You know how sometimes when your car is acting up and you take it to the mechanic you consider yourself ‘lucky’ if you get out of there without spending $xxx? Yeah. Another adventure in plumbing today.
I was going down to the basement to put away some ammo and right off the bat I knew something was wrong. I could smell water. Sure enough, theres a puddle on the floor. I hate plumbing problems. Hate them. An ancient gate valve had decided now was a good time to go ahead and give up the ghost. Trouble is, it could never be in an easy-to-access area. Nope. There’s ductwork hanging from the ceiling and, of course, the valve in question is right behind the duct. And, not just any duct. A duct that has another duct coming into it form the side. So thats a three-point F.U. to deal with.
Now, it wasn’t all bad. I managed to find a plumber who could show up today, rather than next Tuesday (looking at you Garden City Plumbing & Heating), and the kid did the job pretty well it appears, and so far everythign seems to be holding together. Replaced the ancient valve with a nice new ball valve (why, oh why, would anyone use anything else???) and now life can go on. I was expecting to drop between $500-$1000 because there’s always something that keeps it from being a straightforward and simple fix. But, knock on wood, it looks like escaped with only $175 left behind.
Fortunately, part of my preps include an emergency fund. So, it was just a matter of paying the man and life goes back to somewhat normal. Except…I have to try and put the ductwork back together.
The emergency fund, however, turned a potential Big Deal into an inconvenience. I deprive myself of some luxuries in life… new car, fancy clothes, latest electronics, basic medical care…just so I can have something in the bank for when these sorts of events happen. For those keeping track, this was another case where the crisis required greenbacks and not an AR and plates. Oh, someday the crisis will happen that does require M855 and that sort of thing, but by the time that happens there will have been a hundred crises that required the greenbacks.
So…prepare for The End Of The World, but also prepare for the smaller, more mundane and localized end-of-the-worlds…and that is almost always remedied with cash.
ETA: I was right. Complications. :::sigh::: Plumber is on his way back.
Well said… Laying money aside for day to day emergencies was one of the best things people can do to avert crisis mode…this last year I have been socking away cold hard cash in case of a Greek bank situation here on the home front…even if it becomes worthless in a collapse it is still useful in the short term…cut to scene in the original Dawn of the Dead where they load wads of bills into bags and say “You never know?!?!”
Yes sir. And *not* do so is what makes ‘poor people’ poor. A ‘payday’ loan or title loan for something like this just sets the dominoes in motion. Firearms get sold in a hurry (and massive loss).
Sorry to hear you’re having plumbing issues. Hope it works out on the low side $$$. I’m a new reader and have to say that I’m here to stay after that post. I made the realization a few years back that having cash for unforeseen circumstances is probably the most effective prep one can have day to day. Hopefully I’ll never need the other stuff, but I know I will (and do) need the greenbacks in reserve.
Just put out 3200 bucks for a new well pump. It hurt but it didn’t break us. Be prepared all around.
In addition to having funds in the bank, a stash of actual greenbacks on hand would make sense. Systems can crash, and a power failure makes your cards useless for Right Now! purchases.
How much to hold is the question, and one should keep some of it in small bills for little stuff like lunch, and filling your gas tank, etc.
“So…prepare for The End Of The World, but also prepare for the smaller, more mundane and localized end-of-the-worlds…and that is almost always remedied with cash.”
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Very sage advice. We all KNOW that we’ll face similar problems. A budget for car/house/etc. emergencies should be one of the first steps in prepping. Why “prepare” for TEOTWAWKI if you’ll be broke and facing a world of hurt before things even start to fall apart? Thanks for such a great post.
For those of us who just must know, what were the complications?
Extremely old pipes, when jostled andbanged around, send sediment and rust downstream to block up the nipples on the hot water heater and the faucet diverters. Just one thing after another.