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Warning: My water heater died and my emergency fund saved me $1200 in fees
Last Tuesday my hot water started going cold mid-shower, and by Wednesday morning the pilot light wouldn't even catch. I called three plumbers in Austin and the cheapest quote was $1,400 for a new unit plus install. Lucky for me I had been tucking away $50 a month into an emergency fund for the last two years, so I wasn't stuck financing it on a credit card at 22% interest. The real win was that the plumber offered a $200 discount if I paid cash, which I could do because I had the money set aside. I feel like if I hadn't been budgeting for stuff like this, I would have had to take out a loan or just gone without hot water for weeks. Has anyone else had a major appliance crap out on them and found their emergency fund saved the day?
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hart.mark1d ago
Paid cash for the exact same thing last year. My pilot light went out and the control valve was shot. Had about 800 saved up for random house stuff, covered the whole thing plus a new water heater from the supply house. Honestly, having cash on hand feels way better than owing some plumbing company 1500 bucks with interest. Good on you for sticking with that 50 a month plan. Most people pretend emergencies won't happen until theyre standing in cold water.
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