In Case of Emergency

We have an emergency fund.  It serves exactly that purpose.  We turn to our emergency fund whenever we have a financial burden we have not planned.  Sometimes there isn't enough in the car maintenance budget for a big repair. We turn to our emergency fund. Our rental may need more work than we have expected.  We turn to our emergency fund. Unplanned medical bills may creep in to our lives. The emergency fund is there for us.

It doesn't just provide cash if needed.  It provides peace.  It provides security.  We always know that we have that extra little bit to fall back on.  When we do, our number one priority changes to building it back up. Since creating the emergency fund we have never needed to borrow more money.  We have never regretted cutting up those credit cards.  We have never had to ask for financial help.  Now that we have paid off much of our debt, many emergencies can even be cash flowed. 

An emergency can feel like a mountain that was thrown in your path. You don't have to turn to mom and dad.  You don't need to use a credit card. Going into more debt causes an emergency within an emergency. Create your emergency fund as quickly as possible so that your next emergency is merely a bump in the road.

Dave Said, "Sell the Car"

I don't consider myself to be a materialistic person, but for some strange reason I get attached to vehicles.  They become part of the family. Perhaps it is because we rely on them so much.  Maybe it is because they are involved in so many memories.  The first time I recall selling a vehicle was my family's little jeep. One of those gems with the wood paneling. My sister and I loved that car!  We went to work with Dad the day he sold it.  We cried when it drove away.

I'm not the only one that feels this way. It is likely the most difficult part of completing Dave's plan.  It is also the most monumental. It reiterates your emotional commitment to Dave's plan.  It frees up several hundred dollars a month and many thousands of your total debt.

Did we sell our trucks?  You bet!  Was it easy?  No way.  Did we, like so many of Dave's callers, resist and make excuses?  Absolutely!!  Why?  Those trucks were a part of the family.

Cinnamon had to go first. We sold her while still living in Ridgecrest. I thought I felt about her the same way I feel about little dogs; little pickups just aren't trucks.  But the day she sold, I nearly cried. That little red pickup was the car I couldn't wait to see every other weekend during our six months of dating. I would wait longingly, like a child waits for Christmas, to see that truck pull into my driveway. Even after we got married I found myself looking out the window waiting to see that truck every lunch hour and at the end of the day. It was a symbol that my Love was within arms reach and not seven hours away. 

We survived nearly a year with only one vehicle. After moving back to Northern California we finally admitted that we needed to sell Pepper, our beautiful diesel F250.  My first truck. This was going to hurt. I survived. We survived.

We now proudly drive two beaters. The car doesn't have AC, only one window rolls down and the stereo doesn't work. The truck's AC is finicky, the paint is peeling off the hood and it smells like smoke. I doubt I will cry the day we sell (or donate) these cars, but I might.  They have become part of the family. They are reliable. They aren't accompanied by a large monthly car payment. They aren't contributing to the family debt. 

It isn't an easy step. It is an important step. It is life changing. If you have a car payment it is time to sell!  You too will survive.