My car repair fund saved me $600 when the alternator died at a gas station

I was filling up at a Shell station in Greenville last Thursday when my battery light came on and the engine just died. Turns out the alternator completely gave out, and the tow truck driver quoted me $800 for a shop repair. I remembered I had been putting $50 a month into a separate emergency car fund for 4 years (weird win, I know), so I paid $200 for a used alternator and installed it myself in the parking lot with a buddy's tools. Has anyone else built up a specific fund for something like car repairs or home stuff, and did it actually save you when something broke?

3 comments

3 Comments

margaret_kim132mo ago

4 years of $50 a month adds up fast, that's $2,400 you could have wasted on eating out or coffee runs. But my question is how did you keep yourself from dipping into that fund for something dumb like a concert ticket or a new phone when you knew it was sitting there? Because I've tried separate savings accounts before and the temptation to treat it like "extra cash" always gets me in the end. Like last year I had a "home repair" envelope with $700 in it and I spent it on a weekend trip to Asheville. Then my water heater broke two months later. What's your secret for actually leaving the money alone until something breaks?

the_tessa2mo ago

Read an article saying most people can't cover a $500 emergency without going into debt. That $200 alternator was way cheaper than a tow plus labor at a shop. Smart move setting aside cash for exactly this kind of thing.

patricia31721d agoMost Upvoted

Wow, that article is scary! $500 is nothing these days. I mean, a trip to the grocery store can cost that much. I know what you mean, @margaret_kim13. My secret is I literally put the cash in an envelope and tape it to the back of a picture frame in my closet. Too annoying to get to for a concert ticket! It forces me to stop and think. Also, I tell myself that envelope is for broken stuff and nothing else. If my car breaks down and I need that money? I'd rather have it than be stuck paying interest on a credit card for months. I messed up once, like your Asheville trip, with a "fun money" envelope. So now I separate them completely. It helps to have a specific reason for each bucket of cash.