I’m not a superstitious person, but it does seem like bad things happen in threes. Of course, when two bad things happen, you’re just looking for a third one.
And it seems to be a categorical thing too. If one thing breaks, two more are going to break.
Last week, my nearly two-year-old Kindle bit the big one. Totally bricked itself, for no apparent reason. Definite bummer, since I was in the middle of a book (thank goodness for the Kindle app on my phone and computer). Given the number of Kindle books I have purchased over the years (this was my second Kindle), I knew I wanted to get another one. Sorry Nook users, but I have picked a platform and now will stick with it, rather than have to re-purchase books. Thankfully, I have been saving up gift certificates earned from various rewards programs, so it’s not a big expense. No, it’s not a necessity, but it is something that I absolutely love.
But now I’m worried about what’s going to break next. My dryer has begun squeaking. I did some research and it seems that it’s likely a belt issue and it’s something that I could potentially repair myself, but I think I’m just going to hire someone when the squeaking becomes too much for me. I’m just not that comfortable with my repair skills. My washer and dryer were new when I bought my house last year, but they are the cheapest of the cheap, and based on reviews, neither will last me all that long. 18 months seems the average, though I don’t do as much laundry as a family of four, obviously.
I’m also worried about my computer. I have just exited the 3 year extended warranty period on my MacBook. The battery is in need of replacement, but again, not something I’ve found to be necessary as of yet. I’ve already had to replace the power cord. But I’m worried about the computer as a whole. I’m hoping that since I went Mac this go around (and love it) that I will get a few more years out of it. All of my PC notebooks bit the big one sometime between year 3 and 4.
Time to start saving.
Megan is a 40-something government employee in the Washington, DC area. She got interested in Personal Finance when she got out of college and realized that her paycheck wasn’t going to go as far as she had hoped. Since starting this blog, she has managed to buy a house and make a solid start on her retirement goals, and hopes to help others do the same. Here is her story:
In 2007, I was a gainfully employed 20-something with no debt but not a lot of knowledge about personal finance. It was a co-worker’s comment about Roth IRAs that sent me to the internet, searching for information. It was then that I realized that I really didn’t know a whole lot about personal finance and that my current financial situation was due a lot to inherent frugal tendencies, generous family members, a fear of debt, and good luck. While that was working for me, clearly I needed a better plan.
While I had no debt, I was also pretty much living paycheck to paycheck and not worrying about going over budget (I say this as if I had a real budget) because I had an emergency fund set aside to cover any overages.
Except that’s not what an emergency fund is for.
So I did a lot of research, read a lot of blogs, and decided that I needed a plan. I needed to budget. I needed to know what I was spending my money on. I needed to prepare for the future.
I decided to create a blog not only to make myself accountable to others but also to share the knowledge that I gained along the way. I’ve learned so much from my fellow bloggers, and I hope that my readers can find something useful in what I have to share as well.
