new dishwasher with a interest free payment plan. In your case, it’s not a luxury, it’s a necessity!!