Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em

Well, actually we could live without them, I suppose, but it would make life quite complicated and who needs that?
Oh, wait a minute, maybe I should tell you what I am referring to here. I am talking about CARS! When it rains around these parts with car repairs it pours.

First, our trusty 1998 Taurus wagon. That car has been our friend, so when it was not feeling so good on our return trip from Florida two summers ago, we got a small fix done, knowing full well we would have to put out some big bucks to fix the major problems that were bothering her. This January I had finally saved up a good amount of money in my "car" envelope, so we used that $500.00 plus to pay for a repair on her. Happy to report she is running like a charm and will be making her 14th trip to St. George this June.

Now on the the Kia, can't remember why John chose a Kia or why we thought it was a good purchase at the time. Everything about a Kia is expensive to fix. About a month ago, it cost us over $300.00 to fix the ignition which no longer worked. How is it that a 1998 Ford, the one mentioned above, has never had a problem with the ignition and this newer, not yet paid for car, has the ignition just break? Plus we have a maintenance plan on this Kia, but of course, it never covers the problems we have with the car. I mean, why would it?

Well, about three weeks ago, John mentioned that something on the Kia was not sounding quite right. He thought it had to do with the tires, which, by the by, are very expensive and cannot just be purchased at Walmart. Of course, he mentions this on a Saturday, so we have to decide who can look at it on a Saturday. He took it to Tires Plus or some such tire place and they looked at it and assured him it would run and there was nothing terribly wrong, but some new back tires were needed. So, last Sunday John mentions that it is not sounding right at all. Great, now it is a Sunday and there is no one to fix anything on a Sunday, so I have been driving the Kia while he takes the Taurus. I am thankful the wheels did not fall off!

Finally, today Jeff, our trusted mechanic was able to pick up the car. The news is not good. Four new tires needed and who knows what else, all to the tune of $700.00 or maybe more. Yikes!

We are graduates of the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University, so we do have envelopes stuffed with emergency money hidden away. It about kills me to take $700.00 out of one of my envelopes, but that is what an emergency fund is all about and just as I saved this amount, I can do it again and I will, just in time for our trip to St. George!

So, I guess it always could be then again as bad, right?

And I am not even going to go into the fact that we owe the federal government $1200.00. How does an unemployed man (for six months of last year) and his wife (me) who works for peanuts possibly owe that much money? Something is very wrong here. But that is a post for another day.