Trying to be and a responsible adult. I wake up, shower, get dressed, get in the truck to go to work, turn the key annnnnnd…whirrrwhirrrwhirrr. Frak!
Ninety minutes late for work (on the second day of a new job!). And then there was the bill for dropping the fuel tank, pulling out the dead fuel pump, replacing it with a new one, and putting the whole mess back together.
Panic? Rage? Frustration? Nope. Barely even a blip on the heartrate monitor? Why? Because I’ve got a buttload of money sitting in an emergency fund for just this sort of thing. Gave the guy a buncha cash, got in my truck, drove away. No worrying about how I was gonna meet the rent, pay for groceries, keep the lights on, etc. Nope. Just give the man some money and be on my way.
Years ago it would have been a different story. I’d have been hadning over guns at the counter of a pawn shop or something. But, now? Not even a stressful thought.
Resilience. Brought to you by an emergency fund. I know I’ve said it before but it is so freaking true: you will need $50 bills more often than .50 BMG. Prepare for the end of the world, sure…but also be prepared for the world to not end. And for that, there’s money.
My old self would be totally awed by my new(er) self. And probably want to borrow money from me.
Too soon old, but hopefully not too late smart.
My family has a comfortable amount of cash in the bank and a couple of empty credit cards with pretty big limits on them. We even have a few bits of paper currently stashed in convenient places.
Like you, this is a far cry from when I was young, stupid and saw no end to my debt.
Kurt
An emergency cash stash in the 5-digit range solves a lot of what would formerly be considered “major” problems.
In the same way that .50BMG turns “cover” into “concealment”.
An emergency fund is an absolute necessity. We have had one for many years, and considering inflation, it gets larger every year. We also do the dreaded word, “budget”.
With some pickups, it is easier and quicker to dismount the bed to access the fuel pump. This can be important in areas that cause rust under the vehicle. Messing with tank mounting hardware, and crash plates under 4×4 tanks, can lead to broken hardware and even broken tank straps, and may include fuel line, filler hose, and sender harness damage when dropping the tank to the ground so the connectors can be accessed.
Some spare parts(common problems for particular vehicle;starter/alternator/fuel pump/tune up) would be a better idea as parts are becoming supply chain victims and no amount of cash helps if parts are unobtainium. Grease has started to be a problem as a fire destroyed the US largest grease plant a few weeks ago.
Nothing is unobtainium with enough cash, but i get your point.
There is more to prepping than bullets, beans, and band aids.
SHTF comes in many forms.
There is an old quote, don’t remember who said it–
“There ain’t too many things a man can’t fix, with $500.00 and a 30-06”
Jeff Cooper
http://dvc.org.uk/jeff/lindy2.html
Sorry should read from Jeff Copper
Seven hundred Silver dollars
So, is it better to have a healthy emergency fund, or a somewhat smaller fund and another vehicle? Right now, even a used car is costly, but if/when prices return to earth, would a backup vehicle be a good idea?
No, because what if the problem isnt the vehicle but something else?
Sam– right you are, thanks
Read somewhere once that people asking for a ‘little help’ are asking for money. Whether begging at an offramp or an inlaw hinting at dough, that’s where they’re at.
In the book, they had 10k in cash. I’d start with 1k set aside, but I definitely agree money will be if more use to most than ammo ever will.
In my CJ7 I could change out the fuel pump in about 15 minutes, Not counting the time it took to let the gasket seal dry, add a half hour for that, same went for the water pump, the fuel filter was about ten minutes. The starter was a bit longer.
Now with the Buick to get any of that dome its a tow to the garr and a big check to the mechanic.